How To Build A Digital Portfolio

Want to increase your presence as a creative but don’t know how? Confident in your skills and abilities but unsure how to show that to your potential employers? Now more than ever, it is important to put your best foot forward when it comes to showcasing your works. The key is to document your creativity as much as you can, compile them strategically and create a digital portfolio!

What should you include in your digital portfolio?

There is no clear-cut rule on what to/what not to include in your creative portfolio. Each creative might have some specific skills or type of work they want to showcase and have their own way in expressing their creativity.

But to begin with, you can include:

• Moodboards illustrating your concepts - this can be face charts for Makeup students, style sketches for Hair students, or fashion illustrations for Fashion students

• Behind-the-scenes to your creative process - taking the audience through your creative steps can add more depth to your works, as you share with them the amount of effort that goes into creating your works (e.g., backstage pictures or drafts)

• As many projects as you can - showcase what you’re good at and do more of them! You might do work experiences, give treatments for close friends or family, put on makeup on yourself, or create fashion designs/strategies as work samples. As long as you have results you can show off, include them in your online portfolio!

• Major projects - sometimes it can also be about the quality rather than the quantity. To take your portfolio to the next level, engage in more serious, larger-scale projects from time to time. You can collaborate with other creatives to create editorial shoots, short films, TikTok clips and many more. They can be a great way to showcase your commitment and professionalism in the field.

How should you present your works?

We’ve done the research and compiled these three ways you can digitally display your work:

The simplest: PDF portfolio

Compile your works into a PDF and share it via email, link or file-sharing platforms (think Dropbox or Google Drive) when you’re applying for jobs. It’s the simplest and most straightforward way to show your skills and professionalism!

If you have the skills to work Adobe InDesign, you can always decorate your portfolio and take them even further. But even better, these days there are many free, accessible platforms like Canva, which are easy to use and provide you with a wide array of templates to choose from.

A PDF portfolio can be a great option for someone who doesn’t necessarily want to have a public display of their work.  

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The most professional: having your own website

If you want to go the extra mile, you can try building your own portfolio website. You don’t have to build it from scratch, as there are many platforms that can make it much easier for you (e.g., Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, Adobe Portfolio, etc.) offering many different templates to suit your creative styles.

With your own website, you can have full control over the audience experience and immerse visitors in your creative direction and branding. To achieve this, content that goes into a website portfolio is usually more polished, curated and professional.

It is important that you include explanations behind your works to get your creative intentions across and benefit from search engine optimisation (SEO). Go into details about your creative process: the main theme, context, what you’re trying to achieve and how you achieve that!

The most dynamic: social media portfolio

Display your works and social media skills at the same time! Social media accounts has become more and more important for marketing and creative careers – that’s why good social media skills will always be handy for your career growth.

Social media platforms are suitable for fast-paced content, so it is important that you stay active and post regularly on the platform. It is also essential that you interact with others’ content to grow your community and expand your networks.

Unlike professional websites, visuals and interactive content matter more on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Keep your text explanations short and capture your creative process in a concise manner!