Student Design Portfolio Cheat Sheet

21 min readOct 8, 2021

Updated for 2025! A master list of tips to make your student graphic design portfolio better

Cinema 4D composition using Greyscalegorilla forms. Fog added in Runway.

Having reviewed hundreds of student portfolios over the last decade plus, it is always exciting to see the evolution of student projects and how they come to life in the form of exceptional execution and ideas. Since the advent of visual AI tools and the acceleration of platforms like Canva and Figma in the last few years, student work has increased in quality and sophistication. Despite all of our new tools, the percentage of student work that is truly exceptional remains quite small.

In 2025 it’s easier than ever to be average at design. The crucial ingredient to stand out is smart ideas, craft, and the ability to demonstrate how all of the parts of a visual system can come together in compelling and memorable ways. The biggest challenges for students remain the same — limited time and limited focus. Negotiating distractions, social media, other coursework, and the nature of being a young person in school can put the depth of your creative work on the back burner. As a result students do not actively remind themselves that what you learn in school serves as the foundation and road map that can lead to a professional career and a fulfilling creative life. Another huge contributing factor is students don’t really know what agencies are looking for when they view the work to hire a potential intern or a junior designer.

In this newly updated article as of April 2025, I’ve tried to put together the major tips and guidance that I have given students in an effort to improve the presentation of their work when looking for their first career experience. A lot of what you will read below is common sense but some of it may be ideas that you might not have considered or thought about. Whether you are about to graduate, just out of school or are entering a second career as a designer, I hope that you find these tips helpful.

How much work is enough work to show?

For a student portfolio, I recommend showing about eight projects. Why eight? Someone reviewing your work, be it in person, virtually, or through your site or social channels, will have a limited amount of time. I have found that having only 4–5 projects is too few and may come off as if you have not done enough work. In contrast, if you have 10–12 projects, it may be too many for a busy art director or designer to review easily. If you show about 8 projects it is enough to show variety and depth without overdoing it. 8–9 projects also allow for a balanced grid of two across or three across within a site context that will feel clean and substantive. I would consider putting together about 10 projects and then curating what you show based on the studio reviewing your work.

What kind of projects have the most impact?

For any portfolio you have to show a range of work in both subject matter, application, and in presentation. You should also anchor your portfolio with at least 3 projects that are your strongest work. Keeping in mind limited time and attention span for those that will be viewing, I would recommend starting out strong, sharing something midway through that is a little more off beat and memorable and then end strong.

With regard to subject matter, there are no wrong answers really, but I would suggest the following list as a starting point:

Show at least one project that demonstrates that you are strong typographically. The fresher and more current the type selection the better
Share multiple case studies that demonstrate that you can bring a brand to life across many audience touch points and show how the brand message is adapted for different media. Make sure your use of photography is strong
Present at least one project that is cultural in nature and has social relevance
Walk through a project that expresses one of your passions that you are most excited about. Enthusiasm matters
Presenting at least one project that is self initiated outside of the classroom is great. It shows that you are into design beyond what teachers make you do
I would also discourage showing incomplete work or too many one-off experiments as these can be hard to understand and may take too much time to explain
Showing a little bit of your process on one or two projects is good but don’t overdo it. I love seeing a glimpse into all the work that did not see the light of day
Try to make student work feel like professional work. Imagine you got paid to do it!
Having a section that is only illustration or just logos for example is totally ok too. The crucial thing is that people should be able to understand what they see easily.
Within your projects, make sure you are demonstrating your ability to design from button to billboard. The more you can demonstrate that you can design across a wide array of content problems and use cases will make projects far stronger. Not everything is a billboard mockup!

Considerations around portfolio formats

Ideally any student should be able to share their portfolio physically as well as online. Having some kind of website as well as a presentation in Figma, Keynote, or Google slides is a must. It is important to understand that a person’s experience is different if they are viewing a website or PDF on their own than when they are sitting with you in an interview. You must design your portfolio for these different user experiences. In my view, having a physical portfolio or book is not required but you should be able to share your work in a presentation format on a laptop or iPad in an office setting. Having examples of anything printed such as books, zines, records and the like is great to bring to an interview as you walk through a project. Showing real things is a plus.

Recommended portfolio formats:

Have a great presentation in Figma, Keynote or Google Slides. Keep in Mind that Figma and Keynote integrate video more easily
Optimize the above presentation as a PDF that can either be attached to an email or linked to via Dropbox or Google Drive
A website. Any of the website services are fine as long as you don’t just install a template as-is. You need some level of personalization or customization
Making your website look good on a smartphone is often overlooked. You would be surprised how many people view work on their phones
A physical portfolio is not required but you may want to consider collecting your physical samples into a book or folder form you can bring with you to a meeting

Creating a portfolio website of your work

For many students building a portfolio website can feel like an arduous task but it is a vital necessity because your site is probably the format most people will see your work in. Before you start building a site you must focus on gathering all of the project assets you will need. You will likely want to jump into building a site in Squarespace, Cargo, Webflow, WordPress, Wix or another site building tool but don’t do this until you have all of your raw material. I cannot stress enough that the work is what makes your site good, not the site format.

Once you have all of your work together I recommend laying out the key pages in Figma. Why Figma? In my view Figma is a standard design software tool just like Photoshop and Illustrator and it is ideal for presenting work and laying out your work so that you can see it in the form of a site experience. Before you jump into Figma you should look at other sites that present case studies and pull together references that resonate with you. Look at agencies you admire and interrogate how they present their work. Check out the work section at Athletics!

An important thing to consider is your grid of thumbnails that show your work. A thumbnail for a project has to be beautiful and well designed. You want people to feel compelled to click on it to see the full project. Project thumbnails can be animated but keep in mind that a person viewing your site will have limited time so make your work easy to access and understand. Making sure your site works well on a smartphone is also crucial. You may need to prepare alternate presentations of some of your work that are more vertical in nature so they look great on a mobile device.

At the very least your site will consist of a homepage showing a grid of work, a page for each project as well as an about page. Focus on these three site screens and get them resolved on both desktop and mobile before you build. Depending on your work, you may also want to design each of your project pages in Figma so you can figure how you want to present them. It may sound annoying and time consuming to have to design everything in Figma and then rebuild the screens in a site builder but I have found it is much easier to fuss around in Figma than it is to try to design while also building in a site builder.

Website tips:

Gather all of your project assets and raw material first
Make sure all assets from your projects are complete and compelling
Write explanations for each project! Not just images.
Pull together site references you like
Design key desktop and mobile screens in Figma
Work on making amazing project thumbnails that show your work in the best light
Start building the site only when you feel that your site design is resolved
Any site builder is fine to use as long as you do not just use a default or existing template.
You must make the site feel like yours and it must feel crafted and look great on a smartphone

Thoughts on how to leverage mockups in your work

Using mockups to show how a visual design can take on different applications and form factors is the norm. There is however a false assumption among some students that a mock up will make your work better. It will not. Mockups are intended to give your work the impression that it has been manifest in reality so that it is more believable. Making your work believable is not the same as making your work better. When evaluating a portfolio, if the foundational aspects of your design decisions are not formally and conceptually resolved it will not matter what mockup you use.

I encourage students to focus on the design system first and work through the articulation of the system as a logical set of tools using type, color, image and form. If you can articulate how the design system operates then the form factors you chose to show how the system comes to life will reinforce the strength of the system. Keep in mind that not all mockups are created equal. Sites like Mockup Maison, Motion Array, Akoya, and others are available to everyone. Adobe Illustrator now has a mockup tool.

Over the last handful of years everyone is using mockups so it’s really about making the ones you use unique and appropriate for your work. One thing I encourage is that you make your own mockups and to also photograph your work. Nothing can replace great photography of your work. Alternatively, there is a trend to mock up your work in 3D which is an option but can be very time consuming. Adobe Dimension, Blender and Cinema 4D are all options but will require a good bit of time to learn and master. To give you mockups an extra level of nuance you can consider adding in subtle motion using AI or animation.

Tips for mockups:

Nail down your design system first
Make your use case unique, not sure posters and billboards
Do not use the work of agencies to make mockups. Bad form!
If you use mockups, pay for them. Try to make your own if you can
Nothing replaces a great photo of a real artifact
If you use 3D, be prepared for a learning curve
Don’t just present something on an empty background. Give some context as to what it is intended to be
Remember, it’s not about the mockup, it is about the design that it is highlighting!
You can explore using AI for mockups but be wary. AI mockups can often feel too much like AI

Being clear and concise when explaining your work

Explaining your work is a tricky one when you are just starting out because a lot of what you have made may be the product of a project for a class. You should always frame your work as a project and not a class assignment. I would suggest you subtly label projects so that you do not have to over explain them. A qualifier such as “thesis project” or “brand exploration” can help. In a presentation format like Keynote, Figma, or Google Slides, consider having no more than one slide that explains the project problem and solution. The “problem” is the situation you identified that needs to be addressed. The “solution” is what you decided to do to address your central concept. Make sure this slide has visuals alongside it.

In my view, explaining a project should not take much time or be too complex. The key thing to touch on is what is it about your solution that is unique. Don’t assume the viewer can read your mind and know what a project is about. For example, if your solution is based on some kind of formal device that is a metaphor for the client’s mission then explain that. In the real world, the best work that sees the light of day is never too difficult to explain. If you can make a tagline for each project that encapsulates the reason and value for each one then I would recommend writing this down below the title of the work. If you feel it would be helpful, I would jot down talking points for each project but I would not read these verbatim.

Your ability to write about your work in a short and engaging manner can not be overstated. Consistency, context, brevity, clarity and interest are key. I encourage all students to create a Google Doc that includes language for all of your projects. A Google Doc allows you to read your words without the project visuals so you can determine if the writing makes sense and is clear. It also allows you to more easily make your explanatory writing similar in length from project to project. Writing about your own projects can be difficult. I recommend taking an audit of project descriptions from other agencies and portfolios you find online and dissect what you like about them. You can use these as inspiration and a jumping off point. Don;t be afraid to use AI tools like ChatGPT to help you in your writing but be sure to make it your own.

Once you feel that your writing is in a good place, have at least 1–2 people review it and provide feedback.

Tips on writing:

Focus on clarity and brevity
Use a Google Doc to collect your language
Project descriptions should make sense without visuals
Make sure project descriptions are similar in length
Have a few people review and provide feedback

Getting your foot in the door.

Over the last few years most if not all interviews for entry level design positions have been done virtually. This means that the first thing that a prospective agency sees is an email from you, your resume, and either a PDF of your portfolio or your website. The email you write, your resume, and your portfolio are going to do all of the initial hard work. For most agencies, they receive countless emails each month from young designers interested in getting an internship or a full time job. So the question arises, how do you stand out and ideally get an interview?

First and foremost, the work is the most important. Going back to the ratio of okay work, to solid work to exceptional work I see in design students year after year, the fit and finish of your projects has to be great. There are a few things I look for. One of the biggest for me is can I see in the work that the person is aware of the greater world of graphic design and that it is apparent that they are looking at contemporary things and attempting to create contemporary work. This boils down to a person’s command of style and an awareness of what contemporary design looks and behaves like across type, image, message, and form.

If you are a student and you are into design beyond what teachers require of you for classes, then you will be looking at agency work and following amazing designers on Instagram and through this osmosis your work should indicate that you are doing this. This will come down to not only your formal ability but also your use of color, contemporary typeface selection, composition, motion and the like. If your work feels contemporary and it is apparent you are exploring relevant ideas and attempting to make your work well crafted and beautifully presented then you have met the first criteria.

Your email and resume should back up your work. If you don’t think you are good at writing, embrace Grammarly and Chat GPT. Personalize your email to the agency specifically, mention their work and what you like about it and why you think you are a good fit. Be honest, keep it short and above all else focus on the value you can bring to the agency and where you want to go.

Here are some key things to consider when reaching out to an agency:

Be in love with design and make sure your work reflects your love of design
Make sure your work is crafted to the highest level possible
If an agency has an opening for an intern or junior designer, state that you are applying for this position. It sounds silly but many students overlook this
Mention the agency’s work you are most excited about
Explain in brief why you are interested in the role and why you think you are a good candidate
Mention what you re good at and the value you can bring
Do not copy and paste the same email to each agency. Countless times I have received an email from a student that refers to a different agency in their email because they forgot to change the agency name. Do not do this!
Make sure your resume looks great. Do not overdesign it. It is important to list your skills and the programs you are proficient in
A recommendation from a teacher or professional is very helpful. I have had teachers or colleagues that know me email me and let me know to keep an eye out for a student’s portfolio that they felt was a good fit
If you are sending digital files (like a pdf) make sure you name the file with your last name. Think about the receiver. How many “resume.pdf” files do you think they receive?

Your personal appearance and vibe

Be it in person or virtually, showing up as your best self to an interview is crucial. There is no need to get too formal in your dress but definitely show up as if you are going to work but don’t be afraid to express your personal style. My personal view is that in every meeting, regardless of who it is or if it is in person or virtual, show up for work. This goes for every role in an organization. It demonstrates professionalism and respect. Being nervous is often inevitable but try to relax and be yourself.

Let the person interviewing you lead the conversation and be ready to ask and answer questions. If your interview is virtual, clean up your background and center yourself in the frame. As long as your environment is not a mess and reflects you then you are good. I prefer less visual stimuli on a video call but would also encourage you not to blur out your background or use a fake background. First impressions should be about authenticity while curating the best version of you. I always recommend that you Imagine yourself 2 years from now and project yourself forward toward that.

Considerations regarding appearance and personality:

Be yourself but dress for work even if it is a virtual meeting
If you are one a video call, clean up your background, make your bed, plant life helps
Be articulate but not verbose
Be positive and don’t over sell your work
Ask questions. Be curious. Eye contact!
Ask how you can bring value to the tema and the role
Say thanks and be appreciative for the time

Where AI imagery can fit into your work

With the recent updates to GPT4o, Runway, Midjourney, Visual Electric, and several other platforms, AI Imagery is getting really really good. For students and professionals alike the real danger when using AI imagery in your work is that it either feels like AI, or is so weird or fantastical that it sucks the energy out of your designs. The key when using AI imagery in projects is the art of realism and nuance.

Generating an okay image in AI can take mere seconds but creating the exact right image can take hours. For students, don’t get lost in the AI prompt vortex. Get your idea and design down first. Focus on your idea, the visual system, composition and typographic craft. If you are sketching and need something to get you thinking or a kickstart, by all means jump into any AI program and make things. But when it comes to making a portfolio that will get you that first job, AI imagery should ideally just look like great photography.

When you are ready for that final polish, you can use Runway, Sora or other AI video tools to make your work move and give it more life but don’t get carried away. Again, beware of the AI vortex where you begin to spend more time trying to get what you want out of the LLM when you could just make something awesome in real life and shoot it on your phone.

In some cases you may want to consider a project that was intentionally made all in AI so it can demonstrate you deep knowledge and familiarity. This is a good idea but should be clearly explained as such. Check out Porto Roche’s Swipe for an example of the power of AI photographic realism. Hard to do but achievable! Being able to explain how you are using AI tools is an important part of being a creative design person. Be prepared to speak about what tools you are using and how you are using it.

Why motion is important in your work

It seems like in just the past year or two we have seen an explosion of motion tools and templates that can help you bring your work to life. After Effects, Cavalry, Canva and web based platforms like Modyfi and Space Type Generator among many others can help you bring motion into your work.

Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have made motion a central variable in making your work more engaging. Motion should be part of what you do and should be demonstrated in the instances where this makes the most sense. Some motion goes a long way so don’t feel you need to overdo it.

I prefer seeing how motion can bring a brand system to life. How can motion allow you to build a brand system at scale and at a wide range of use cases, sizes, and formats. Some folks like using motion templates to give still designs more excitement. Feel free to use motion templates strategically to elevate your work but don’t go crazy. Given that there are so many tools and ways that motion can be leveraged within graphic design and brand systems, as a student or your designer definitely work to learn how to integrate some degree of motion in your work. Motion is how contemporary brand systems express themselves.

Thoughts on using Chat GPT, Claude, and LLMs

Having worked with students over the last few years, I’ve seen first hand how ChatGPT has changed how people develop ideas and write. It can help your thinking in so many ways that it’s deserving of an entire article to two. I would recommend that you use Chat GPT, Claude, or similar AI tools to have it evaluate your concepts, give you new ideas, critique your resume, and help you sharpen what you are trying to communicate. Don’t just copy and paste from it! Like all of your work, review, edit and make it your own.

One of the funnest things I like to do with Chat GPT4o is to upload a mood board or Figjam board and ask it to tell me what the brand idea is or to give me their interpretation of what they are seeing. I find this both entertaining and helpful to validate my thinking. GPT4o, and similar LLMs like Gemini, Copilot, and others, are tools everyone working today should be using and mastering. It is my view that when you start to deeply work with GPT4o as a work companion it can easily make you twice as efficient if not more so. For those that would like to keep up on things AI related, I highly encourage you to subscribe to the newsletter The Neuron.

A note on social channels and LinkedIn

If you use Instagram to showcase your work then this is a great channel to mention in your email and resume. Not everyone uses social channels to highlight work so don’t feel like you need to include it if it does not support your work. Setting up a LinkedIn profile is great. It’s not crucial when you are just starting out but it does show that you are working to set yourself up as a professional creative. Often teachers encourage students to set up a LinkedIn profile. If you do, make sure you do a bit of research and like your resume and portfolio, be thoughtful and clear. Here is a good article on tips for students from LinkedIn.

Some final thoughts on design craft

When you are entering into your first design job the separation I often see is that a student is still trying to understand what design is for themselves while a design firm is looking to get work done. This is not to say that you will not learn on the job, you certainly will, it’s just that you need to have a level of competence that shows that you have your own forward momentum both creatively and executionally that aligns with the agency’s needs.

Given the nature of the world as it is, having access to design references and resources is really a non issue. Just like being into music, art or anything else, if you are into graphic design you will immerse yourself, dig deep, and have a natural hunger to know as much as you can. This drive should get you far enough in knowledge and execution to have enough work to get your first job. What separates one job from another is the level of craft you bring.

The more work you put into your creativity as a student and young designer will exponentially benefit you once you work for someone else. Honing your thinking and the craft of the making should be the central thing you are working on. Everyday you should be making, pulling references, self examining, iterating and listening to your creative colleagues. This is your chance to chart your own path and your own journey as a designer and it will only be as rich as the energy and skill you put into everything you do no matter how cool or mundane.

Our world is in the midst of a great deal of change and how graphic design and creative services fit into it will continue to evolve. Do not be discouraged! We have the best and most powerful tools we have ever had for form giving and this your time to shine. When it comes to making great work and finding a creative life that is fulfilling, what does not change is the value of optimism, curiosity, articulateness, and craft. When these qualities shine through your work will also be great.

Parting thoughts:

Work hard and try to make everything good
Do not be paralyzed by fear or over-thinking
Create as much as you can and then edit, evaluate, refine. This is the most important thing
Know your typography and go deep and learn contemporary type foundries and typefaces
Learn some level of motion. Brands are living things
AI tools are your friend. Use them as a part of your toolkit and work to master them to help you. Just don’t lean on them as a crutch
Learn Figma or at least familiarize yourself with it. Most if not all agencies use it
iPhone cameras are really good now. Between our smart phones and image processing apps there really is no excuse for bad photography
Try not to rip everything off the internet. Make your own stuff
If you dip into progressive technology like AR and VR that is great. Just make sure it feels like design
Get as much feedback as possible from friends, teachers and anyone in design you respect
Do your research on agencies, Focus on the ones that align with your work and values.
Don’t get discouraged!
Make things you think will be memorable and you will be excited to share
Be able to talk about your work that is clear concise and positive

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For more helpful information, buy my book:
A Visible Distance: Craft, Creativity and the Business of Design.

Check out Athletics. We are a brand innovation studio!

I love speaking to students, studios, and clients. For more on me check out mattowens.com, @mattvolumeone or drop me an email

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Randy Hunt, co-chair of the SVA graphic design program, Ashley Pigford, Associate Professor at the University of Delaware and Tricia Treacy Associate Professor at Dartmouth for much needed inspiration and for reviewing and providing feedback on this article. Their insights on what students find most challenging when graduating was extremely helpful.

Useful Links

Student Design Portfolio Cheat Sheet Presentation for The Herb Lubalin Study Center at Cooper Union

Darren Yao’s Figjam of collected AI tools. Thanks Darren!