3 Reasons Why College Project Portfolios Are Important

Us being college students rarely take project portfolios because of being unaware of its importance. Near the end of my 1st year of design school, I realized how project portfolios could help me shape my future. In this blog, I will expand upon the reasons I believe are important for every student to know about.

Before getting into its importance, you need to know what a portfolio is. A portfolio can be either physical or in digital form, in which a student compiles all their academic work (in all forms i.e. artwork, written assignments, tests, etc) in order to evaluate their learning progress and their achievements.

1. SELF-DISCOVERY AND CONFIDENCE BUILDING

Portfolios play an important role in self-growth and confidence building. A portfolio allows you to showcase your creativity and skill, it is a documentation of your work, if maintained properly it showcases the growth in your work as well as working style. Having maintained a portfolio from your very first year of college allows you to keep a track of your progress as you develop and hone your skills further. It also helps build one’s confidence as you are visually able to see the improvement in your work, providing the perfect before and after references regarding your work.

2. EFFECTIVE WAY TO SHOWCASE ONE’S PERSONALITY

Portfolios help you organize your goals, aspirations, accomplishments, and personal thought. They act as CVs; however, portfolios are much more than a list of categorized accomplishments but also showcase you as a person. A portfolio acts as a reflection of one’s self, it also provides an insight into your work ethics and thinking process as it is a documentation of your process work. Most critics are interested to see how individuals showcase themselves through their work, they are looking for originality in thought and how ideation leads to the implementation stage of your work. Your portfolio also goes to show what you have achieved showcasing your experience and credibility, it also goes to showcase your goals which reflect what new things you would bring to your respective industries and the respective steps you have taken to achieve these goals.

3. USEFUL TOOL FOR JOB APPLICATION, SCHOLARSHIPS ETC

Portfolios are a useful tool to use in job interviews as they provide tangible proof to the employer about your skills and ability. A portfolio presents your accomplishments and solidifies your credibility as the employer can physically see your work. In the design industry, it is extremely important for employers to be able to visualize your work, as the design itself is all about the visuals. A portfolio provides an insight into your work ethic and process allowing the employers to deduce whether you would be a suitable fit for their working environment. Undergrad portfolios are extremely important as they showcase the growth in your work, these portfolios also play an important part when applying for grants or schools for higher education as most universities and colleges are interested to see whether the individual is fit for their respective schools.

It is extremely important to keep consistent with your college portfolios as they not only help in keeping your work organized but are a constant track of your progress. College portfolios also teach you how to maintain your professional portfolios. A portfolio is a representation of your best self thus it is important that one learns to hone this skill!