Playing The Main Character In Your Portfolio Story

Recently, I’ve been talking about having your portfolio tell the story of your best work. One part of any story is the main character, who, in this case, would be you.

After all, a project is like an adventure. You start out heading in one direction, then things happen, and you end up growing your knowledge, your skills, and producing something that is brilliant.

It would be interesting to see how someone could create a portfolio that did a fantastic job of telling that adventure story.

What were the obstacles that you encountered? How did they force you to change your plans? What made them particularly gnarly? What piece of brilliance did you bring to the table to overcome them? What lessons did you learn in the process?

Who joined you on your adventure? How did you take advantage of their powers and special abilities? How did you compensate for their weaknesses? How did you resolve conflicts? How did you join forces to bring out something better than you could’ve if you had worked alone?

Where did you get surprised? What was it like to see your vision realized? What are your regrets? What are you particularly proud of?

Talking in terms of a main character that undergoes a change is a great way to approach a portfolio project description. It takes the focus away from the artwork and puts it on what you did to actually realize a design.

It nicely brings out what your special powers and talents are and shows how you compensate for your weaknesses. (After all, we all have weaknesses. Why not talk about them honestly and earnestly?)

Go ahead, tell your story. Show us what you can do.