10 graphic design portfolio examples
One of the great things about networking as a graphic designer is that your work speaks for you. You do not need to sweet-talk potential clients with a poetic cover letter or witty banter. You just need to put your best work, skills, and design experience in front of your target audience. But how? The same way it has been done for generations: through a graphic design portfolio. Fortunately, it is easier than ever to create one.
So, how do you create a pro digital design portfolio that appeals to art directors, creative directors, a creative agency, a digital agency, and key decision makers? Easy! Check out the following 10 graphic design portfolio examples for inspiration. Follow our checklist to amass your portfolio essentials. Then, use free portfolio website templates to design the digital portfolio of your dreams.
Summary/Overview
What is a graphic design portfolio?
A graphic design portfolio is a visual collection of your work, showcasing what you have achieved thus far and what you hope to accomplish in the future. As a graphic designer, a portfolio is vital to displaying your talents to potential clients (especially as a freelance graphic designer).
Although graphic designers used to hand-deliver their one-and-only giant art portfolio to potential clients for review, today, you only need to create a digital graphic design portfolio and send interested parties the link. You can update your portfolio regularly and use SEO keywords to increase the potential for new clients to stumble upon your work through a simple Google search.
10 great graphic design portfolio examples
As you scroll through these eye-catching online portfolios, notice how they are organized and what graphic design work they feature.
From an organizational perspective, you will notice there are examples of one scrolling homepage and complete websites with multiple sections. Some are straightforward photography portfolios with little content beyond the design work. Others include case studies, mockups, videos, offers for online classes, e-commerce shops, an about page, or a peek into the design studio. Pay attention to the use of real estate and the names of navigation tabs.
For design inspiration, notice the layout, colors, typefaces, and image choices. Black and white, color, bold, soft, full-screen, and thumbnails are all options as you consider your portfolio design for your personal website. Now, dive into some of the best graphic design portfolio examples.
1. Aries Moross
If you want to put together a design portfolio that speaks for itself, look no further than Aries Moross for inspiration. Moross is an award-winning graphic designer who has created a visually stunning website to display their impressive and aesthetically pleasing collection of work. Their design portfolio contains little text, allowing their work to speak for itself. Moross’ work is divided into several types and mediums, making it easy for potential clients to understand their skills and experience.
2. The Dutchman
https://express.adobe.com/page/wF8W0IyeANnUn/
This portfolio is displayed through a scrolling homepage using Adobe Express. Single-page scrolling portfolios are great to send over to potential clients once communication is already underway. Because there is no navigation bar, it encourages viewers to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, meaning a single landing page design portfolio is a good strategy if you want people to look at the entirety of your portfolio and not simply click through it.
3. Maria Marie
Another example of a portfolio that speaks for itself is that of Marioly, the founder of Maria Marie. The layout and color palette create an eye-catching yet serene portfolio that speaks volumes about Marioly’s work and attention to detail without the need for text. This portfolio is a great example of how to use specific color palettes and interesting geometric layouts to create a truly stunning design portfolio.
4. Gary Shear
https://express.adobe.com/page/RUestmsVHFVcK/
Gary Shear created his design portfolio using the one-scrolling page technique while adding a few extra details. Shear included vital contact information and links to external sites to make his page a pseudo-website of sorts using Adobe Express. Having everything on one page encourages potential clients to really scroll through and look at everything, while linking to external examples and including personal contact information demonstrates credibility.
5. Naomi Umezu
https://www.behance.net/gallery/94853223/Portfolio-2020
Another great design portfolio utilizing the one landing page strategy is that of Naomi Umezu. This designer’s whole portfolio is a work of art – both their designs and the web page itself. Each slide is carefully curated by Umezu to maintain a common theme and color palette throughout, creating unity.
6. Skyler Hefley
https://express.adobe.com/page/KNIGfUWGGQc69/
Unlike some other single-scrolling page design portfolios, Skyler Hefley’s is packed full of information. By including case studies and various mockups, Hefley efficiently displays his work and what he can do for potential clients. This is a splendid example of a simple yet effective design portfolio – created using Adobe Express – that is visually appealing, interesting to scroll through, and to the point.
7. Jae Bin Lee
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sq9TJk-dcOrwFbHcie1eEXJNMhTWTrZM/view
This design portfolio by Jae Bin Lee was created almost like a chapter book – with a table of contents and a font and back cover. The designs dominate each page, but small snippets of text give the viewer more information. This short and effective design portfolio is a great way to pass along basic yet critical information to the viewer while opening the door for further discussion and potential work.
8. Shannon McNamara
https://express.adobe.com/page/uMXmODG4I2QQB/
Shannon McNamara has created a functional and inviting design portfolio that includes a lot of personal flare. From the font choice to her embedded YouTube videos, this design portfolio speaks volumes about McNamara and her design experience. With a link to her external Behance design portfolio, all the information you need about this designer is either on this page or conveniently linked. If you want to create a design portfolio that says a lot about you and your work, take McNamara’s as inspiration.
9. Lauren Hom
https://www.homsweethom.com/work
Lauren Hom created a webpage – called Hom Sweet Hom – to display her design portfolio. The geometric and blocky layout is a great way to display a lot of work at once without overwhelming the viewer, with each image linking to its own individual design page. This is a great example of a complete design portfolio website that includes additional sections like a storefront and class offerings.
10. Craig Black
You can scroll through Craig Black’s designs and hover over each image to get a bit of information and the opportunity to learn more. A black-and-white minimalist base paired with large images really puts his designs as the focal point. Notice the use of whitespace. This is a great example of a professional and sleek website design portfolio that draws potential clients in through imagery before offering more detailed information.
Now that you have 10 great graphic design portfolio examples to use as inspiration, learn a bit more about how to create your own graphic design portfolio by following our easy 5-step checklist.
Graphic design portfolio tips
Before you turn your hard work into a sleek package that captures your creative skill, you need to know what you want to include. Take the following steps to create the best portfolio:
- Curate your best work
- Include a case study
- Choose the right platform for your online design portfolio
- Show your personality
- Spread the word
Let’s address them one by one.
1. Curate your best work
Whether you’re a beginner freelancer, a full-time UX designer, or just want to showcase some personal projects, you’ve probably come a long way in advancing your design skills. However, your design portfolio is not simply a visual autobiography of your past design projects.
It’s more like a business card combined with a movie trailer — so spotlight all the visual jaw-droppers. Make sure to show off your personal brand. You’ve got just a few seconds to grab the attention of the viewer and make them want you and only you. Don’t miss your chance.
Ruthlessly edit your designs and select 15 to 20 of the very best representations of what you do, including your most high-profile designs, if you deem them worthy. Make sure to demonstrate your versatility and the kind of work you are capable of.
Now, take another look at your curated work. Do all of your selected images represent the style or styles you want to be known for? Are there any outliers? If so, ditch them.
Think of it this way: you’re crafting your brand identity and telling creative people who you are. If your style is anime and you want to become known for anime, that Costco banner ad you designed isn’t going to do you any favors. So, unless you’re all about anime and random banner ads, less is more.
The same goes for the types of design you are comfortable championing. Are you into letterpress, psychedelic 1960s hand lettering, book layout, website design, logo design, package design, video animation, or all the above? Let potential clients know the breadth of your abilities in your creative portfolio.
Whatever you choose to help visually define your design style and skills, consider limiting your selection to about 15 designs so they make a bold visual statement on your behalf.
2. Include a case study
Clients want to see how you address the design challenges put in front of you and what your design process looks like. Give them what they want!
Using a past project or client work that you are particularly proud of, briefly explain the project assignment, then show how you got from the beginning (the assignment) to the end (the final deliverable). Include some of the sketches, screenshots, or other works-in-progress iterations that led up to the completed work. Use those design skills to lay them out in a thoughtful way.
3. Choose the right platform
The most obvious choice for an online design portfolio is a graphic design portfolio website. As you saw with the examples above, some are created as one webpage and some are multiple-page portfolio sites. The best design for you depends on how much information you would like to feature and how you would like to lay it out.
As you consider your options, ask yourself which of the following you’d like to include:
- A single landing page showcasing your designs or multiple pages, each highlighting different skills
- Your name, your business name, or both
- Contact information or a full contact page complete with a contact form
- A full About Me page with your design philosophy or a simple photo and bio
- A succinct list of your past clients or an elaborate digital resume listing everything from past employers to your experience with web design, typography, HTML, and more (get a full digital resume template here)
- Other images that tell more about you (e.g., a peek into your workspace or design studio, your desk, your baking or paragliding)
- A shop selling prints of your designs or other handmade items
- Testimonials
- Links to your social media accounts (more on this later)
- PDF portfolio download (more on this later, too)
For a quick start, try Adobe Express’s free e-portfolio website template. Adobe will host your portfolio for you, so you can literally build a portfolio in minutes. You’ll see the page template in action when you land on the e-portfolio creation page. Scroll to the bottom to make your own beautiful portfolio.
Adobe Express features a plug-and-play way to craft a totally polished, extra-sexy one-page website featuring in-line images, parallax scrolling, full-width images, windows, website links, videos, “photogrids,” and more.
A multipage website requires more time and thought. Fortunately, it’s easier than ever to bootstrap web development and act as your own web designer. Explore popular website builder options, then make sure you design it to be clean and organized for easy navigation.
4. Show your personality
Once you’ve amassed all the elements of your portfolio and laid them out in a digital format, step away from it for a day or so, then return and review your portfolio design. Have you given the art direction your best effort? If so, it’s time to give it the final polish by making sure your personality comes through – the visual design of your graphic design portfolio can be just as important as the actual designs you are displaying.
It’s not just your designs that showcase your personality. It’s the words you use to describe yourself and your work, the fonts and colors you choose, your profile or other images you feature, and other little customizations that hint at who you are. You’re selling yourself as much as you’re selling your work, so make sure there’s a good sprinkle of you in your portfolio.
Now, the grand finale: Give your portfolio a final proofread for errors. You don’t want one of your suggested personality traits to be “sloppy”!
4. Spread the word
Once you have completed your portfolio, it is time to get it out into the world. Use high-volume keywords and optimize headings to help with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) so you surface in design-related search results. Additionally, social media is a fantastic way to share your visual talents. In fact, sites like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest can easily act as mini portfolios that can carry your standout designs around the world and put them in front of potential clients you do not even know exist.
If you have not already, maintain social media accounts for your design business and differentiate them from your personal account. While clients want to get a sense of your personality, these accounts are the places to feature your designs, latest projects, and talents. So, curate accordingly and sprinkle in the types of personal insights, passions, and activities that will help bolster the professional image you want to cultivate. Even if your portfolio site is serving as a place to showcase your personal projects, make sure to share your own portfolio as widely as possible.
Finally, create a PDF portfolio. It’s important that potential clients have offline access to your work. Keep one on your hard drive or desktop, make it downloadable from your site, or both. You can also use the PDFs you create in Express with other Adobe tools like Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop.
Once you’ve done all of the above, you’re armed with a pro portfolio. Congratulations! You’ve just made an important investment in your future.
As you continue to get new jobs and have new work to share, do not forget to update your portfolio. With the portfolio template nailed, updating it is easy.
This post was updated on January 4, 2024.