Ah, the Projects page.
Before you start going through all the work samples you have done over the years, remember one thing: the perfect online portfolio is the one that contains all the projects potential clients find beneficial, intriguing, and of value.
So, adding one, large project you completed 5 or 10 years ago seems like a waste of time. No potential client has the time to read an essay-like explanation of a project you’ve done at the beginning of your career.
Instead, be sure to add 5-7 of your latest, most prominent work. And don’t forget to categorize them, so potential clients can find quickly the projects that are the most relevant to them. So, if you are a photographer, you can add categories like Wedding, Street, Wildlife, Sports, Portrait, etc.
Bonus tip: Choose wisely the covers for your projects 一 these visuals are the first thing recruiters/potential clients see when they are checking out your Projects page and can, potentially, make them lose interest in the projects if the cover is not appealing enough.
Let’s see how you can create the perfect Projects page.
Write compelling project descriptions
Once you know which projects you want to include in your online portfolio, it’s time you write a few sentences about each project.
Here are some guidelines that will help you write compelling project descriptions:
1. Each project description should say a bit about what it’s like to work with you; how you’re capable of working under tight schedules and high pressure; whether you are capable of making independent decisions under duress; whether you are a team player, and so on.
2. Start with a problem. Explain it in layman’s terms who the client was, what the goal of the project was, and who the target audience was. Write all this information in no more than a paragraph.
3. Complicate it, just a tad bit. Present your first solutions, explain which of them worked, which of them didn’t, and why. Try to tackle the problem from different angles. Don’t be afraid to offer wireframes, and comment on them briefly. Explain your thoughts and decision-making process. Also, somewhere in the text, don’t forget to give credits to people that had also worked on the project. Understandably, if there were 30 people involved, you don’t have to name every single one of them, but you could mention the teams you collaborated with.
4. In the end, offer finals. Show the final images of the project. To create the perfect Projects page, you could also explain how the piece you created was marketed and how the results were measured.
Bonus tip: When writing project descriptions, feel free to let your personality shine through. For example, don’t be afraid to add a humorous comment at the end of each project. If you do show a bit of your personality, you will be perceived as someone highly experienced, but easily approachable and has a positive attitude towards work.