A great portfolio can be your portal to better and better work as in interior designer. Here are a few tips to get you started.
What To Include:
Depending on how long you have been in the business, you may have a lot of project to choose from to include in your portfolio, or perhaps just a few. The key is to make sure that at the end of every job, you take pains to ensure that there are lots of high-quality photographs of your work. You can hire a professional or take a class or two and learn to do this yourself. Since these photographs are all your potential clients will have to go on when judging your work, they need to be as well presented and professional looking as possible.
You should include somewhere around a half a dozen or so projects in your portfolio. If you have enough work under your belt that you can tailor your portfolio to the needs of each client you show it too, all the better. If you are not quite there yet, simply make sure that your book shows off the best of your work and that it includes examples that show a nice range of work and abilities.
There should be an introduction wherein you explain your background and experience as well as your overall philosophy when it comes to design. Here is also where you can toot your horn a little bit about any specialized skills you have acquired and any awards you may have received.
Compiling Your Information:
There should be a little bit of background information included with your images, such as drawings, the materials that you used, and especially "before, during, and after" shots. If you have the ability to use special tools and methods, include that information as well.
There should be a few pages for each project that show the work as it progressed. The pages should be arranged chronologically, with perhaps a really nice shot of the finished project introducing each section. Add a short bit of text to any pages you feel may benefit from some explanation.
You should, of course, always be sure to have plenty of business cards and resumes on hand and tucked away on your portfolio for you to hand out to potential clients. If you have the wherewithal, you can also create a brochure you can leave places, and a website that you can point people to.
Printing and Binding
There are a few ways go go about this. Many designers just take their photographs and affix them to paper to create their pages. You can also put them together in a layout software program and print them out with a high quality digital printer. The second method may be a bit more professional looking, as you can add text boxes to go with your images, and the overall effect is more sleek.
When it comes to binding, there are a few options as well. You can go with the traditional portfolio case, or you can create custom books for each potential client. The machines that create traditional hardcover books are surprisingly inexpensive and easy to use. With your own machine on hand, and a set of covers at the ready, you can literally have a custom made book ready to take to a meeting in less than 5 minutes, and can leave the book behind for your client to keep.
What To Include:
Depending on how long you have been in the business, you may have a lot of project to choose from to include in your portfolio, or perhaps just a few. The key is to make sure that at the end of every job, you take pains to ensure that there are lots of high-quality photographs of your work. You can hire a professional or take a class or two and learn to do this yourself. Since these photographs are all your potential clients will have to go on when judging your work, they need to be as well presented and professional looking as possible.
You should include somewhere around a half a dozen or so projects in your portfolio. If you have enough work under your belt that you can tailor your portfolio to the needs of each client you show it too, all the better. If you are not quite there yet, simply make sure that your book shows off the best of your work and that it includes examples that show a nice range of work and abilities.
There should be an introduction wherein you explain your background and experience as well as your overall philosophy when it comes to design. Here is also where you can toot your horn a little bit about any specialized skills you have acquired and any awards you may have received.
Compiling Your Information:
There should be a little bit of background information included with your images, such as drawings, the materials that you used, and especially "before, during, and after" shots. If you have the ability to use special tools and methods, include that information as well.
There should be a few pages for each project that show the work as it progressed. The pages should be arranged chronologically, with perhaps a really nice shot of the finished project introducing each section. Add a short bit of text to any pages you feel may benefit from some explanation.
You should, of course, always be sure to have plenty of business cards and resumes on hand and tucked away on your portfolio for you to hand out to potential clients. If you have the wherewithal, you can also create a brochure you can leave places, and a website that you can point people to.
Printing and Binding
There are a few ways go go about this. Many designers just take their photographs and affix them to paper to create their pages. You can also put them together in a layout software program and print them out with a high quality digital printer. The second method may be a bit more professional looking, as you can add text boxes to go with your images, and the overall effect is more sleek.
When it comes to binding, there are a few options as well. You can go with the traditional portfolio case, or you can create custom books for each potential client. The machines that create traditional hardcover books are surprisingly inexpensive and easy to use. With your own machine on hand, and a set of covers at the ready, you can literally have a custom made book ready to take to a meeting in less than 5 minutes, and can leave the book behind for your client to keep.
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