March 4, 2015 at 10:36Create a creative portfolio. From idea to release
The ideal interface is simple, there is nothing superfluous in it. For a portfolio this is also relevant. But what if you want to stand out from the mass of designers? Not to be another “just another design folio”, but to make your site catch on to the user, make him feel emotions and come back for more.
First of all, you should determine what is required of my portfolio? You can brag about projects to other designers and become the site of the month at awwwards, look for a new job or attract the attention of potential customers for freelance.
Having decided on the main purpose of the site, we come to the one for whom my portfolio is intended:
Each of these types of target audience has its own needs, its own unique features and its own character:
This is Div Sobzh - another designer and evaluator of your work. Always looking for inspiration. Ready on occasion to give a life-giving kick, if your site seems to him unworthy.
Vladislav as a studio director is a potential employer. 6 resumes by mail per day, tired, upbeat, ready to devote no more than a minute to his time.
And Lyudmila , the manager at the travel agency of the invigorating Antarctic excursions, is a potential client. Doesn't know what exactly he wants from the site. Already talked to other designers, but did not find a common language.
To identify insight, you need to understand what unites 3 types of target audience, what common problems they have. It doesn’t matter whether he is a studio director or a customer looking for a freelancer. Common problems will be:
Designers cannot understand the tasks of the client.
The worst sin among designers is the inability to build the right communication with the client. The resulting design may be a beautiful picture, but it will not help the client in any way, it is useless.
The designer is careless, breaks deadlines and is late for meetings.
Time is money. And although the motto is “Expensive. Long. /// ”no one has canceled, the creation of a good design in terms of how short they were not is the only way to a profitable product. Answers to calls and early arrival at meetings contributes to this.
Dullness and mediocrity.
The client, perhaps, wants the design “That's like that office”, but will it only be profitable? Building a design based on the needs of the client, and the original idea is the key to a successful site that creates an emotional response both for the client and for end users. And therefore, the site will be remembered and will come to it again and again.
How can my portfolio solve customer communication problems?
We will be realistic. No designer is perfect and cannot follow these points all the time. Only a supernatural remedy will help. What image of the designer can be used to solve the problems of the target audience?
Designer Gromozeka
Has 6 hands and can do 10 things at once. Unfortunately, prone to valerian bouts.
Designer Superman
Dare, quick and noble. Not subject to weaknesses, with the exception of kryptonite, Lois Lane and customers asking to add a kitten to their site. Even if they are a travel agency for invigorating Antarctic excursions. Unfortunately, the image has been repeatedly involved.
Designer Robot
On occasion, he can clone himself, send to the past and solve all the things that needed to be done “yesterday”.
Designer Mage
A variety of magic tools guarantees the wizard the solution to any problem.
Div Sobzh, designer : Robot (graceful lines, aluminum and the symbol of the apple) and Magician (recalls apple orchards and hippies).
Vladislav, studio director: Magician and Robot.
Lyudmila, client: Magician (magic) and Superman (handsome).
With a margin of one voice, magic wins. But magic may be different. By adjusting the number of mindmap branches, their depth and complexity of the associative series, you can create completely different characters from a designer magician. But, whatever it may be, first of all, this image should help solve the needs of the target audience.
How to combine old myths and modern trends? What analogies can be drawn?
And finally, the stage of “beautiful pictures”. The style of the site must be consistent with the idea. From here, fairy-tale themes and some cartoonishness were chosen. Image enhancement was achieved using a repeating element of light bulbs in different parts of the site.
An individual style is created by using personal chips, for example, the ability to draw, as well as personalized comic texts.
You can relate to your work “handed over to the client the site is free” and “the flow of orders is our best friend”, but when it’s your product that will advertise your services for some time, it will not hurt to spend time identifying weaknesses and their correction.
This will take a little time, but clients will not leave the site because of a link to a page that does not exist, or a forgotten piece of lorem ipsum.
As mentioned earlier, no designer can be perfect. But everyone can strive for excellence.
Understanding the tasks of the client is solved by improving the skills of the strategist and using methods such as identifying the main characters .
Not everyone has an open channel with the Cosmos, which allows them to generate original ideas 24 hours a day, and here various techniques will come to the rescue .
In any case, the design is not always just a beautiful picture. Good design is based on the idea. Well, ideas that are based on the needs of end users in most cases turn out to be win-win.
What for?
First of all, you should determine what is required of my portfolio? You can brag about projects to other designers and become the site of the month at awwwards, look for a new job or attract the attention of potential customers for freelance.
Who is the target audience?
Having decided on the main purpose of the site, we come to the one for whom my portfolio is intended:
- Other designers and art directors in the pursuit of fame;
- The head of a particular studio or a more abstract leader when looking for work;
- A potential client who needs, for example, who wants to order a website design from a freelancer;
Each of these types of target audience has its own needs, its own unique features and its own character:
This is Div Sobzh - another designer and evaluator of your work. Always looking for inspiration. Ready on occasion to give a life-giving kick, if your site seems to him unworthy.
Vladislav as a studio director is a potential employer. 6 resumes by mail per day, tired, upbeat, ready to devote no more than a minute to his time.
And Lyudmila , the manager at the travel agency of the invigorating Antarctic excursions, is a potential client. Doesn't know what exactly he wants from the site. Already talked to other designers, but did not find a common language.
What about consumer insight?
To identify insight, you need to understand what unites 3 types of target audience, what common problems they have. It doesn’t matter whether he is a studio director or a customer looking for a freelancer. Common problems will be:
Designers cannot understand the tasks of the client.
The worst sin among designers is the inability to build the right communication with the client. The resulting design may be a beautiful picture, but it will not help the client in any way, it is useless.
The designer is careless, breaks deadlines and is late for meetings.
Time is money. And although the motto is “Expensive. Long. /// ”no one has canceled, the creation of a good design in terms of how short they were not is the only way to a profitable product. Answers to calls and early arrival at meetings contributes to this.
Dullness and mediocrity.
The client, perhaps, wants the design “That's like that office”, but will it only be profitable? Building a design based on the needs of the client, and the original idea is the key to a successful site that creates an emotional response both for the client and for end users. And therefore, the site will be remembered and will come to it again and again.
How can my portfolio solve customer communication problems?
The idea
We will be realistic. No designer is perfect and cannot follow these points all the time. Only a supernatural remedy will help. What image of the designer can be used to solve the problems of the target audience?
Designer Gromozeka
Has 6 hands and can do 10 things at once. Unfortunately, prone to valerian bouts.
Designer Superman
Dare, quick and noble. Not subject to weaknesses, with the exception of kryptonite, Lois Lane and customers asking to add a kitten to their site. Even if they are a travel agency for invigorating Antarctic excursions. Unfortunately, the image has been repeatedly involved.
Designer Robot
On occasion, he can clone himself, send to the past and solve all the things that needed to be done “yesterday”.
Designer Mage
A variety of magic tools guarantees the wizard the solution to any problem.
Let's see what our characters think about the options available:
Div Sobzh, designer : Robot (graceful lines, aluminum and the symbol of the apple) and Magician (recalls apple orchards and hippies).
Vladislav, studio director: Magician and Robot.
Lyudmila, client: Magician (magic) and Superman (handsome).
With a margin of one voice, magic wins. But magic may be different. By adjusting the number of mindmap branches, their depth and complexity of the associative series, you can create completely different characters from a designer magician. But, whatever it may be, first of all, this image should help solve the needs of the target audience.
Form
How to combine old myths and modern trends? What analogies can be drawn?
- Fern flower helped to understand the language of animals. Now it helps to understand the language of customers and poorly worded briefs.
- Walking boots meant fast movement> the ability to keep pace everywhere.
- The magic mirror gave clarity and the ability to see hidden> good visual concepts.
- Bulk apple offered wisdom and youth> inspiration and ideas
Design
And finally, the stage of “beautiful pictures”. The style of the site must be consistent with the idea. From here, fairy-tale themes and some cartoonishness were chosen. Image enhancement was achieved using a repeating element of light bulbs in different parts of the site.
An individual style is created by using personal chips, for example, the ability to draw, as well as personalized comic texts.
The end of the story? No, everything is just beginning.
You can relate to your work “handed over to the client the site is free” and “the flow of orders is our best friend”, but when it’s your product that will advertise your services for some time, it will not hurt to spend time identifying weaknesses and their correction.
This will take a little time, but clients will not leave the site because of a link to a page that does not exist, or a forgotten piece of lorem ipsum.
conclusions
As mentioned earlier, no designer can be perfect. But everyone can strive for excellence.
Understanding the tasks of the client is solved by improving the skills of the strategist and using methods such as identifying the main characters .
Not everyone has an open channel with the Cosmos, which allows them to generate original ideas 24 hours a day, and here various techniques will come to the rescue .
In any case, the design is not always just a beautiful picture. Good design is based on the idea. Well, ideas that are based on the needs of end users in most cases turn out to be win-win.