Design portfolio & customer engagement

It is important for a designer to keep an up-to-date portfolio at all times. Even if you work for hire, it's good to expose yourself to the market and professional environment so that you don't miss out on career opportunities. Well, and in general, to synchronize with what's going on. You can also sharpen the skill of telling about your work, so that you don't kill the first few interviews in agony that the story doesn't fit and everything is somehow crooked.

The most effective approach:
Make a cool feature on the project — write down the task, the result, the metrics, save the mockups. Handed over branding — awesome! Keep the presentation for the design case (and it is better in general to make presentations to clients so that then use them in the submission, will save you time in the end). There is nothing more stressful and difficult than in the moment suddenly trying to remember where the tasks were solved, how to formalize them, what was the benefit — especially when it should be done in a couple of days, because of a call with the customer or a vacancy appeared suitable.

A portfolio is a living service that needs constant attention. And don't look at me like that — I say that to myself too)

But it's also interesting that sometimes portfolios are ignored by the client. Designers and so on, on recommendation, on the sarafanka of projects pours (the designer immediately gets a credit of trust, and this is the most valuable resource). They come with a recommendation, but they don't know what kind of specialist you are. It's crazy, but it seems that people really enough "Well, there's Jan, a great designer, he will do everything, write to him!" — There is a task and only interested in the price tag, and then rather work.

At the first conversation it is better to ask: "Do you know what I do? Have you seen the portfolio?" Be surprised, but almost always — no, have not seen. And then just a prepared link with projects can be thrown at people to understand without loss of time whether there is a basic fit and whether the task coincides with skills. Saves time, effort, and nerves for all participants at once.

And in general, looking at portfolios and cases, it is much easier to talk about beautiful and functional with the business, to synchronize expectations.