Your Portfolio is Useless
No, really, it is.
It's taken me years to realize this. I've shown my portfolio to dozens of clients, and the sad truth is that what was in it really didn't matter. I might as well have been showing them blank pages. I started not showing my portfolio, and if anything, it made things run smoother. Was my portfolio bad? I don't think it was.
Most clients don't understand design. Obviously, otherwise why would they hire you? But if they don't understand design, then they can't really tell the difference between good and bad design. They can tell you what they like, but there are so many other factors interfering that what they like may have no relationship with design quality. They could like a terrible design because it uses their favorite color, and hate an awesome design because it contains a font that reminds them of their ex's handwriting.
If clients can't see good design, then they can't tell whether your portfolio is good or bad. It's completely useless as a tool for impressing them. All they can tell is whether you've done certain kinds of work ("brochures... check, logos... check... uh-oh, no postcards..."), and maybe whether you've been lucky enough to include something similar to what they want. It turns out showing them your portfolio is a total roll of the dice, you have no way of knowing whether it will be good or bad. It's unlikely to be very good, and it could be very bad.
This is not true, of course, for design-minded clients, like ad agencies, media companies, or other businesses with some degree of creativity. If you're pitching a doorknob making company, however, you might as well leave the pretty pictures at home. They won't understand them, and they're not really interested in them.
What you really sell to a client that doesn't understand design is trust. You must convince them you are capable of doing what they want, and doing it well. They can't tell if that is the case from your work, so you must convince them by projecting self-confidence. If you believe you can do it, so will they. You have to be friendly, capable, and smart. Or good at acting like it. For most people, if they believe you truly believe you can do it, that is more convincing than the greatest portfolio ever assembled. People elect presidents, choose spouses and follow preachers based solely on that person's powerful belief in themselves. Use that to your advantage.
And leave the pretty pictures at home.
It's taken me years to realize this. I've shown my portfolio to dozens of clients, and the sad truth is that what was in it really didn't matter. I might as well have been showing them blank pages. I started not showing my portfolio, and if anything, it made things run smoother. Was my portfolio bad? I don't think it was.
Most clients don't understand design. Obviously, otherwise why would they hire you? But if they don't understand design, then they can't really tell the difference between good and bad design. They can tell you what they like, but there are so many other factors interfering that what they like may have no relationship with design quality. They could like a terrible design because it uses their favorite color, and hate an awesome design because it contains a font that reminds them of their ex's handwriting.
If clients can't see good design, then they can't tell whether your portfolio is good or bad. It's completely useless as a tool for impressing them. All they can tell is whether you've done certain kinds of work ("brochures... check, logos... check... uh-oh, no postcards..."), and maybe whether you've been lucky enough to include something similar to what they want. It turns out showing them your portfolio is a total roll of the dice, you have no way of knowing whether it will be good or bad. It's unlikely to be very good, and it could be very bad.
This is not true, of course, for design-minded clients, like ad agencies, media companies, or other businesses with some degree of creativity. If you're pitching a doorknob making company, however, you might as well leave the pretty pictures at home. They won't understand them, and they're not really interested in them.
What you really sell to a client that doesn't understand design is trust. You must convince them you are capable of doing what they want, and doing it well. They can't tell if that is the case from your work, so you must convince them by projecting self-confidence. If you believe you can do it, so will they. You have to be friendly, capable, and smart. Or good at acting like it. For most people, if they believe you truly believe you can do it, that is more convincing than the greatest portfolio ever assembled. People elect presidents, choose spouses and follow preachers based solely on that person's powerful belief in themselves. Use that to your advantage.
And leave the pretty pictures at home.
posted by JJeffryes at 11:35 PM
3 Comments:
Hi. I think you make a few good points, particulary in the fact that what you really sell to clients is trust. But, as far as I've seen, Portfolios can help a lot in that struggle. It's kinda hard for me to explain myself in english, but I'll try to prove my point.
So, ok, maybe its not the quality of your previous work what your client will be evaluating, but even ignoring the designs themselves, your protfolio still states some things, like:
1) You HAVE a protfolio. So at least you are a real designer (I don't know in America, but in Chile we have to fight architects, publicists, artists and even school students offering "design").
2) The general aspect of your portfolio (design, brand, etc.) can make even a little design studio look like a large company. Bigger is better. A nice and professional website helps a lot, also.
3) The size, importance and recognition of your previous clientes can make you look a lot more important. ("ooooh, so you worked with Kodak?... and HP?...wow"). Even if you did just a small brochure for them, clients unconciously relate you with the whole design strategy and comunication of those companies.
4) It helps the client dream. "You think I could look like them?"
So, even though portfolio is not the essential part of a negotiation, it can still help a lot to build your credibility.
You have some great points there, Can. I have to admit, I was exaggerating things to make my point. A portfolio does help, it just helps in a different way than most designers assume it does.
I definitely agree that using a portfolio to show off prestigious clients and professionalism can be important tools when talking to a client. In this case you are not showing them your design skills, you are giving them reasons to trust you. And that is the most important thing to do when convincing a client to use your services.
Okay,
This makes sense to me jjefreys!
Though the "moderation" by can makes it still looking worthwhile to have a PF.
My own experience: I find it hard to recognize a good design. If I could it could be the first step to make own myself. I am experimenting a lot with colors at the moment.
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