Rant: My uncle told me my portfolio looks like a 'nice brochure' and it stung

He's a carpenter, not a designer, but he was looking at my site and said all the projects feel the same, like I'm just showing the final pretty picture. He asked me where the messy sketches and the 'why' behind my choices were. Now I'm worried my whole portfolio is just surface level. How do you show your process without making it look cluttered?

3 comments

3 Comments

wyatt_fox681mo ago

Where the messy sketches are" is the good part. I added a single 'process' page to my site with just a few early sketches and a short note about why I changed direction. Keeps the main portfolio clean but shows you think.

shane_anderson1mo ago

Tried that exact thing after seeing @wyatt_fox68's post. My portfolio was just final logos, which felt stiff. Added a page with the first terrible sketch for a brewery client, this awful beaver holding a mug. Put a line about how the client said it looked "more angry than thirsty." Shows the work it takes to get to the clean beaver icon I actually used.

the_sage25d ago

Man, your uncle is SO right. I had the same wake-up call last year. Why not just pick your favorite project and add one messy sketch next to the final shot? That's what I did, and it totally changed how people talk about my work.