Whether you’re planning on collaborating with other talented creatives, or you’re just hoping to show off your work on a blog or website, finding ways to share your documents and content is an important part of making it in the world of web and graphic design. You’ll want to increase your exposure and make some of your best work open source so that others will use it and your name will grow in prestige. Here are some cool ways to get you started in sharing your work with the world.
Blog
The first port of call for most designers is to set up a blog – whether it’s WordPress or a more technical equivalent, you just need your own corner of the internet upon which to publicize your work. You’ll then be able to direct commissions and recruiters to your portfolio, linking it through with your LinkedIn profile or other freelance working platforms. It’s recommended that you don’t host your work on platforms that you don’t have complete control over – otherwise, you never know what creative rights you retain over your work and what privileges you might have sacrificed to upload it.
V-log
This is possibly only one for a certain few characters who feel they’d enjoy sitting in front of a camera and talking about their work, but vlogging has become an important method through which you’ll be able to share your work. Viewers are most likely to be fellow designers, and so you’ll find that hosting shows on sites such as YouTube is a great way to boost your contact book and potentially open the door to some fun collaboration or even a small pay packet from YouTube themselves, should you attract enough views.
Zine
Plenty of self-employed business people have business cards that they distribute to their networks in an effort to share their expertise and professionalism. That hardly sets them apart from the crowd, though, and having your own mini-zine with all your best graphic design features inside is a fantastic middle-ground between the virtual blog portfolio and a physical, printed copy. It’s something you’ll be able to post to big companies you’re applying to, and you’ll always be able to carry one around in your bag in case you happen across an interested party while on the road.
Cloud
Uploading your work onto the cloud might seem a naive move considering the office 365 security concerns that have become the main way in which cloud storage is perceived by the public. The truth, you’ll find, is that it’s a secure platform that’s a no-brainer for sharing certain materials with your colleagues. The fact that you can instantaneously upload, download, edit or view documents remotely puts you in a fabulous position for collaborative work across states and continents, and allows you to work remotely without needing to have access to an external hard drive or other hefty apparatus. It’s an excellent platform for collaboration and group editing – so consider using it.
Sharing your design work is imperative to building a network of connections that will help you get by, so use these tips to enhance your portfolio and increase your workflow.