- Organize your material first by the type of content described in Lesson 2: Actual samples, tear sheets, copies, photographs, and screen shots
- Organize your samples by client: All work for a specific client or a specific product, especially when it shows off a cohesive collection of diverse items such as identity materials, forms, brochures, packaging, etc.
- Organize your potential portfolio material based on what it is: logos together, brochures together, packaging together.
- Using Post-it notes, folders, or some other non-destructive methods, mark your very best samples -- the ones you would be most proud to show off. If you're hoping to expand into areas where you don't have a lot of experience, find as much as you can that does show off that type of work.
Looking at what you have accumulated now will help you in later lessons by helping you see holes in your design work, identify your best pieces, or come up with the final organizational method you'll use in your portfolio.
If you have a large body of work to choose from, your toughest decision is deciding which pieces to include and which to omit. However, when just starting out you may have little — or nothing — to put in your portfolio. Beginner's design portfolios may require a bit more creativity but it can be done as we'll discuss in Lesson 3. Designers who want to change their focus or who want to fill in gaps in their portfolos can also use the beginner's portfolio tips.
If you arrived at this page via search you've landed in the middle of a free class offered by email. This lesson is part of the Create a Portfolio in 6 Days email class offered by About Desktop Publishing. Sign up for the 6-lesson class.