There are more creative jobs than ever before, and new businesses springing up every day. While many companies choose to hire full-time staff, others choose to hire freelance or contract workers. In fact, freelancing has continued to grow exponentially since the early 2010s, and it’s not going to be slowing down anytime soon.
For professionals who want to attain creative careers, or get clients based on creative work, the ability to showcase skills and experience is paramount. This is where having a portfolio comes into play. Many industries require portfolios. A few common industries regularly using portfolios include:
- Graphic Design
- Web Design
- Writing
- Cosmetology
- Video Editing
- Photography
- Architecture
- Fashion Design
Adobe Portfolio offers a great way for professionals to show their best work to potential clients and employers. First released in 2016, this platform has become a user-friendly alternative to more complicated website builders because users don’t have to know or use code to effectively showcase their work.
In this overview, you’ll learn about what Portfolio is, the key components, and how and where to learn it if you want to add this skill to your career repertoire.
What is Adobe Portfolio?
Adobe Portfolio is a platform used for building portfolio websites. This code-free website builder is great for designing “beautifully simple creative portfolio websites.” It’s a place where creatives can easily manage and display their projects.
A few particularly helpful aspects of Portfolio are the capacity to create an unlimited number of custom pages, host an unlimited number of galleries of creative work, and, in true Adobe form, customize your styles and design aspects. The platform also includes hosting and the ability to use a custom domain, which means you can present your work in the most professional way possible without having to have a third-party hosting vendor.
Professionals from all types of industries use Portfolio to show off their work. If you want to build your website and have it look clean and professional without knowing coding, Portfolio might be an excellent tool for you.
Key Components of Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio is a handy platform for creating a portfolio quickly and easily. Although the idea of Portfolio is, in itself, convenient, there are some factors that make it ideal for creatives.
These six features are important to learn and understand as you explore the possibilities of Adobe Portfolio.
Graphics-Centric Templates
One of the most important aspects of a portfolio is the way it looks and how easily a viewer can see examples of your work. For Graphic Designers and other artists who work with images and graphics, having a portfolio that effectively displays their art is key.
Portfolio has many graphics-centered templates, which means your art and designs are front and center. Your best creative work can do the heavy lifting of leaving a memorable impression on future employers or clients simply by virtue of the fact that it’s tastefully and prominently displayed.
The templates make it easy to update your portfolio without having to restructure entire pages or the whole website to accommodate new and impressive work as you create it.
Responsive Design Templates
A major perk of Adobe Portfolio templates is that they’re designed to be responsive. This means that when someone looks at your portfolio on their mobile device, it looks as good as it does on a desktop or laptop.
Mobile accessibility is critical for creatives because many times, they’re communicating on the go. For instance, say you share your portfolio with someone and it’s not based on responsive design. They open the website on their phone and can’t easily navigate through the projects, but because they’re away from their desk, they can’t look at the full effect of your work.
This could lead to losing new client work or getting passed over for a project—all because your portfolio wasn’t designed responsively.
Responsive design templates in Portfolio allow changes such as icons adjusting to the correct size when the viewing format changes and the color of the navigation icon to make it stand out.
Flexible, Customizable Designs
Because creatives are unique, it’s important for their portfolios to reflect not simply their work, but also who they are as an artist and as a professional. Flexible, customizable designs make this a simple task.
One particularly useful feature of customizable design is that Portfolio templates are easy to work with. You can swap the colors, change the fonts, create custom styles, and even design your own layouts. If you have a vision in your mind, chances are, you can start with a template that has the elements you want and create exactly what you want.
One of the best flexible aspects is the array of content tools, specifically photo grids. With photo grids, you can create a collage of your work with a large number of images. It’s straightforward to drag and move the photos to wherever you want, or even sort them with the click of a button.
Live Editing, No Coding Necessary
If you haven’t done web design, or don’t do it often, it can be hard to imagine what a particular design will look like until it’s actually in place. With some website builders, you have to place a block of content, save, and preview; however, with Portfolio, you can do live editing, which means that when you make a change, you can see it instantly. You also don’t need to know coding to design in the program.
Adobe Fonts is a great feature for live editing because as you try out different fonts or font families, you’ll be able to tell right away if you like it or if it doesn’t create the tone you want.
Another neat feature that works well is the Lightroom and Portfolio integration. For Photographers working in Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, or even Lightroom Mobile, it’s easy to create a photo grid and import your photos directly to Portfolio. Another perk of the flexible designs and templates.
Link to Custom Domains & Domain Name Registration
Your work is your brand—it’s what sets you apart from every other Designer and creator out there. For this reason, it’s a good idea to purchase your own domain name and connect it to Adobe Portfolio.
Your domain name is the URL people type in the search bar to find your website. Portfolio does provide a myportfolio.com domain, but it’s best if you have a custom domain name (like nobledesktop.com) because it increases your exposure in search engines and is easier to promote. Not to mention it looks more professional.
Adobe provides some easy-to-follow instructions on how to navigate the domain purchasing and Portfolio connection processes. There are multiple ways to connect the domain once you’ve procured it.
Syncs with Behance Account
Behance, the social media site for creative work, is connected to Adobe Portfolio. If you already have a Behance account, you can auto-populate projects from Behance to your portfolio site. This saves you time and work because you can post your project in one place rather than having to duplicate it in both places.
If you don’t have a Behance account, you can still use Portfolio. When you publish projects within your portfolio site, Adobe automatically creates a Behance account for you. That doesn’t mean you have to use the social media site, but since the two are connected, an account must exist for both.
If/when you do want to post on Behance, it will be easy to showcase your best projects straight from your portfolio.
Careers that Benefit from Adobe Portfolio
Adobe Portfolio is flexible and can be a great tool for many professionals.
The primary task Portfolio accomplishes is to showcase your work. Depending on your industry, that may include photos, videos, illustrations, or sketches. You can customize the site to your needs, which means that your portfolio can share your personality and function in a way that works best for you and your future clients or employers.
These are some careers that can use Portfolio to maintain a collection of their best work:
- Graphic Designers create designs for digital and print projects. They usually work with private clients or businesses, and can also coordinate the production of items with their design on them, like hats or shirts. Graphic design portfolios are largely photo-based and represent a selection of their best designs.
- Web Designers design and create websites. Their main goal is to create an aesthetically pleasing and potentially high-converting website for individual clients and/or businesses. Portfolios from web designers often offer a combination of graphics, samples of websites they’ve designed, and explanatory text.
- Content Creators write the content on websites, like blogs, social media, and sales pages. These writers, although experts in words and messaging, use their portfolios to showcase their voice and the ability to build brands through content. Content creator portfolios may also highlight social media posts and supplemental graphics they’ve designed.
- Digital Designers create digital assets, such as logos and other branding elements, for businesses. They often work on a freelance basis, or on marketing teams. Design portfolios are highly visual and demonstrate a range of projects highlighting the individual’s design skills.
- Video Editors work closely with images, sound, and motion graphics to create professional videos. They often add sound and graphics to video projects, as well as work with raw video footage to get it ready to edit. Their portfolios focus on video projects and special skills they bring to the table (such as creating special effects).
- Photographers capture life’s special moments and turn them into tangible memories of a specific time. With all kinds of specialties, taking photos and working with them is what unites the profession. It stands to reason that photography portfolios demonstrate a creative’s skills and the special touch they bring to their images.
- Architects plan and design structures and buildings, as well as oversee the construction process. They maintain portfolios of their previous design projects to show their experience and artistic vision for future projects and clients.
- Fashion Designers imagine, sketch, and bring new clothes and accessories to life. From shirts to dresses to hats to handbags, all textiles begin with a design. In this often cutthroat industry, it’s important for fashion professionals to maintain a portfolio of their work not only to get new opportunities, but also to show their growth and development over time.
- Illustrators & Concept Artists create drawings, paintings, and other illustrations for creative projects. They produce custom art for clients, books, or even concept art for products, depending on their specialty. Artists must maintain a visually appealing portfolio of their best artwork to engage new clients and projects.
How to Learn Adobe Portfolio
If you’re looking for ways to build a professional portfolio that doesn’t require coding knowledge, Adobe Portfolio may be a great option to try.
You can begin to familiarize yourself with what should be in a professional portfolio free through Adobe. They have a great tutorial on how to begin putting together projects. If you’re interested in knowing more about graphic design portfolios in general, Noble Desktop also has a free Getting Started in Graphic Design seminar that covers the basics, including why having a portfolio is a necessity.
If you learn better with an instructor leading the way, or want to be able to ask questions as you learn, Noble also offers paid design certificate options live online and in-person in New York City.
Certificate programs that offer Adobe Portfolio training include:
- Graphic Design Certificate
- Graphic Design Program (Remote)
- Visual Design Certificate
- Digital Design Certificate
- Video Editing Certificate
- Motion Graphics Certificate
- Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate
Where to Learn Adobe Portfolio
If you already know you want to use Adobe Portfolio to show off your creative work, there are several reputable certificates that walk you through the process step-by-step.
Noble Desktop offers a Graphic Design Certificate, which covers Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign in-depth. At the end of the course, there’s a specific curriculum for how to take the projects you’ve been working on throughout the program and build them into Portfolio.
For those interested in working on websites and UX and UI design, the Visual Design Certificate offers a chance to learn Photoshop and Illustrator alongside XD. Special topics at the end of the course include graphic design portfolio and visual portfolio design work. Students learn the difference between how to set up portfolio pieces for different types of projects.
For a comprehensive look at Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and XD, the Digital Design Certificate is a great option. You’ll learn all of the major graphic design programs, as well as XD, with the bonus of having both graphic design and visual portfolio work at the end. It’s a solid combination for creatives who want to offer more than one design service.
If you’re looking for a completely remote experience to learn the ins and outs of graphic design, including major Adobe programs, how to set up your portfolio, and how to prepare for the graphic design job market, the new Graphic Design Program (Remote) program might be ideal.
On the other hand, graphic design is more than 2D images. If you’re interested in video editing or motion graphics, there’s a Video Editing & Motion Graphics Certificate that combines the knowledge and software needed for both industries. There are also separate certification programs for each industry: Video Editing Certificate and Motion Graphics Certificate.
If you’d rather learn from your own home or office, you have the option to take the certifications live online. Live online courses offer the same benefits of instructor-led coursework and classroom community without the commute.
How Do You Purchase Adobe Portfolio?
Adobe Portfolio is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud.
Although you can’t purchase it on its own, Portfolio is available in the all apps plan, the Photography plans, and with any single application. In other words, as long as you have at least one Adobe program, you can access Portfolio for free.
The all applications subscription costs about $53 per month, and grants access to all 20+ applications plus numerous non-software benefits. The Photography plans include Photoshop, Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and a variable amount of cloud storage depending on your needs. You can purchase a Photography subscription for $9.99 per month (20 GB of storage) or $19.99 per month (1 TB of storage).
On the other hand, if you simply want to create with a program like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can purchase the subscription for $21 per month and access Portfolio that way, too.