How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples
Tags: portfolio, collections, contentmarketers, journalists
Published: 2022-11-07 08:51:27

---
title: How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples
published: true
date: 2022-10-27 11:17:53 UTC
tags: Portfolio,Collections,ContentMarketers,Journalists
canonical_url: https://authory.com/blog/how-to-create-a-pdf-portfolio-plus-excellent-pdf-portfolio-examples/
---
_[This article was originally published on Authory’s blog.](https://authory.com/blog/how-to-create-a-pdf-portfolio-plus-excellent-pdf-portfolio-examples/)_

 ![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/shutterstock_2097607261.jpg)

Ever had a situation where you sent your carefully selected hard work (AKA your portfolio) to a prospective client or employer, and they saw a garbled view of your portfolio file? Or instead, you had to resort to sharing a folder with multiple files that were just so cumbersome that no one saw it?

That's where a PDF portfolio — a single PDF file that comprises multiple files, images, and more — can be useful. That said, what do you do when you have non-PDF format files to contend with? And are PDF portfolios the way forward, or are better solutions available today?

Read on to learn what makes a PDF portfolio tick while exploring better options for exhibiting PDF files.

📖 _**What you're going to get from this article**:_  
- _An overview of what PDFs & PDF portfolios are, how they differ from regular portfolios, and when they're useful_  
- _Learn why PDF portfolios are not necessarily needed in this day and age, and the options that exist instead_
- _A step-by-step guide on how to create PDF portfolio(s)_
- _5 examples of PDF portfolios hand-picked by us for their excellence_
- _A synopsis of Authory — a brilliant portfolio builder & content backup solution — that can be used for PDF portfolios and other file types_

## What is a PDF portfolio?

### Why PDFs in the first place?

[PDF stands for Portable Document Format, was developed by Adobe in 1992](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF) and became a ubiquitous standardized format used by office workers to send files to each other without losing formatting and additional information.

Before the PDF, when sending carefully formatted word documents on PC and Macs to colleagues, clients, or employers working on other machines, there was information loss because the recipient's device needed the same tools to read the file in the same format.

For example, if I sent a friend an MS Word document using the Times New Roman font, and they didn't have that font installed on their computer, they would see a different view from what I had intended.

That's why PDFs became so helpful — it didn't matter what file types I sent — since "each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document."

### What a PDF portfolio is

Soon enough, résumés and portfolios were being sent as PDFs so that the prospective client or employer would see _exactly_ what we wanted them to see.

A PDF portfolio file would contain all the work you've put into your portfolio but compressed, combined, and coalesced into one PDF file for easy perusal.

### How a PDF portfolio differs from a regular portfolio

What a "regular" portfolio is, is defined by the time period.

In times past, portfolios were massive real-life documents that were meticulously put together by creatives looking to impress potential clients or employers. With the advent of the PDF and the Adobe Acrobat file reader, PDF portfolios became the norm. So, for a time, a PDF portfolio _was_ the regular portfolio.

But today, regular portfolios are, in all likelihood, a simple URL to a webpage. And this is because, when applying for a job or project, you'll want to ensure that your client or employer can view your portfolio on the mobile.

So, in a sense, PDF portfolios are a tad passé. But they still have their uses!

### How is a PDF portfolio useful today?

A PDF document can contain information that's sometimes hard to display on a webpage. Take a look at this full-fledged brochure made by Urvashi and her team, which has a ton of pages and graphics: [https://authory.com/UrvashiAneja/AI-on-the-ground-A-snapshot-of-AI-use-in-India-a489ef3990ae541e4a1ee1bb5c0eab375](https://authory.com/UrvashiAneja/AI-on-the-ground-A-snapshot-of-AI-use-in-India-a489ef3990ae541e4a1ee1bb5c0eab375)

So, as you can see, a PDF portfolio still has its uses but **can now work in conjunction with a regular online portfolio**. In the next couple of sections, we show you how to create PDF portfolio(s) such as these, plus we take you through some beautiful examples of PDFs _in_ portfolios and PDF portfolios themselves.

## How to create a PDF portfolio

We're going to use Authory to create the perfect PDF portfolio.

✍️ _[Sign up for Authory for free here.](https://authory.com/signup/create-account)_

### Step 1: Import and add your PDF content

When you sign up, you can add files as URLs, as shown below.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Import-PDF-Content-in-a-mac.png)
_Importing PDF content as URLs upon sign up_

Alternatively, you can add files individually by uploading them to Authory. Navigate to the "Content" tab in your Authory account, click the "+ Add Content" button at the bottom left, and upload a PDF file, as seen below.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Upload-PDF-content-in-a-mac.png)
_Uploading individual PDFs from your computer to Authory_

You can then edit the title & description, create a new source, or add the file to an existing source. For the purposes of this example, we've named the source "SingylStroke PDFs."

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Adding-PDF-content-in-a-mac.png)
_Adding PDF content & editing title, description, and source_

Next, you can add more PDF files like so:

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Adding-more-PDFs-in-a-mac.png)
_Adding more PDFs to Authory_

### Step 2: Create a PDF portfolio collection

Now, navigate to the "Content" tab, and select the "PDFs" content file type at the bottom left. Once the PDFs are selected, use the "+ Create automated collection" button on the top right to create a PDF portfolio collection.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Selecting-PDFs-to-create-a-collection-in-a-mac.png)
_Selecting PDFs to create a PDF collection in Authory_

You can now name your collection and add a description.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Creating-a-PDF-collection-in-a-mac.png)
_Creating a PDF portfolio collection in Authory_

After uploading all the PDFs to this collection, go to the "Collections" tab to see how it looks.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/PDF-Collection-in-a-mac.png)
_The PDF portfolio collection on Authory_

### Step 3: Connect the collection to your portfolio & display it

Next, click on the "Portfolio" tab and go to the "Content" tab on the left. From there, you can add your "PDF Portfolio" collection to the portfolio.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Adding-a-PDF-collection-to-the-portfolio-in-a-mac.png)
_Adding the "PDF Portfolio" collection to your Authory portfolio_

And this is how it will finally look on your portfolio.

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/PDF-portfolio-displayed-in-a-mac.png)
_The "PDF Portfolio" as a part of a larger portfolio_

🗒️ _**Note**: You can have various collections in Authory, as shown in the example above. This flexibility allows you to have different content types sorted by topic, file type, publication, and more._

## 5 excellent examples of PDF portfolios

Here's a curated selection of fantastic PDF portfolios!

### PDF portfolio example 1 — Urvashi Aneja

Urvashi Aneja is a social science researcher and policy analyst studying the social impacts of data-driven decision-making systems in India and the global south. Her current work examines the ethics and social impacts of artificial intelligence, big tech and platform governance, and labor well-being in digital gig economies.

[Here's her PDF portfolio.](https://authory.com/UrvashiAneja?collection=All-Content-c4066c1dde68b4da89407c456281993ed&type=PdfFile)

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Urvashi-Aneja-PDF-portfolio-in-a-mac.png)
_Urvashi Aneja's PDF portfolio example on Authory_

You can also find the rest of her portfolio here: [authory.com/UrvashiAneja](https://authory.com/UrvashiAneja)

### PDF portfolio example 2 — Gabriel Swain

Gabriel Swain is a marketing leader with 12+ years of content and growth marketing leadership experience and has been writing professionally for 15+ years. He works at the intersection of social and environmental justice and sustainable economic growth.

[Here's his PDF portfolio.](https://authory.com/GabrielSwain?collection=All-Content-c091740f454ac4819ab35056f4058b610&type=PdfFile)

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Gabriel-Swain-PDF-portfolio-in-a-mac.png)
_Gabriel Swain's PDF portfolio example on Authory_

His entire portfolio can be found here: [authory.com/GabrielSwain](https://authory.com/gabrielswain)

### PDF portfolio example 3 — Carter Hammett

Carter Hammett is a social worker, writer, and trainer. He's the current _Auto and Trucking Atlantic_ magazine editor while contributing to _Convenience and Carwash Canada_, _CareerWise_, _Canadian Immigrant Magazine_, and other publications. He's the author of three books, including _Book of Disquiet: Dispatches From the Frontlines_.

[Here's his PDF portfolio.](https://authory.com/CarterHammett?collection=All-Content-cbaa446850ba54f8da7e6f86956352e58&type=PdfFile)

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Carter-Hammett-PDF-portfolio-in-a-mac.png)
_Carter Hammett's PDF portfolio example on Authory_

Check out his entire portfolio here: [authory.com/CarterHammett](https://authory.com/carterhammett)

### PDF portfolio example 4 — Annam Suresh

Annam Suresh is an award-winning journalist from India. She has won over 14 National and International awards, including MacDowell Colony Fellowship, a finalist for The Lorenzo Natali Prize, Chameli Devi Jain Award, Calderwood Non-fiction Grant, Laadli Regional and National Award for Gender Sensitivity, Brief Media Award, Hunger Foundation Prize, NFI Media Fellowship and The Statesman Rural Reporting Award (twice), and a finalist for the Osborne Elliot International Prize among others.

[Here's her PDF portfolio.](https://authory.com/AnnamSuresh?collection=All-Content-c7fe4030576ca49699f2ec9f92fae49f9&type=PdfFile)

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Amman-Suresh-PDF-portfolio-in-a-mac.png)
_Annam Suresh's PDF portfolio example on Authory_

To read more of her work, see her full portfolio: [authory.com/AnnamSuresh](https://authory.com/annamsuresh)

### PDF portfolio example 5 — Susan Horsburgh

Susan Horsburgh is a journalist and writer with more than 25 years of experience writing news, features, and cover stories for leading international and Australian publications, including _TIME_, _People_, _The Weekend Australian Magazine_, _The Australian Women's Weekly_, _Good Weekend_, _The Age (Melbourne) Magazine_, _The Australian Financial Review Magazine_, and _The Australian_ newspaper.

[Here's her PDF portfolio.](https://authory.com/SusanHorsburgh?collection=All-Content-c8fb9dc4c703344138eb50339ca00320f&type=PdfFile)

![How to Create a PDF Portfolio & 5 Excellent PDF Portfolio Examples](https://authory.com/blog/content/images/2022/10/Susan-Horsburgh-PDF-portfolio-in-a-mac.png)
_Susan Horsburgh's PDF portfolio example on Authory_

And you can check out the rest of her portfolio here: [authory.com/SusanHorsburgh](https://authory.com/susanhorsburgh)

## Authory — self-updating portfolio & backup

An issue most content creators face is keeping their portfolios updated, whether they're for PDFs or other formats. Also, websites go down, and CMS switches get botched, and, in essence, no content can be trusted to remain online forever.

That's where a solution like Authory, a self-updating portfolio tool that also works as a backup for all your content (both past and future), needs to be a part of your toolkit.

As shown above, all you need to do is add your sources, and Authory will go and find ALL your bylined content and import it into your account. Moreover, any new content published on these websites will _automatically_ be added to your portfolio.

✍️ _[Try out Authory for free now!](https://authory.com/signup/create-account)_