Jacqui J. Sze, a senior creative at AKQA, shares portfolio advice for designers: curate 3-5 strong projects on a personal website, use white space and bold imagery, and tell each project's story through context, conflict, and opportunity. Reach out directly to reviewers and draw inspiration from physical sources like magazines and exhibitions, not just digital feeds.
Hi everyone, my name is Jackie Jay-Z. I'm a senior creative at AKQA. I've been here for 4 years now and I am here to just chat to you and hopefully help make your portfolio distinct. I actually do receive portfolios very often, if not at least 1 or 2 a week, so it's been brilliant to see people try and contact me and whether it's even being bold enough to ask me for a coffee and whether I have time just to review their work, and it's always interesting to hear and see what works out there. Sometimes it's good just to focus and hone in on like 3 favourite projects, whether it's in a PDF format or whether it's just a link to your website. I think it really has a great impact if it's, you know, actually a website link. I've actually designed my website through Squarespace. I think they're super, super simple and easy in terms of the templates that they offer, and because my work spans from photography to art direction to design, They've got some really good gallery templates to really cater to what you need. So whether it's heavily image-based or you want to support with a bit of copy with it, it's quite efficient and easy to maneuver with how you design, how your page looks. I try to just feature at most 5 projects on my website just because I think people don't have time to scroll through everything and sort of time is of the essence. Definitely one, keeping the first one being the most popular, the one that's been visited the most, and you can probably look at that through analytics with how many click-throughs someone's gone through your page. Squarespace actually have a great link for that. I think it's great to see some proactive work as well, so just maybe it's a brand that you really like, or maybe it's a charity piece of work, but it's just something that you're very passionate about and how you would want to elevate their brand or their presence. I feel it's very important to obviously take time to craft your portfolio and design. Of course, one, your work will speak for itself, there's no doubt about that, but two, actually the design should support it and elevate it, but that doesn't mean overcrowding it. So the elements of a portfolio that really grab my attention are a few things. One is definitely the design of how you've laid out your portfolio, whether that's through a PDF or whether it's through a website. Give your work space to breathe, and a lot of white space sometimes allows it, or just don't be afraid to go full bleed and just, if it's image-led or photography-led or film-led, just let it, you know, sit on that page bold and proud. Another thing I'd say is definitely less is more with typography. Yes, you should explain what your project is about, And there is a certain part of romancing in your storytelling. So those 3 things that I find very important is laying out what the context is, what is the background of your project. The second is the conflict, so what is the challenge here that you're trying to tackle, what is the problem? And thirdly, the opportunity, so what is your idea going to bring to the table? So sometimes that's just through 1 or 2 sentences of explaining what your project is about, even if you may just be a graphic designer and that is your sole skill, don't be afraid to spend time in finding the right images sometimes to support your design work. Sometimes I feel that students may be a very good designer, but then they pick the wrong sort of taste of visual language in photography. So sometimes it means that you might have to collaborate with another art director or photographer that is probably better at choosing the right visual identity, but don't be afraid to do that. And you can always just make sure that that it supports your work instead. So my 5 top tips I'd say and like to pass on to you in terms of making your portfolio stand out is one, making sure that you take time to be proactive and reach out to the right person. So do your research and make your hello personal. Second is taking time to craft and design what your portfolio consists of. So just pick 3 to 5 of your favorite projects that you're proud to present. The third point is making sure that you romance the storytelling of your projects. So just remembering the 3 things of context, conflict, and opportunity for each project. The fourth is making sure that your portfolio is up to date and don't be afraid to ask for help or second feedback. And the last point I have is to have diverse inspiration. So whether it's from digital social media, but most importantly, don't be lazy and just get out of bed and get out of the house and go to a physical source of inspiration, whether it's touching magazines or print Or exhibitions.
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