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—Published 14 November, 2009
Love your site and your work.
My name is Högni and i have been learning some graphic design, web development and programming, both in school and just from the internet by myself.
I am reading some books from Sitepoint and i really got inspired by the book, The Principles Of Successful Freelancing and thought to myself that this could be just the right path for me.
In the book the author talks about getting tips and tricks of the trade from experienced freelancers.
My biggest worry is that i don’t have a portfolio and want to ask you about ways to build a great portfolio, should i offer to do some projects for free to start with and if so how should i pick them if i have the power to pick them?
As i live in Iceland i am also a little concerned about the small home market, however the internet is a pretty big market, but there are also many people working there, any tips on how to get in front in the big world?
Best wishes,
Högni
Hiya. Thanks so much for your email and kind words.
There are many different avenues and ‘niches’ you can find for yourself in design. Web design is no exception.
Potential clients are using your portfolio as a means of gauging your suitability for any particular project. This is an important point, because to a certain extent, the type of work you choose to put in your portfolio will shape the type of work it will get you. So if you want to do work for the music industry, don’t have a portfolio full of straight corporate work. Although that’s a pretty obvious point, it’s not so uncommon to have a designer wishing they were doing one thing, but ending up building up a body of work in a completely different area.
“How you present your portfolio is as important as the work itself.”
So my point (if I have one) is that your portfolio should reflect the design direction you’d like to be heading in as much as possible. And if you’re looking to build it, that means initiating the kind of projects that you’d like to be getting paid for. How you do this is really up to you. Create a wordpress theme, build an iphone app, enter a competition, make sites for friends and family — there are heaps of ways to build it.
Self-initiated work is great and really allows you freedom. The only problem is much of the time you end up creating a solution for a problem that may not actually exist. If you find it hard to design for the ‘sake of it’, find sites that you think could be improved by a redesign and go for it. Get in touch with the owner and offer your designs free (or for something nominal). The worst they can do is turn you down. But if they don’t, even though you may not get paid for it, this type of approach may result in a final portfolio piece and a real client singing your praises.
How you present your portfolio is as important as the work itself. Of course, if your work isn’t great, it’s not going to make much of a difference. But I can’t tell you how many sites I see with people who clearly do good work but don’t do it justice in presenting it on their site. This doesn’t mean being super comprehensive with the amount of information about a project (although sometimes this is good), it’s about showing just enough of the right things. It’s important to let the work speak for itself, but if you can provide a little information to give the work context it may help show your process and thinking. Kyle Meyers has written some points on portfolio presentation that are worth a look.
Initially, local work is probably how you’ll start. But as you say, the Internet is a pretty big market. If you’re going to get work with people from other countries, you’ll most likely need to do all these things:
Making contacts in other places via the web is another way you can broaden your horizons.
Best of luck with it!
Rob