Portfolio Q&A

[analog trail]

A portfolio is really a place where you put your best work together for an audience. That audience may be a potential lead, client, recruiter, or hiring manager. You make it with the work you have.

But what brought you to ask these questions?

A portfolio is a collection of your best work that you make to attract an audience (clients, recruiters, hiring managers). What brought you to ask these questions? What do you hope to learn from asking these questions?

[quick grove]

as i mention i have been working on fiverr from last five years, never care about portfolio, since on fiverr, reviews worked as a portfolio, but due to recent turn of some events in my life, I have observed i am stuck in a loop of making few bucks from small project and i must excel and move on to some next level of skill set.
however when i try to get out of this loop, i faced,
1- I lack handsome portfolio to showcase my skills, i never cared about it before until now. i remember few projects which i complete and compile them into a website. However i found, compiling them into one place is just a very tiny basic thing, portfolio game is much more than that, Copy writing, explaining what designer do during project, showcase tiny details taken over then portfolio and polished person's profile. Which i am very far behind. Which leads me to ask this question "How do people get the supper cool portfolio? ".
2- Second problem i saw, the projects I got on fiverr, was not even enough to showcase what potential i have. so this leads me to ask questions,
"Do they work with agency/company under some "monthly payment" and company environment boost their skills which helps them compile a supper attractive portfolio?"
and
"Or do designer work 1 to 5 years without any "monitory reward" and search, explore and build a cool portfolio which later help them get a handsome job or projects?"
i have been stuck on work from home and considered life was all good but i suddenly realize even after all these years i am still standing on the edge where i start my journey to learn and becoming a good designer.

So further i am now seriously thinking about joining a agency/company but for that this question arise, " Is it necessary to join any training camp, internship or agency/company to get "experience" where as vast resources, information is available on the internet?"
i mean right, the internet already have hundreds of courses and thousands of minutes of resourceful videos and tons of article, but where am i lacking? "Do i must join a company/agency for work (join as beginner or primary level designer) or can i still stick as freelancer with not so attractive portfolio?"

plus if i am at this point, after wasting so much years, still on starting edge, can i pursue other source of income, like open up eCommerce store at the same time practicing freelancing? so i am asking
" do designers/developers always work on projects and gain project reward endlessly or do they have other source of income if so what can it be?"

i am sorry for the long message.

it is more like i am seeking a career advice.

[analog trail]

@still shard @young dragon Think the two of you are more familiar with these questions

What kind of role(s) are you looking to pursue at an agency/company?

[young dragon]

So from what I’m understanding it sounds like you’re currently frustrated with the quality of work in your portfolio but there’s an assumption that work can only be achieved from being in an agency or in house vs freelance?

Is that the question?

[astral anchor]

curious what type of fiverr projects you've worked on?

[still shard]

How do people get the supper cool portfolio?
Sometimes it takes a while. A lot of people probably spend quite a few months creating their first ones. Students might create part of it from school or create their own projects. People create them from their jobs.

Do they work with agency/company under some "monthly payment" and company environment boost their skills which helps them compile a supper attractive portfolio?
Unsure what this means. But I am salaried. So I get paid X amount of money every year. A lot of full time employees will be salaried. Some are contractors that are paid hourly per project.

Or do designer work 1 to 5 years without any "monitory reward"
No, I think people shouldn't work for free. However, I do know there are some internships that are unpaid but these are normally for students and usually encouraged to not take them.

[quick grove]

Sort of this question, but it is more than that.
you pick up right word, i am frustrated. lol. but as i mention i am seeking career advice in my last message, so i hope i won't be kicked out.
The question you mention and add this "do i pursue the freelancing field or move on to investment based work i-e eCommerce store or small scale business?" I found out, i am still on standing edge and starting a business also a starting point..

[young dragon]

first I just want to say, youre not going to get kicked asking for career advice its fine XD infact its probably encouraged in here

[still shard]

Is it necessary to join any training camp, internship or agency/company to get "experience" where as vast resources, information is available on the internet?"
You do not have to join one if you do not wish. But you might need to self learn and/or develop your own project.

Do i must join a company/agency for work (join as beginner or primary level designer)
To join a company or agency you will likely need a portfolio.

" do designers/developers always work on projects and gain project reward endlessly or do they have other source of income if so what can it be?"
I think if someone doesn't have enough freelance clients then they would have to have another income.

For many designers who do freelance professionally, I think they try to get enough clients to not need side income. At least that's their goal. For salaried employees, you don't have to search for work so there's not a need unless they want more money or are not paid enough salaried.

[quick grove]

I work on

• HTML/CSS front end web development. Editing and Modifications and redesigning of website.
• Complete wordpress front-end development.
• Web UI design + Banner Design + Logo design (i withdrew logo design very soon because i found out i am not that much creative)

you can find my fiverr profile here
https://www.fiverr.com/adilzulfiqar?up_rollout=true
The projects i compile on a website as a portfolio
https://cursorlab.com
and my UI design projects on 99design to give you a slightest idea of my work.
https://99designs.com/profiles/adilzulfiqar
i wasted alot of projects to showcase during these year as i was very very much careless compiling a portfolio,
I am not sure, my words will take this conversation to somewhere any extent where i portray myself as miserable. but kindly only consider my question from my first message ONLY. Thank you.

[young dragon]

I do feel like maybe you’re jumping to the conclusion a bit too fast when it comes to should you start ur own business or find work somewhere like all the points Hanna mentioned above there’s pros and cons to both so just focus on what you want… what is it that you want? What is your goal?

[astral anchor]

in my opinion it looks like you have enough projects to make a nice portfolio, i know you said

i remember few projects which i complete and compile them into a website. However i found, compiling them into one place is just a very tiny basic thing, portfolio game is much more than that, Copy writing, explaining what designer do during project, showcase tiny details taken over then portfolio and polished person's profile.
but you can take those projects, go back and add more information to make it into a full project

[still shard]

It also depends on what you want, a lot of portfolios in here are geared towards UX designers or designers who want to get a full time position at a company or agency. If you want freelance clients, they might enjoy more high level instead if case studies.

[quick grove]

I read Hanna message. It helps.
i want to pursue what i love, Designing. User Interface and i am very fond of vector graphics however a rising boom of eCommerce industry + a loop of few projects per month with some same few bucks totally distracting my decision to pursue what i love.
So what is best?

• wait for right time, pursue the thing i love or do i start spending my energy and my attention on small scale business to set up income which may be above more than the kitchen income i am earning?

if you suggest First option>
what is best? remain in freelancing ( i have fiver portfolio) or working as a salaried person, like Hanna.
If freelancer, then what additional things i can add into myself to stand up as things are updating very quickly and i found out i did not catch up.
if working as salaried person, i will be totally new to entire different environment, so i must know the behavior of agencies, and internal environment situation.
i have been reading the jobs options, there are things which is more than requiring skill set. like engagement with team and engineers plus learning additional software or solutions like figma etc. this will take additional time to familiar.
lol i have one life to spend and right now i am totally considering what option which i can decide to get out of this per month kitchen income loop. this is why i am opening up to seek career advice.

[analog trail]

When you say per month kitchen income loop, do you mean you’re looking to increase your income?

[young dragon]

I think he means essentially hes frustrated all the effort is only putting food on the table

and not able... to do more be more and what next steps to get there to feel less financial stress

[analog trail]

I’m thinking, maybe picking some of the bigger projects to make case studies

Becoming salaried takes time…the process of applying, interviewing, doing take home assignments. You’ll need some kind of budget to buffer for that time.

[young dragon]

all i was going to add is... sometimes its not about finding new projects

but really polishing existing old ones... and making it shine which takes a lot of time and sometimes could be done after the client work finishes

[analog trail]

Yeah…and also to leave out the micro tasks on Fiverr if that’s income you can go without…

[young dragon]

there was a session months ago on DB and I think it still applies well here

its also the same advice I received from a recruiter and senior designer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrpSDOsS0aA

TLDR - Specialize and find your own Niche

thats how you can charge more but also tailor yourself more to companies