There's an old saying—“show, don't tell", but sometimes telling can be beneficial, too. While this is going to focus on graphic and web design, no matter your field of interest, there's benefits to keeping a blog that pairs with your digital portfolio.
THE BENEFITS
When you start blogging there's a lot of things that you'll start to notice about the process and what comes once you've started. You might start to notice that it does a lot for your online portfolio and your online persona.
Fresh Content
If you’ve got half a mind for SEO, then you know that search engines favor websites that have fresh content and especially if that content is continuously fresh—this is where your blog comes in. Continuous updating catches the attention of search engines, and more importantly, it catches the attention of anyone skimming over your portfolio. It says: Hello! I’m here!
Developing an Audience:
So you’ve got a showcase of your work; but is anyone looking at it? How do you know? Are people actively engaging with you? Building a connection with people who might be out there on the wide web can help to you out of your small corner of the internet and elsewhere. There’s the additional benefit of learning through collaboration; reaching out and finding an audience means that you’re tapping into like-minded internet users and you might just learn a thing or two from them.
Display your growth:
Everyone comes from somewhere, and the awesome thing about having a blog during your journey as a designer is displaying not just your good work, but because it’s a good record of your personal growth as a designer.
Create an identity:
These days one of the most important parts of being a designer (especially if you want to freelance) is showing that you’re you and that you have a specific identity. Developing a voice can help clients create a connection with you and build a sense of trust.
UTILIZE YOUR BLOG
So, you have a blog now, but the question is how to use that blog. Don't just stare at the empty page! Get started and write something!
Use Images:
You’re displaying your design skills, right? So show off your designs! Post pictures of your projects from the early sketching stage to the final project, but don’t let the quality of your images drag down your work or distract from the message—break out the Nikon and make them nice.
Amplify your professional persona:
Show who you are but don’t turn your professional blog into a personal blog—you want to write about your process and your work, you don’t want to write about your personal life or what you ate for breakfast that morning.
Keep it clean:
Your blog should be a part of your portfolio but not distract from it. The blog integration process is simple: match your blog’s colors and base design to your portfolio colors and keep it clean and avoid clutter (clutter can be distracting!). There’s plenty of different platforms to host your blog—from a CMS like Wordpress or a Framework like Bootstraps.
