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I N T R O D u c T I O N
Portfolios. They are the classic sticky wicket. If you do them right, you will thrive.
If not, you can lose money and potential customers. And for many businesses,
portfolios and self-promotions can cause the biggest headaches. The good
news? Using the right mix of your own ingenuity while highlighting your creative
prowess can expand your clientele and improve your bottom line.
So how do you stand out in a crowd? Perhaps you carry a polka-dot umbrella
that screams “notice me.” Or maybe you don a more subtle approach to self-
promotion—flashy socks that are quietly hidden under standard-issue khakis.
Find your voice. Drop those meager attempts at getting noticed and start to
toot your own horn. Really toot it. Of course, shouting, “I’m the greatest creative
professional out there. Hire me!” may not get you very far, but if you learn the art
of self-promotion and make it your own, the results may surprise you.
The Art of Portfolio Design
STRUT YOUR STUFF
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Marketing, advertising, and promotions are vital components of most companies’ business plans, and creative professionals
are no exception. The right portfolio mix and the shape it takes can enhance your ability to make a name for yourself in
the industry.
In today’s competitive marketplace,
designers must compete to survive.
And yet some creatives believe that
simply putting a few cardboard busi-
ness cards in the hands of prospec-
tive clients is their best marketing
tool. Others would like to utilize
stronger, more impactful portfolios so
that they can entice more clients to
join them in conversation. As part of
the marketing mix, portfolio develop-
ment and promotions can make a
critical contribution to a firm’s ability
to achieve its objectives.
The bottom line, frankly, is that
self-promotion is necessary to survive.
The most successful design firms
and creative individuals find ways
to market themselves in ways that
are memorable and that resound
with their audiences. In order to be
competitive in the future, you should
be doing the same.
The Creative Group, a firm that
specializes in placing marketing,
advertising, creative, and Web
professionals on a project basis,
polled 250 advertising and marketing
executives about the importance of
building a strong portfolio. They were
asked, “Which of the following do you
consider most important when hiring
a creative associate?”
Get Competitive
DON’T JUST SURVIVE—THRIVE
Source:
Book SmartS
B y t he c reative Group
portfolio: 63%
other/don’t know 1%
réSumé: 2%
referenceS: 12%
interview performance: 22%
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π
The main objective of The O Group’s
portfolio update was to appear sleek enough
to appeal to their luxury-focused clients,
while showing off a winning personality. The
firm’s portfolio is a permanent hardbound
piece, supplemented by modular “mini
portfolios” that can be printed on demand
in their office and bound, DIY-style, with a
sleek rubber band. Carefully considered
simplicity was the guiding principle for the
design—the restrained palette and sparse
layouts afforded a lot of freedom to express
themselves with creative typography and
copywriting.
t he o Group
I N T R O D u c T I O N
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