Building an outstanding portfolio
Your portfolio is more than a collection of work—it’s your first impression and your opportunity to tell your story.
At Superside, portfolios are at the heart of our evaluation process, helping us understand your skills, creativity, and approach to problem-solving.
The Key to Standing Out
When you apply, your portfolio is one of the first things our hiring team and Creative Directors review.
It sets the tone for how we perceive your abilities and potential fit within our team. A strong portfolio can open doors to opportunities, while a poorly presented one will hold you back.
5 Key Principles for a Strong Portfolio
1. Fresh, Clear, and Relevant Ideas
Start with the conceptual foundation of your work—showcase what makes your ideas compelling and meaningful. This sets the tone for the portfolio as a whole.
Do's
- Showcase work that resolved a specific challenge: Such as increasing engagement with a fresh campaign or simplifying a complex brand message.
- Present meaningful messaging: Use visuals that go beyond aesthetics and convey a clear, impactful story (e.g., designing a brand identity that resonates with a target audience).
- Highlight relevance: Focus on work that aligns with Superside’s core areas, such as social ads, branding, or motion graphics.
Don't
- Rely on purely decorative work: If a piece doesn’t serve a clear purpose or solve a problem, it doesn’t belong in your portfolio. A pretty but purposeless abstract illustration won’t show us your strategic thinking.
- Use outdated or irrelevant styles: Trends evolve. Ensure your work reflects current design and industry standards and feels relevant.
- Include unrelated passion projects: Your hobbies are great, but unless they demonstrate transferable skills, leave them out.
2. Attention to Detail
This highlights essential design skills that reflect professionalism and technical expertise, which are critical in creative roles.
Do's
- Ensure strong design fundamentals: Review your work with a sharp eye for composition, typography, hierarchy, and alignment. These basics aren’t negotiable—they’re the foundation of great design.
- Review your portfolio thoroughly: Small mistakes can be distracting. Before submitting, check for typos, inconsistent alignment, or poor-quality visuals. Treat your portfolio like your most important project.
Don't
- Submit work with noticeable errors: Misaligned text, blurry images, or sloppy masking are immediate red flags. These mistakes suggest a lack of attention to detail can hurt your credibility.
- Overcomplicate layouts: Avoid cluttered designs with too many elements competing for attention, which can distract from the work itself.
3. Versatility Across Medium
You should demonstrate the breadth of your skills and your ability to adapt to different customers’ needs.
Do's
- Demonstrate adaptability: Your creative range matters. Show us you can excel in various mediums, from branding and social ads to motion graphics.
- Highlight customer-focused solutions: Tailor your projects to show you understand the needs of different industries or audiences, whether it’s a sleek B2B deck or playful e-commerce ads.
- Show variety in your roles: Include a mix of projects where you led the creative direction and those where you collaborated as part of a team. Both are valuable.
Don't
- Stick to only one style or medium: If all we see is minimalist branding or vibrant illustrations, we might wonder if you’re adaptable enough for a wide variety of customers.
- Include projects with no clear audience or purpose: Avoid generic work. For example, a mock campaign with no explanation of its relevance won’t show your strategic thinking.
- Exclude transferable work: Don’t leave out a great project just because it doesn’t fit neatly into one category. Explain how it demonstrates creative problem-solving.
4. Engaging and Thoughtful Curation
Your portfolio must be tailored and impactful, giving a strong first impression, and immediately capturing attention.
Do's
- Curate your best work: Select 8–10 projects that show your skills and align with the type of work you’d do at Superside. Quality over quantity is key.
- Use impactful visuals and organize your portfolio logically: The hero image is the first thing we’ll see—make it count. Arrange your projects to tell a story or follow a theme.
- Showcase work that matches the level you’re applying for: Your portfolio should reflect the scope and complexity of the role you want. If you’re applying for a Creative Director role, it should show leadership-level work.
Don't
- Overload your portfolio: Too many projects can dilute your impact. Keep it focused and purposeful.
- Ignore presentation quality: Poor layouts or inconsistent thumbnails can distract from even the best designs. Make every detail intentional.
- Neglect navigation: If we can’t find specific projects easily, we might miss some of your best work. Keep your portfolio simple to explore.
5. Storytelling
This is the connective thread that ties everything together, allowing you to explain your creative process and outcomes effectively.
Do's
- Provide context for each project: Clearly outline the goal, challenges, and audience for your work. This gives your designs meaning and depth.
- Detail your process: Share how you developed your ideas, and brought them to life, and the tools you used along the way. We care about how you think as much as the final product.
- Highlight measurable results: Whenever possible, include outcomes like increased engagement or customer feedback. Numbers add credibility.
Don't
- Leave projects unexplained: Don’t rely solely on visuals without context to tell the story—reviewers need to understand the "why" behind your work.
- Overload with text: While storytelling is key, keep it concise. We want insights, not essays.
5 Portfolio Presentation Tips
Your portfolio’s presentation is just as important as the work it showcases. A poorly presented portfolio can detract from even the most outstanding projects. Follow these tips to ensure your portfolio is polished, engaging, and professional.
Use realistic, high-quality mockups that enhance your work
Choose mockups relevant to the project and avoid overly generic or outdated ones. Showcase your work from different angles or perspectives to highlight key details.
Keep It Clean and Cohesive
Use consistent fonts, colors, and spacing throughout your portfolio to maintain a polished and personal look.
Avoid clutter—white space is your friend—and stick to a consistent grid or layout for your projects, making browsing easy.
Prioritize Your Best Work
Reviewers receive hundreds of portfolios per week, so it’s crucial to lead with your strongest projects to grab their attention. Avoid including unfinished or subpar work, even if it shows your process. Your portfolio is only as strong as your weakest piece of work.
Make it Accessible
Your portfolio needs to be functional and easy to browse. Don't hesitate to use platforms like Behance, Dribbble, or your own website to host your portfolio. If you're using PDFs or Presentation tools, make sure they’re easy to open or downloadable.