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Make your design portfolio more attractive to employers

Employers who hire designers often are not the designers themselves. That can actually cause a disconnect between what designers show their portfolios and what employers are really looking for. If you are curious about the types of design portfolios that shine in job interviews, why not learn from the businessmen who loved them? Here are three tips on how employers maximize the appeal of their online portfolio.



1. Choose the Right Hosting

Be sure to choose the right hosting and content management system (CMS) to present their work. If you have built your own website or a plan to use a portfolio of services (Carbonmade above), make sure your site is translated identically in all web browsers (Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).

2. Presentation simple, but professional

The purpose of your portfolio to make his work accessible. Fancy designs, animation may seem attractive, but may distract from the real work is trying to show. The simplicity translates to professionalism more often than the fancy graphics, exaggerated. In terms of aesthetics and visual presentation that is simple and clean, and let the work speak for itself.

David Lifson, president of Postling: "Often designers have brochure websites, and I think that they are not useful. Looking for high-density data of examples where there is more to usability visual design. That's what I would highly functional web sites based on. "
Merrill Stubbs and Amanda Hesser, co-founders Food52: "What you are shown, whether a website or a specific presentation ... [which] must be very professional."
Cleveland Carter, CEO of Art.sy: "Although it is an opportunity to show his chops and you want something, I have seen more examples of people who carry it out ... I've seen more 'fancy' websites made harm than good done. "

3. Make it easy to use

Hesser Stubbs and warn that although employers may, as the visual work of a designer, the designer "can not understand the implications of the user experience of their designs. "By its portfolio of user-friendly design, which is showing an understanding of navigation and user experience. If your portfolio is easy to use, it is likely that the product design will be easy too.

Begin by reducing the number of clicks and links and the amount of displacement required to access all content, suggest Cleveland.

4. Know your audience

Determine the specific skills that your potential employers are looking for. For example, experience, bonus on product management, web development (HTML, Javascript and CSS) or marketing bonus points added to the portfolio of a talented designer clearly.

Each employer will have different hiring needs, and we must adapt accordingly. Stubbs Food52 Hesser and need a designer with experience building social networking due to the strong social aspect of the company, while Lifson and Cleveland were looking for someone with experience in product management and design. Smaller companies, in particular, experienced designers seeking versatile, which may include knowledge of various programs such as Photoshop and Fireworks.

Displayed designer Jordan Fretz A complete list of tools that are familiar with a detailed description of their background.

5. It has a diverse portfolio

Hesser and Stubbs said: "A portfolio is varied is important for you to work with many different types of customers as possible." Designer Food52 Camillia Benbassat features working in its range of products using different types of media. Dragging the mouse over each picture on your display reveals the name of the company, the type of media, and some essential details about the project. Each is clearly labeled and categorized, either by design, websites, mobile applications, user experience, identity, printing or packaging.

6. Organize

While the many examples is a plus, still have to solve in a clear and organize their work in the portfolio. On the website of Elliot Jay Stocks, the top bar shows the job offered, but the rest of the exhibition is organized by client and project type.

7. Be accessible

Your contact information should be the easiest thing to find on your site. There are multiple ways to contact, if possible. Designer Jared Christensen rather presents his LinkedIn profile, along with your resume, and other social networking sites in your About Me page.

8. Keep it up

Portfolios show is updated frequently to take pride in their work to produce more actively. Even if your portfolio contains a few unfinished projects, provide samples with a "work in progress", they say, as a designer Matt Bango has in its portfolio.

9. Credibility

It is important to build and maintain credibility. This means you should be able to reproduce and modify everything in your portfolio. Part of the recruitment process involves hiring Postling the applicant to carry a small (paying) job assignment. "I want to see [the designers] can actually produce what your wallet says it can produce," Lifson says, "because you never know if sometimes they get a little help."

Stubbs Hesser and look to the past experience. They believe previous job indicates whether a designer is accustomed to deadlines and notes, and maintains a level of professionalism.

Cleveland also seeks what he calls "social proof", in other words, the credentials of previous work or testimony. Providing links to these things in place makes it easier for the employer to obtain an immediate sense of professionalism.

10. Share Your Portfolio

Once you have created an impressive portfolio of shares, and advertising across multiple platforms. Postling says designers need to "do their outdoor work, whether in Forrst, Dribbble or Tumblr. Provide links to your portfolio of various social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as the signature of your email work. You will get more views of your shop window, which can lead to more interviews.