The first in our Portfolio Showcase series comes from web designer Sacha Greif. For a closer look, click on the screenshots to visit the respective area of his portfolio at www.sachagreif.com.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a 26-years-old French web designer. Although I now specialize in web and user interface design, I don’t really have a design background. I originally studied computer science and mathematics, as well as Chinese (I’ve lived and worked in China for a short while). So from a design perspective, I’m still a rookie and learning every day.
How long have you had an online portfolio?
I’ve had a portfolio since I started my freelancing career (after one year of working for UNESCO), so it would be about two and a half years. I’ve had the current version for the last six months.
Sacha’s portfolio is navigated using thumbnail rollover images.
Each portfolio piece has a project overview that includes goals, specs, and images.
Clickable images allow for close-ups of portfolio pieces.
What was your design process?
Wow, where do I begin? The design process was frustrating, long, and ultimately fruitless. I went through about 12 variations on two or three different ideas without being satisfied. Ultimately, I decided to completely scrap all of my designs and use a free theme to at least have something to show. After all, a single mediocre site is better than countless great Photoshop concepts.
In the end I modified that theme until I was satisfied, and the result is something that I can live with at least for a few more months. The lesson here is that what makes designing your own portfolio so hard is that you don’t have anything to start from. So using something else as a starting point can be a good way to move forward.
Sacha uses the footer for his About Me, Latest Posts, and Contact Me sections.
Do you have any advice for other designers about creating online portfolios?
The most important thing is setting your goals first. Do you want to get new clients? Raise your profile by writing witty blog posts? Target a special niche? Get hired? If you’re not sure, the easiest and safest route is always to put your work forward. A lot of aspiring web designers don’t have a big client portfolio yet, so they put a blog or huge “Hello, my name is…” tagline first. But the truth is that potential clients want to see your work, not become your best friend or comment on your blog.
Also, it’s always good to add a little personality to your portfolio, but a lot of designers try too hard. It’s become a trend to add a huge welcoming message to your homepage, but this often feels fake and forced. I don’t advise on following trends too much on your portfolio, because it will become dated very quickly. Better to have something a little more neutral that you can use for a few years.
Tags: Portfolio Showcase, portfolios
Thank you so much for showcasing my work here! By the way, the chinese-looking design in one of those screenshots was for my China travel blog. But in retrospect I should’ve spent less time designing the blog, and more time actually adding content to it..
I love what Sacha says about using something else just to get started. There are a lot of great templates and themes to choose from that help ease the stress of a fully custom design, especially if you’re not a designer by nature.
Wonderful insights, thanks Sacha!