Unsplash.com; Daniel McCullough
When you decide that it's time to look for a new position, or go to a networking event to meet a potential client, you probably instinctively think about revisiting your portfolio. You weigh the pros and cons. You assess whether it's worth the time to spice up your portfolio with your latest work, or if it's in a good enough state to present.
Whether you already have a portfolio, or are thinking about building one, below are five examples to inspire your own design portfolio. In these examples, there are different aspects which we can identify (e.g., layout design, branding, messaging, rich content) that you can apply to your own design portfolio. These websites also showcase designers who have opted for a .design domain name to brand themselves on their website and online in general.
1. monicabaran.design | Layout Design + Branding
Monica’s site is a great example of original layout design. We are accustomed to seeing a navigation bar on websites which takes us to different web pages, but the design of the buttons on monicabaran.design, and their placement on the screen, show a high level originality and creativity.
Each page on this site contains an alluring illustration that represents a common theme of illustration design, which is the exact type of design that the site owner is offering. This site is also a good example of branding because it shows who the website owner is [“Monica Baran”], and what that person does [“Design”].
2. kaybow.design | Branding + Rich Content
Similar to monicabaran.design, kaybow.design showcases some amazing illustration and UI/UX designs. The cat tree construction site project, (the image above), presents a fun and whimsical theme to convey the idea of building cat furniture. This site also employs great branding by boldly stating the designer’s name and her profession: design. Most importantly, this site is a great example of having lots of rich content. Rich content means that the actual projects and final work products of the designer are well documented and full of details. kaybow.design not only shows a grid of projects completed in the portfolio section, but by clicking through to each project, we are presented with a ton of content that describes the project. There is an explanation of the concepts behind the final product, there are screenshots of the intermediary designs, and photos of the hand-drawn sketches and storyboards. This display of rich content is a great way to beef up your portfolio, by showing your audience how you owned an entire design project and all the steps that were involved in order to complete your design.
3. laurenkerbel.design| Messaging
Sometimes it’s more than what you have to show, but also what you want to say that really resonates with your audience. laurenkerbel.design does a great job of focusing the messaging on her site to communicate only the design services that she prefers to work on. This site includes a frequently asked questions section which is immensely helpful for potential clients who are searching for the specific type of design services that laurenkerbel.design provides. When thinking about your own design portfolio, make sure to show only the work that you enjoy doing or work that you are good at, so that when people contact you, there is a high likelihood you get to work on the type of design that you enjoy doing.
4. ashleymccarthy.design | Rich Content + Layout Design
It never hurts when you get to work on projects that are Hollywood-bound. ashleymccarthy.design shows off some impressive client work that includes famous films and tv shows. By all means, if you contributed in some way to a major / famous project, definitely detail that in your portfolio. However, even if your current gig doesn't allow you to own a design project in its entirety, there is no rule saying that you can't showcase a personal project. The cool thing is that some of the best design projects evolve out of people's curiosity and desire to design something amazing. Side projects in your portfolio prove that you have the design skills to do the work.
5. kristinaplesa.design | Layout Design + Platform Usage
kristinaplesa.design takes a standard-looking website template and makes it awesome. The quality of design work in the portfolio section is stellar, and the neatly organized sections of the website make it easy for the reader to absorb the website. There is visual variety between the sections to showcase her process, her services, her work etc. And another great aspect about the layout of this site is that it includes a clear and simple call to action to contact her for design project inquiries. Think of all the hard work you do and what a lost opportunity it is when you don’t make it easy for people to contact you. Make sure to go that last step and make it frictionless for people to reach out to you. Kristina also does a great job of utilizing a website builder to create this well designed website. If you don’t want to waste time learning how to code, then give a website builder a try. At Porkbun for example, whenever you register a domain with us, you get access to our free website builder, Weebly.
So there are five examples that hopefully give you ideas on how you can boost the visibility of your own portfolio. If you have already built your website, but don’t feel that the domain name reflects what you do, you can get a free .design domain name through us for the 1st year. Or if you’re about to start building your portfolio, you can get a free .design domain name. Either way, a .design domain name can help you get your name out there.
