It's All About the Meat, Not the Plate
Last week, I had the opportunity to have my online portfolio critiqued in person by the creative director and associate design director of LEVEL Studios. I got some really positive feedback on the look, content and layout of my site. They really liked the clean aesthetics, how the work is instantly viewable from the home page and the simplicity of having just a couple header links (work and about). It was great to hear that it is a site they would consider when hiring.
I've been using my online portfolio for a little over a year now and have had great success with it. It grabbed the attention of my former boss when I applied for my job at Alorad, Inc. The creative director said that it stood out to him immediately amongst the numerous portfolios he received for the position. You may be thinking that I spent a lot of time and money designing and building my site, but it's actually a free template from Carbonmade. If your someone who doesn't have the time, money or knowledge to build your own online portfolio, this is the solution for you. There are plenty of other free online portfolio sites like Behance and Cargo that offer different options as well.
I wrote this post because I was inspired by what Jon Delman, the associate design director at LEVEL said when talking about using free online portfolios. He said that it's "all about the meat, not the plate". What he's saying here is that the work (the meat) is the most important part of a portfolio, not the plate (the site that contains your work). Nobody cares what the plate looks like from which they're eating their food off of, just as long as it holds the food. Jon also said that it shows that a person is resourceful when using a free template, a quality he looks for when hiring. Don't get me wrong, building your own site is well worth it, especially if you want to be unique and use it to show off your web skills, but if your looking for something easy and simple to use, a free template can be just as effective.
I hope this speaks to those who still need to get themselves an online portfolio. Remember that your work will speak for itself, but also that first impressions are super important. Happy portfolio creating!
– Jack