Best Portfolio Examples in 2024: Perfect Design for Your Portfolio

A portfolio is the first impression you will make for the employers. Among many others who have applied for the job, a portfolio consisting of your great works will be a secret weapon that propels you to the top of the list.

A portfolio is not just a compilation of your past works; it's a dynamic reflection of your skills, style, and achievements. A well-designed portfolio is what makes you different from others. It can be the difference between getting the job and losing it.

What is a portfolio?

A digital portfolio is a place where you can store and present your best works. These works are representative of your style, your work, and your achievements. 

An online portfolio will also increase your visibility and bring new opportunities. Think of a portfolio as a witness of your professional journey. It will show how you grow and improve and how you can benefit the company you have applied for. A portfolio is a way for employers to assess you before even beginning to work there. 

A portfolio is a part of the resume. Imagine being an employer, reading countless resumes. Though there are experiences written, none actually provides proof of your skills. However, when this employer sees your portfolio, they can visualize your skills and convince them of your abilities!

4 Types of Portfolios

There are different types of portfolios depending on your purpose in creating them. 

1) Showcase Portfolio

As its name suggests, it is the type of portfolio that showcases your best work yet.

These types of portfolios are typically called:

• “professional portfolios”
• “formal portfolios”
• “career portfolios”

In this type, qualifications, education, and experience are added after completion of it. While making this experience a part of your portfolio, consider writing a reflection on it as well. This reflection can indicate what you have learned and how this experience improved you.

2) Process or Learning Portfolio

This portfolio shows that you are still eager to learn and improve yourself. This portfolio includes your works and works that are still in progress. Though it may not include your best works, it does allow for self-assessment and reflection.

These types of portfolios are also called:

• “development portfolio”
• “reflection portfolio”
• “formative portfolio”

3) Assessment Portfolio

This portfolio includes what you have learned and mastered. Reflections can also be included as well, such as how these achievements fit your career journey. This portfolio type is more formal and may include less information about the development.

4) Hybrid Approach

This approach combines all of the above. Typically favored by most people, the hybrid approach has no restrictions. You can adopt a showcase approach in some parts and a process approach in others to indicate different points about your professional journey.

There are several types of portfolios. Depending on your job and your application platform, portfolios can take different forms. Here, we mentioned 3 most popular platforms.

‍

Who should create a portfolio?

If you are looking to showcase your abilities and profession, then you can create a portfolio! Everyone can create a portfolio. From students to different professionals!

Writing portfolio:

• Writers, journalists, and content creators can create a portfolio consisting of their writings.
• All writing can be included, from blog posts to creative writing!

Visual portfolio:

• Graphic designers, photographers, and animation artists can create a visual portfolio combining all their works.
• While creating a visual portfolio, it is important to choose works that represent your creativity and style!
• Most artists, especially web developers, choose a website platform that can contain different types of designs, such as illustrations, animations, graphics, and other artworks, on a gallery layout.

Coding portfolio:

• Developers, programmers, and tech enthusiasts can create a portfolio that showcases their programming projects.
• You may provide links to repositories, emphasize your ability to solve problems and give examples of how your code is used in practical situations.

Project-based portfolio:

• Project managers, team leaders, and multidisciplinary professionals can create a portfolio including their projects.
• This portfolio indicates the role taken on the project, the aim of the project, the challenges faced, and their resolve.

Educational portfolio:

• Teachers, trainers, and educational professionals can favor these portfolios to showcase their teaching philosophy and style, training, and accomplishments.
• If they exist, innovations and their benefits should also be mentioned.

What should be included in a portfolio?

Creating a portfolio can be challenging if you have no idea or experience about this subject. It should be interesting and should stand out from others! Thus, using a template will significantly decrease the time and effort required to create a professional portfolio.

Decktopus

Decktopus has a wide range of portfolio templates specifically for creating portfolios! For ease, in this tutorial, we will guide you on the existing templates, as they already indicate what should be included in the portfolio.

While creating an AI-generated slide on Decktopus, all you have to do is enter your personal information! After, your portfolio, complete with icons, images, headers, and graphs, will be ready in a matter of minutes! Later, You can change the layout, fonts, typography, color palette, and more.

Decktopus AI can generate a slide for you! All you have to do is enter the necessary information, and Decktopus will create a personalized portfolio! With AI Image Generator, create aesthetically pleasing and attention-grabbing portfolios!

AI Image Generator is one of the many functionality features of Decktopus. After all, Decktopus is designed to make your job easier!

Features of Decktopus

‍

Decktopus has a variety of features that cannot be listed. However, here is a shortened list of the features available on Decktopus!

1. 100+ templates: Choose one of the wide range of templates available in Decktopus to easily design your slide. You can later make changes.
2. Chart Maker: Create any type of charts and add them to your presentation.
3. AI Image Generator: Let AI generate images for you based on your content.
4. PDF to Deck Import: Turn your PDFs into AI-generated slides.
5. AI Assistant: For your needs and questions, an AI assistant is available.
6. AI-created Q&A Session Notes: The AI assistant in Decktopus will predict questions and create answers based on your presentation.
7. Rehearsal Mode: Before your presentation, practice it in the rehearsal mode.
8. Presentation Notes: The AI assistant will generate notes for you to use during the presentation.
9. Audible Proposals: Record your voice over your presentation.
10. Collaborate: Add team members to your presentation and work on it simultaneously.
11. Folder: Organize your presentations on the dashboard!
12. Analytics: Keep track of submissions & views through the analytics on the dashboard.
13. Embedding: Embed links, web pages, and your calendar on the presentations.
14. Auto Design: Make one change, and the Decktopus applies it to all your content. 
15. Custom Domain: Present your proposals under your own domain.
16. Custom Link: Share the link to your presentation with your audiences.
17. Feedback: Include a feedback part at the end of the presentation.

Find out much more about our features by trying it yourself! You can create any type of presentation, including portfolios!

How to create a portfolio?

Here is an easy 6-step layout for creating stunning portfolios with Decktopus's templates!

Components of a professional portfolio

1) Background Information

A portfolio is about you! Thus, it should start with an introduction about you! Start with a background check about yourself. Mention your graduation, training, and any certificates.

2) Experience

Highlight experiences that are related to your professional journey. Mention workplaces and businesses that you had and your role in them. Include job descriptions, completed projects, and collaborations you have engaged for each job.

3) Achievements

If you have, mention the awards, recognition or publications. These will show your proficiency in your field.

4) Professional works

Showcase your best works! You may consider dividing your works into different categories to ease the navigation between slides and to point out the breadth of your skills. Include representative works for your style, development, and professionalism. Make sure your portfolio is able to represent the general workflow of your career.

If you have a personal design portfolio website, you can also add links to direct the audience to that. Browsing a design portfolio site will give more information about your work.

5) Include client testimonials and testaments

Consider adding references and testimonials from people who have worked with you before. Contact them before adding them to your portfolio to make sure they are on the same page as you! Include their contact information as well for direct communication between employers and references.

6) Contact Information

In this last part, add your contact information. Enter your email, phone number, and social media platforms so that you can be contacted. You can add links to your personal WordPress address, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. If you have, add a signup link for your personal newsletter, too.

6 Different Portfolio Examples with Decktopus Templates

1. Photographer’s Portfolio Template

• A Photographer's Portfolio is an essential part of presenting their work and showcasing the skills they have to offer. It's like a resume page for photographers, enabling them to demonstrate what they can provide and their photography skills.
• When creating a portfolio, photographers should be sure to focus on quality over quantity as well as keep their pieces up-to-date and showcase only the best examples of their work.
• Doing so will ensure visitors get the best impression of their photographic skills, allowing them to stand out from the competition.

2. Art Portfolio Template

• Decktopus's Art Portfolio Template is designed to be visually appealing and informative at the same time, allowing the viewer to quickly get a sense of the artist's style and capabilities.
• It is designed for artists to effectively communicate their skills and talents to a wider audience and increase their chances of securing new opportunities.

3. Team Portfolio Template

• This template is designed by Decktopus to highlight the skill set your team offers and the unique assets they bring to the table.
• What are your team members’ backgrounds, academic histories, career outlines, ambitions, and personality traits? Showcase team members' abilities and their unique contributions to the projects!

4. Branding Agency Portfolio

• Showcase your previous work and impress potential clients with a presentation that highlights your unique branding style and expertise. The template includes slides for showcasing logos, campaigns, packaging designs, advertisements, timelines for projects and more.

5. Social Work Recruitment Agency Portfolio

• Social Work Recruitment Agency Portfolio Template of Decktopus is a non-profit organization that helps connect businesses with the right talent. It provides a platform for businesses to post their job openings and for social workers to find the right opportunity.
• Social Work Recruitment Agency Portfolio also offers a variety of services to help businesses with their social work recruitment needs. In addition, the Social Work Recruitment Agency Portfolio provides a donation and volunteering template for businesses to support the work of the Social Work Recruitment Agency. It is committed to helping businesses find the right social workers for their needs.

6. Communications Agency Portfolio Template

• Communications Agency Portfolio Template is a ready-to-use portfolio that helps Communications Agencies showcase their work in the best possible light. Communications Agencies can use this portfolio to attract new clients and win business.
• The Communications Agency Portfolio Template is an easy-to-use, customizable template that comes with a pre-designed layout and all the necessary pages and sections. Communications Agencies can use this template to create a professional, polished portfolio that will impress potential clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Can students create portfolios?

Of course! Creating a portfolio is beneficial for students. A ready portfolio may allow students to find job opportunities before or after graduation. If you are thinking of creating a portfolio, make it a process portfolio while your education is continuing. After graduation, you can turn it into a showcase portfolio. 

• We have indicated the differences between them above!

2) What should I add to a student's portfolio?

• Include a section about yourself, and briefly introduce yourself.
• Talk about your academic achievements.
• Include class projects or research papers that you find suitable to represent your work.
• Add your skills, both technical and soft skills.
• Include any internships or community services you participated in.
• Include your certifications, training, and any other extra education.

With Decktopus, you can find all these as a template! By filling in the specific information about your life, create portfolios with ease!

3) What are some portfolio website examples?

There are different art portfolio websites. Graphic design portfolio websites are widely accessible. Similarly, web developer portfolios can be found online.

• It is important to remember that a website portfolio flourishes only if it has high accessibility. Thus, a side navigation menu is important.
• Also, a portfolio website should be interesting and attention-grabbing. To increase their panache, most artists include alluring imagery, grid layout, thumbnails, and a portfolio homepage animation.
• Some portfolio sites can also win awards. With a cleverly put-together portfolio website popular enough to win Awwwards, an artist can increase their fame and reputation. Artists from all over the world, from London, Canada, Barcelona, and Seoul, have become winners or nominees for this award.
• Adobe Express is a common platform for creating websites with in-line images, parallax scrolling, full-width images, windows, website links, videos, "photogrids," and more.

In the above, we have given examples of portfolios that can be found on Decktopus!

‍