PaperStreet Newsletter: So You Want To Be A Web Designer? 

What should I put in my portfolio?

Web Sites. Duh! You need to have actual work. If you haven’t been hired by any clients on a freelance, internship or actual job basis, then you need to create fake sites to show off your talent.

OK. I have a bad ass portfolio. Where should I put it?

Online. Buy a domain name get a cheap hosting account and put everything you do online. In terms of costs, this will be one of your best investments. For only $50-$75 per year you can have your own domain name, email and web site. Not only will it look professional, but it will also be good experience in setting up a web site.

How should I structure my portfolio?

In terms of your web site, just make it your best work and put all of your other work in various categories (web design, print, logos, etc.). Try to organize items so that your potential employer or client does not have to search for your work. Basically do not get too wacky with the design. Make sure you put in your contact information somewhere on the site – preferably on each page.

If you really want to get wild, make your web site your own freelance company and you could easily pick up some extra client work and show off your business/design talent. To do this, simply add in various pages that are needed to sell your services, such as an about us page, client list, services, and any other pages you can think of.

How much time should I waste on creating my portfolio?

You need to spend as much time as needed to make your portfolio sharp. Create as many sites as possible. You should have various themes (i.e. tech, friendly, corporate, creative, and using all different color palettes). If you only have 2-3 web sites, then they better be good.

What format should I make my sites or concepts?

Fully functional web sites are best. However, its bad if you link to a client that suddenly went out of business or changed their site – so save a snapshot of the page as well. If you don’t have fully functional web sites, then at least have a fully functional home page with null links. If you don’t have any of that, then a full JPG version of the concept is fine, but no thumbnails.

Can I show off my print skills?

A print portfolio helps. If you have design talent, then that can be applied to any medium.

What skills do I need to pay the bills?

HTML, PhotoShop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, and FTP knowledge are a must. Flash is needed too.

If you know how to program in ASP, JSP, PHP, CFM or any other scripting language that is great. If you know how to make a database driven web site using a MySQL-PHP configuration, ASP-MS SQL, CFM-MSSQL, or any other configuration then great.

In general though you need to know a little bit about everything and become a master in one area. That will allow you to get a job in either graphic design, search engine optimization, internet marketing, database programming, general web design, content, usability, layouts, etc. However, if you know a little bit about everything it helps because you understand how all of the technologies fit together to produce a web site.