Kick Start Your Portfolio Planning (Take Small Bites)
The blank page is intimidating! Where to begin? / Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash
I want to make a portfolio but where do I begin?
“Begin the begin” is both a song by rock band REM and a recurring theme for artists, designers, and portfolio makers. Whether it’s a portfolio based on photography or graphics or just experiences in a job, the selection of content and refinement of that content for outside consumption can seem a monumental task.
Returning for the moment to this powerful mid-80s tune, one blog summarized the intent of the song “Begin the Begin”:
“Begin The Begin” isn’t about the short term; it’s not an exhortation to riot. It’s asking the listener to become an active participant in their society — if there’s any hope of standing up to the powers that be, you have to engage, create, and build. You need to have a voice, and more than that, a voice that can and will be heard.”
Powerful ideas. Your portfolio offers a chance to begin again or reinvent yourself. It’s a creation process and you can indeed regard the final product as a tree, a natural representative of your growth and output.
To start you should narrow down things like your objectives and goals, and consider only including your very best pieces that help you tell the story you want to tell.
Where to start:
- Jot down notes in a sketchbook or notebook (journal)
- Write out your goals for the portfolio
- Brainstorm a theme and style (logo? layout? colours?)
- List your 5 best must-include images or designs
- Consider a keystone piece or project
- Write a short introduction (the seed for an artist statement)
Artist at work / credit Pexels
Small Bites Make Big Things Happen
Sketching is not just a physical process. Outline your ideas. Start a journal.
To get started, we should sit down and rough out some kind of methodology, plan and list of things we want to include and achieve with our portfolios. In addition to jotting down your ideas you may also consider actually sketching out designs: your logo, pages in your portfolio, how you imagine a gallery of your images to look.
Take some time to write down your thoughts in the old fashioned way. Or if you don’t have paper at hand, get started with a note or Google doc. Sometimes I take notes inside an email which I email to myself or leave as a draft.
Write out your goals. Think about how to get there.
What do you want to accomplish with your portfolio? What is the end result? And what will you gain through the process? The incredible thing about a creative project is that how you get there can be as important as the final destination. Your blog and social can document these steps on the road to completing your portfolio. Let’s say you wanted to create a website portfolio with a landing page, contact page and a gallery page.Once your mission is complete, you can expand on the result by leaping out from there sideways to other formats. So you could move from the website to creating a print portfolio – how about a 4 page zine?
Brainstorm a theme and style.
Do you have a brand? Did you consider creating a logo? What about your choice of colours for your site? All of these things help you create a style and vibe for your presentation. Will it be minimal or busy? Will it be black and white or colourful?
Maybe you have never given this any thought or perhaps you already have a website. Either way you will be starting in this process to consider representing and marketing yourself as a brand. Try to create a visual look which is complementary to your style. Or if that is an obstacle to getting started simply decide between using a white or black background. There will be templates or blank page design to get started with minimalist looks in your choice of web software.
Your killer images and designs (Pick 5)
You will need to identify the truly best images or media in your portfolio. Don’t do it purely on gut instinct. You need to poll some friends or family and get feedback. You could do it informally over coffee meetings or maybe let your friends give input via something as simple as a Google form. Online processes can even let users act anonymously.
What is true is that despite your love and attachment for pieces you have spent time on, many of your works are distinctly stronger or weaker than the others. You must weed out the weakest of them, put to the side the mediocre among them, and isolate the true core examples of your genius.
Set these killer works into a folder called “final portfolio” or similar and get ready to refine them.
Keystone piece to cap off your project
Here we are talking about a key part of your portfolio. The keystone in historical and engineering terms is the central block that makes a stone arch work. It centers and holds everything together.
What is a keystone?
In architectural terms the keystone is the centre piece of a stone arch. It is pivotal to supporting the wight of the other stones and and balancing the forces at play in an arch formation, such as those in bridges or other walls.
The keystone in your portfolio is a prime piece that supports all the other works.
So as you build your work into a group of images or projects you should have a central powerful core of your identity. One time when I was working on a very important personal project a close friend remarked that I had a “ball” in the middle of me. It sounded strange and mystical at the time I understood it meant a core desire or goal, a motivation for my being and a source of power and energy. I will never forget what he said.
You have a ball too and you should share it with the world – take care of it, nourish it and bounce it high, far and wide so as many people can see it as possible.
I think the keystone can either be one piece that is representative of your approach or style or in fact another project in its entirety, and one that can newly sprout into other creative works but also sit within the context of your existing collection.
Write an introduction (Letter to yourself or your biggest fans)
I’ll be frank. Some visual artists lack writing talent and struggle with putting into words their process or techniques or what they hope to achieve. Artistic intent is not an easy thing to describe. To get yourself into the frame of mind of a writer, consider penning a letter to yourself, or a dear friend or family member who is supportive of your work.
Personally I decided to create a blog with an intentionally personal style where I will write on a wide variety of topics and include inspirations and side projects that deviate from my core mission. I will use these posts as a wayfinding tool to later focus myself on crafting a really solid artist statement.
Whatever you do you need to begin the begin. Start today. As the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This Chinese proverb expresses the idea that any long or difficult journey starts with a first step. The quote is often attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and can apply to any project.
I’ll be with you and your colleagues and friends can encourage you. But starting and maintaining the momentum is entirely up to you. Good luck and have fun working on your portfolio.
Credits
Feature image design by the author, Mike Simpson
Photo collage image at left by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash / Image at right from Wikipedia
Anton Joseph von Prenner (Austrian, 1683–1761) A mathematician seated at a table, working on mathematical equations, 1728 Austrian, Etching; Sheet: 8 9/16 × 6 1/8 in. (21.7 × 15.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953 (53.601.182)
