When I was wrapping up my graphic design studies program, I remember my professor encouraging us to think of ourselves as “professionals”. I had no idea what he meant by that. I now know he was trying to motivate us to polish our portfolios before being thrown into an increasingly competitive job market. He knew it was happening with more than just his classroom full of students, too. We had been studying techniques toward self-promotion, and one thing that stuck out in my mind was the idea of an online portfolio.
By this point in my education, I had been through all of one (1) class that even hinted at how I might get a portfolio online. I could build a web site, or at the very least modify a template, but beyond building the thing, I had no clue how to actually get it up and running. I also didn’t want to spend money on hosting space, although I did, eventually.
So, about 5 years later, thinking back on how big of a hassle that was I had one of those “if I knew then what I know now” moments. And with that moment came an idea for a professional-looking, low-cost portfolio website for those willing to invest the time. I’ll also share with you how to use it as a marketing tool and how to integrate some cool social media techniques. Let’s get started.
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Luke Sullivan is a copywriter. Actually, Luke Sullivan is the copywriter. Boasting translation into 5 languages and in it’s 3rd edition, his book Hey Whipple, Squeeze This! A Guide to Creating Great Advertising is required reading in college courses across the nation. As Group Creative Director at GDS&M in Austin, TX, he puts his 25 years in the field to practice, working with clients like United Airlines, Porsche, SunTrust and Miller Lite. Luke was kind enough to fill out our questionnaire to share his Career ADvice.
