When you are looking for your first graphic design role, or at any level, your portfolio is a critical part to getting a job. Showcasing design work can take many forms, but the quickest way for someone to see your work is a portfolio PDF.

Like any design project you should start by thinking about who your audience is. The people who will see your folio are designers, most likely creative directors or design directors who are busy with lots of things. Typically they haven’t put aside time to look at folios but they still enjoy seeing designers work. Given this setting, let’s look at how you can make the most of your portfolio.

Format

There are two main options in my opinion; PDF or Figma file. But PDF is still best, let’s look at why.

A PDF has many advantages when it comes to your portfolio format, the main ones are that it is quick and easy to use. There is a clear order, start middle and end (unlike a website) and you can scroll through fairly quickly. Other advantages of a PDF are that it can be printed if needed, seeing the number of pages is easy and you can also add hyperlinks if needed.

Figma is good as it allows you to add simple animations as GIFs on the free plan. It also shows you know how to use Figma, which is a skill that is in demand. It also allows you to edit content on the go or take it offline if needed. You can also restrict access which is great if you don’t want some content being shared around. The downsides are that it isn’t as quick to view as a PDF, it can take a while to load and it’s often a fixed size, not filling the screen the way a PDF does. Figma files also can’t be downloaded like a PDF so the URL may get lost in the wild current that is email. Also Figma plans are changing, so in the future the free plans might be more limited.

While having a full website is great, it can take longer to get through and is non-linear. Having more options means viewers can get distracted and jump on to another task. Whereas a PDF has a start, middle and end. Simple.

Aspect Ratio

The people receiving your portfolio will be checking it on a computer. They will most likely have a big monitor. The best way to showcase your work is by starting with a 16×9 PDF. When downloading a PDF on a Mac you can hit the spacebar and quickly scroll through it. By making your document 16×9 you will fill most screens. 1920x1080px works well. I find that exporting images to compress at 200ppi gives good quality on high res screens without the larger file size of a 300ppi print file.

Type Choices

Setting type is a vital skill every graphic designer should possess. In your portfolio one or two font choices are enough. Make sure your body text uses a font that is easy to read. Use clear separation between your headings and body copy. Try to limit the number of type styles you use, 3–4 should be enough.

Colour space

When emailing your folio it should always be in RGB, it’s a wider colour range and allows for more depth of colour.

Content

As with any folio you should only show your best work. I would suggest around six project, allowing 2-3 pages for each project. Also keep in mind the type of work you want to be doing and show projects in that space.

Lead with the project you think is the strongest. Putting your second strongest project at the end means that you leave the viewer with a strong finish.

Try not to crowd each page, having a full page image or a 50/50 split can really allow the work to shine.

Personally I don’t think you need to show project progress in your portfolio, the finished result is enough. When it comes to an interview you should be able to explain the process and answer any questions about any of the work shown, but in your folio showing progress can get a bit messy.

Each project should lead with a title, a brief description and don’t forget to credit any others who you may have collaborated with.

When documenting work I feel the best way is to get real photos of the work in place. This isn’t always possible, instead you can use mockups. The best mockups are fairly cheap at around $20USD. My favourite place to get mockups it https://supply.family/ It is also worth looking at https://layers.design/shop and https://various-formats.com/gallery (Melbourne based). You can also get decent free mockups at https://mrmockup.com/free-mockups/ and https://mockup.maison/collections/free-mockups When using mockups be sure to chose to show your work in an appropriate context. E.g. don’t show a B2B brand on a billboard or a bright RGB print on a tote bag.

Contact details

As mentioned people are busy, having you contact details on the last page of your PDF makes it easy to get in touch with you. With a PDF you can also have a hyperlink for your email address. Not all people will have their email system working this way so make sure to have the email address as live text so it can be copied and pasted.

Personal CV

Your portfolio should be accompanied by a CV, but that is another article.

I hope this has been useful.