How to build your portfolio if you haven’t been creating in a while and where to start?
It is admirable to me to see other creatives know the direction of art they want to create! How to know what is your calling if you’re still unsure even after graduating in graphic design?
Replies10
- I think no matter where you are in your career, passion projects are always a good start.Find something you have a burning desire to photograph, rebrand, editorialise, produce, or just be creative with. This could be a real brief or a brief you make up yourself...Over the pandemic, I had a bit of a creative plateau with my full time role so on the side I worked on a book with a friend of mine. It was all about cycling as that's something I geek out on, and allowed me to explore designing editorial layouts in a slightly less time-focussed space.It turns out that this is one of my favourite projects now, because I put so much heart into it.So long story short...Self initiated passion projectsSide hustlesLive briefs (you can find briefs off D&AD website)Or reworking something you think could be done in a slightly more interesting way.Hope this helps!Cam
- @ɐɹoᗡ ɐuu∀ ˥ I couldn’t agree more with this! ☝🏻
- I’d find existing designers to collaborate with on projects! Offer your work for a low fee just to build up your portfolio ☺️
- Hello Lily,I would recommend to concentrate on the journey rather than the final. Like you don't have to have a full portfolio first, just start small like exploring a topic / technique you are deeply care about. Me personally find it much easier when I leave plenty of time for practise instead of stressing about the final result.
- @Lily Duong You are welcome!
- @Keva Epale Thanks for taking the time to go deep into the questions I asked and answering it so thoroughly, happily read through that and enjoyed the perspective you place. I will always look back at these answers to remind myself. 🙂
- A portfolio is an expression of who you are today or hope to be as a designer and beyond.__Your calling is not your portfolio. It will reveal and unlock itself as you grow as a creative and explore.Purpose is not a definite career and graduating in a field is not the finish line.__You graduated as a graphic designer there may be lessons and skills you may need for your purpose later. So relax, it's not a race. No pressure even if you may have that perception.• You have not created in a while, it's ok. There is no expiration date to creativity and the distance you took may be the needed time you need to to get back into a state of creative flow.I agree with the great reply by Kim Edwards. You can get inspired and be around creative projects to raise your confidence back in your creativity.Start small with creative prompts for yourself. You may also join classes and find a creative buddy you can co-create with.If graphic design is your sole focus, then question yourself about what would you like to express and learn more about.Get into a creative flow and train yourself through self-initiated projects. From there, you can start thinking of your portfolio. The fun fact is that while doing side projects and just creating for the joy of it, you may create things that will end up in your portfolio.• Now you have got your mojo back. The key is to start fresh. I would advise creating a manifesto as a graphic designer: redefining who you want to be as a designer and how your work can be useful.• Then think about specific areas in graphic design you would like to create more for.• From there, build 2 or 3 projects with a problem to solve for a specific client or niche you observed. Have fun, be practical and at service and innovative teh best you can.• Transmiss all that on your portfolio by giving it hierarchy and positioning.You are not a graduate anymore, after a time off you have gained your creative flow back. Now what makes working with you unique?The answers will be your key elements to display on your website or whatever tool you decide to showcase your work.Just keep implementing them in your services, processes, projects and beyond.The best advice is to treat this transition phase as a project. It will give you the distance and understanding to position yourself better as you evolve in this field.I hope it helps.
- @Lily Duong your welcome :)
- @Kim Edwards i really appreciate that response! Thank you 🙂
- I personally find that when i'm having times where my creativity seems to have disappeared I find watching tutorials, doing courses finding inspiration through instagram etc looking at other peoples techniques helps to inspire me to create, it doesn't necessarily have to be design related. .... I don't worry about creating stuff primarily for my portfolio, its about putting myself into a creative mindset again and developing my own likes and styles, and through that portfolio pieces can be generated that are authentic to you, rather than creating just for the sake of your portfolio.
You must sign up or log in before you
add a comment.