Carefully selecting artefacts for your portfolio assignment allows you to effectively showcase your skills and growth. This page provides tips to help you choose work that best demonstrates your abilities.
What should I put into my portfolio?
For professional portfolios, the focus is on showcasing a polished, finished product. However, for portfolio assignments, the process and the lessons learnt are as important as the final product. In other words, it's essential to demonstrate your ability to produce quality work and to show how you've grown professionally from the experience.
Here are some tips for achieving this balance through the items you select to go into your portfolio.
Highlight experimentation
Showcasing experimentation in your portfolio is vital, as it reflects your readiness to step out of your comfort zone and learn. Failure is a natural part of the learning process, and demonstrating how these experiences have fostered your growth is important.
Evaluators value seeing how you've turned setbacks into a path towards success. While not every attempt leads to immediate success, highlighting your resilience and the insights gained from experimentation emphasises your determination and innovation.
Show your process
Including drafts can be beneficial to demonstrate the process leading to the final product, but ensure you check your assignment instructions to see if this is required.
If you've received feedback on your work from peers or teaching staff, it can be a good idea to select pieces that demonstrate how you've incorporated that advice. This shows your willingness to learn and adapt.
Additionally, show how you have applied any methodologies and theories that you've encountered during your studies. This displays how you are able to turn theory into practice.
Demonstrate your skills
Your portfolio should clearly convey your capabilities and highlight your strengths. It's important for readers to understand what you are capable of producing.
Displaying the diversity of your work is advantageous, as it demonstrates your ability to work across various areas and apply your skills to different subjects. By presenting a range of projects, you can illustrate your versatility and adaptability.
Reflect your interests
Portfolios offer you the chance to deepen your understanding of areas that interest you. You can tailor your artefacts to align with what you would like to do professionally after your studies. This way, your portfolio will not only demonstrate your current skills but also reflect your passion and future career goals.
