Template:

The Ultimate
Portfolio Checklist
DELETE THIS PAGE

Your portfolio provides clients with a first impression of who you are
and what makes your work unique. It’s also a powerful tool for clientsto determine whether you’re the right fit for a project. If you don’t havean online portfolio yet, now is a great time to make one.
The checklist below—compiled by members of our in-house team, wholook at hundreds of illustration portfolios each month—can help youdetermine what’s most important to include, what you may be missing,or where you can improve.
Want to learn more about how to showcase your style? Check out thissection’s Warm Up and Deep Dive!

This template came from Tyrus, a free digital toolkit from Airbnb Design.
To learn about Tyrus and find more downloadable templates, visit tyrus.design.
Feel free to edit this template and utilize it for your own purposes.

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Design, Layout & Navigation
CHECKLIST #1

Start simple. Your website shouldn’t distract from what clients should befocusing on first and foremost—your work. No sparkly cursors or animateddogs running across your screen, please!

Is your work formatted clearly and consistently?
Are your illustrations positioned against a neutral color that won’t compete with the work itself?
Is the copy on your navigation bar easy to understand?
Steer clear of illustrator jargon and stick to language everyone is familiarwith.
Try saying “landscapes” instead of “environments” or “hand-crafted”
instead of “traditional media”. Clients of every background should be able
to quickly understand what you’re trying to convey.
Are your illustrations categorized in a way that makes sense?
Categories should be based on what you’re trying to be hired for and easy
to navigate.
Are the categories and the work you’re featuring up-to-date?

Projects & Illustrations
CHECKLIST #2

Now it’s time to think about how you’d like to present your work. We
recommend offering a little bit of background information about each project tohelp clients better understand how you like to work.

For each project, do you state who your client was?
Do you list the other creatives who were involved?
Do you explain the project‘s goals, and what problems you were helping to solve?
Keep this as succinct as possible!
Do you show any process work?
This may not be necessary for every project, but can include sketches,
references, and color drafts.

About Page & Contact Information
CHECKLIST #3

Last but not least, a strong portfolio isn’t complete without an informative“about” page and easy-to-locate contact information. Too often, we’ve had topass up opportunities to work with talented illustrators, simply because wecouldn’t figure out how to get in touch. Don’t leave out this all-important detail!
Does your “about” page cover the basics?
Think: where you’re based, what medium you work in, what inspires you, etc.
Does this page provide a clear understanding of your work experience?
Keep in mind, there’s no need to list every job, award, or internship—think ofthis section as your best-of highlight reel.
Make this information as easily accessible as possible. Skip thedownloadable resumes and LinkedIn links!
Is your contact information easy to locate?
Make it easy for clients to get in touch by displaying your email address in a
way that’s clearly labeled and quick to find!