Portfolio Packaging Guide
24-week programme, Portfolio & Career Phase. Builds on the Week 11 portfolio skills, now across two projects.
The Real Problem This Solves
Two strong case studies are not a portfolio until they read as one body of work. Packaging is the strategy of order, consistency, and framing that makes a viewer trust you in the first thirty seconds. This week you decide what to show, in what order, and how it looks.
Key Ideas You Need First
1. Lead with your strongest work
Open with the case study that best shows your thinking, usually the more complex Project 2. First impressions decide whether the rest gets read.
2. One visual system across everything
Same fonts, spacing, and image treatment across both projects and the intro. Consistency signals care.
3. Show range and depth
Two projects should show you can handle a simple brief and a complex one. Frame them so the growth is visible.
Step-By-Step Walkthrough
- Write a one-line intro that says who you are and what you design.
- Order your case studies, strongest first.
- Apply one visual system across the intro and both case studies.
- Trim ruthlessly. Every page must earn its place.
- Add a short closing with contact and next steps.
Demonstrated Example
Order: intro line, Project 2 (shared desk, two users), Project 1 (single-user organiser), closing.
Visual system: one typeface, one accent colour, images all shot on the same plain background.
Framing: Project 2 introduced as "a harder brief with two users and competing needs", making the growth from Project 1 clear.
Why this is strong: strongest work leads, the two projects read as one body, and the growth is visible.
Submission Checklist
| Upload item | Pass standard |
|---|---|
| Portfolio structure | Intro, both case studies ordered strongest first, closing. |
| Visual system | Consistent across every page. |
Assessment And Pass Criteria
- Both projects are present and read as one body of work.
- The strongest work leads.
- The visual system is consistent throughout.
Common Mistakes
- Burying the best work. Lead with it.
- Two different styles. Unify the visual system.
- Including everything. Trim to what earns its place.
Extension Challenge
Make a one-page version of the whole portfolio. If it works at one page, the full version is focused.