Building a Portfolio While You Study

Your portfolio is the single most important tool in your creative job search. For students and recent graduates, it's often the thing that sets you apart, or holds you back. This guide will help you build a portfolio that opens doors.

Why Your Portfolio Matters More Than Your Degree

In the creative industries, employers want to see what you can do, not what certificate you hold. A graduate with a first-class degree but a weak portfolio will lose out to a graduate with a 2:2 and an exceptional portfolio every time.

Your portfolio is your evidence. It shows:

• What you can create
• How you think
• What your aesthetic sensibility is
• How you solve problems
• Where your passions lie

What to Include

Quality Over Quantity

Five to eight strong pieces are better than twenty mediocre ones. A reviewer will judge your portfolio by its weakest piece, not its strongest.

Variety With Focus

Show range, but not so much that it's unclear what you do. If you're a graphic designer, include branding, editorial, and digital work, but don't throw in a random photography project unless it's genuinely strong and relevant.

Personal Projects

Personal work is often what gets you noticed. It shows initiative, passion, and creative voice. Include at least one or two self-initiated projects that reflect your interests.

Process, Not Just Outcomes

Show how you think, not just what you make. Include:

• Sketches and development work
• Research and mood boards
• Iterations and rejected directions
• Brief rationales and design decisions

Collaborative Work

If you've worked with others, include it, but be clear about your role. Creative industries are collaborative, and showing you can work in a team is valuable.

Client or Real-World Work

Any work done for real clients, even small freelance jobs or volunteer projects, demonstrates you can work to briefs and deadlines.

How to Present It

Choose the Right Format

• Online portfolio: Essential. Use a simple, clean website (Behance, Cargo, or your own site)
• PDF portfolio: Useful for applications. Keep it under 10MB and 15 pages
• Physical portfolio: Rarely needed now, but useful for interviews in some fields

Keep It Simple

Your portfolio should showcase your work, not your web design skills (unless you're a web designer). Use a clean, minimal layout that lets the work speak for itself.

Write Clear Descriptions

For each piece, include:

• Title and date
• Brief: What was the project? (1-2 sentences)
• Role: What did you do?
• Tools: What software or techniques did you use?
• Outcome: What was the result or your reflection?

Keep descriptions concise, a few sentences per project is enough.

Make It Easy to Navigate

• Group work by type or chronologically
• Put your strongest piece first and second-strongest last
• Ensure images are high quality but optimised for web
• Test on mobile as well as desktop

Building Your Portfolio While You Study

Use Coursework Strategically

• Push yourself on projects that will become portfolio pieces
• Refine coursework after submission, don't just use the version you handed in
• Choose electives that will produce portfolio-worthy work

Start Personal Projects

Set yourself briefs that mirror real-world work:

• Redesign a local business's branding
• Create a concept for a product that doesn't exist yet
• Write and design an editorial spread on a topic you care about
• Animate a title sequence for a film you love

These projects show initiative and creative passion that employers love.

Enter Student Awards and Competitions

• D&AD New Blood Awards
• YCN Student Awards
• Penguin Student Design Award
• RSA Student Design Awards
• YCN Student Awards

Even if you don't win, the work you produce is portfolio-worthy and shows you're engaged with the industry.

Document Everything

Get into the habit of documenting your process:

• Photograph sketches and rough work
• Save iterations and development stages
• Record screen captures of digital work
• Keep notes on your thinking and decisions

This material is invaluable for case studies and process pages.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Including Everything You've Ever Made

Be ruthless. If a piece isn't strong, leave it out. A reviewer will remember your weakest work.

No Personal Work

A portfolio of only coursework looks like you only create when told to. Personal projects show passion and initiative.

No Process

Showing only final pieces makes it hard to understand how you work. Include development and thinking.

Outdated Work

Review your portfolio every few months. Remove older, weaker pieces as you create stronger new ones.

Broken Links or Missing Images

Test your online portfolio regularly. A broken portfolio site is worse than no portfolio.

Your Portfolio Action Plan

1. This week: Audit what you have. Identify your 5 strongest pieces.
2. This month: Create one new personal project and refine one existing piece.
3. This term: Enter one student competition and start an online portfolio.
4. Ongoing: Add one new piece every month and remove your weakest work.

Your portfolio is never finished. Treat it as a living document that grows and improves alongside your skills.