How to Write An Impressive Art Director Portfolio [With Examples]

The responsibilities of an art director are overseeing a team of designers on creative projects with varying levels of responsibility and autonomy. In addition, art directors are responsible for determining the aesthetics of publications, newspapers, commercial packaging, and film and television projects. The designers are responsible for setting the overall vision of a project while directing those who prepare the artwork or layouts.

Various industries employ art directors, such as the advertising industry, newspaper and magazine publishers, design firms, theaters, and motion picture studios. Art directors supervise their teams, identifying which artistic elements to use, expressing their vision clearly to their team, revising and approving copy, designs, and photography, establishing budgets and timelines, and determining how to best convey the creative director's concept.  

An art director portfolio is done by developing a ‘book’, or portfolio of works to show to creative directors at meetings and interviews. An art director’s portfolio serves as a tool to land a position or for his/her own branding. An art director portfolio showcases his/her artistic capabilities, originality and style, which are the things employers look for in an art director candidate.

An art director portfolio is a key to climbing up the hierarchy ladder in pursuit of a creative career. An art director portfolio presents works that demonstrate the kind of art direction they will provide and are interested in pursuing. 

The importance of a solid art director portfolio should not be underestimated. The best art director portfolios provide employers with a sense of who you are, how creative you are, and how well you are suited to their needs.

When it comes to an art director portfolio, creative professionals showcase their expertise in presentation and precision in typography, consistency, and storytelling - they do so to create the best visually appealing art director portfolios which can be presented in meetings or other situations as needed.

The best way to understand how an art director portfolio works is to see solid work shown out there. This section shows 5 great art director portfolio examples and sees what makes them unique and great.

Michele Angeloro

The Italian-born designer and interactive director Michele Angeloro lives and works in Tokyo. He has previously described himself as having a head for interactive digital experiences that please the eye. 

A spiral on the homepage of Angeloro’s art director portfolio website provides viewers with an interactive experience. This fun and friendly approach continues throughout the site, where various transitions encourage you to click on things just to see what happens. 

Angeloro’s works have received awards by the creative community online that his work is highlighted outside his art director portfolio!

Cody Ellingham

Cody Ellingham is a Japanese and English-speaking art director based in Tokyo, who specializes in photography. The image-driven portfolio site uses a generous amount of white space to give the colorful and impactful screengrabs enough breathing room. 

Ellingham has provided shaded overlays in his art director portfolio - allowing you to choose whether to view the original site or case study.

Antoine Barres

Barres is an art director and product designer who has worked with various companies. His art director portfolio takes an up-front approach in displaying all works straightaway and users just need to scroll down to view his works.

This art director portfolio incorporates a magazine-style format that makes it easy to read each piece of creative work. An elegant gray background block with a white grid makes each design stand out even more with its classic feel.

At the end of the page, he has information about himself, an overview of relevant experience, selected clients, and contact information. This last element is also at the top of his portfolio as an art director.

Sarah Ann Murray

Known as a freelance stylist, shoot director, and luxury specialist for menswear, Sarah Ann Murray has created countless looks for major brands, and her works are shown in her fashion art director portfolio.

She is an expert in men's style, sartorial wear, and luxury lifestyle from her time as the Fashion Editor of The Rake magazine. She also advises luxury brands on brand development and provides bespoke stylist services in London and Europe. In addition to styling and writing for magazines, she provides bespoke styling services in London and Europe.

Murray’s art director portfolio displays her works in fashion and commercials, which also provide clients she has worked for, such as Dior and Ogilvy. Moreover, she has a dedicated tab for each category in her portfolio, which fits the minimalist approach of this art director website.

Davy Denduyver 

Davy Denduyver is a freelance graphic designer and advertising director. His advertising art director portfolio doesn’t follow specific branding colors. Despite its style, his portfolio site doesn't feel messy and cluttered. On the homepage, the three-dimensional tilt is combined with the four-corner navigation to create something unique.

When it comes to making an art director portfolio, here are the following steps that should be followed:

💡 Create an “About me” page.

The about me section offers a unique opportunity for you to introduce yourself and share your interests, goals, style, and ambition in your art director portfolio. By including complementary abilities and interests, you can reinforce your overall brand while presenting a more well-rounded image.

You should keep in mind, however, that this is still your professional art director portfolio. Therefore, make sure to maintain a professional tone and not overshare personal details.

💡 List your contact information and social media.

Provide contact information on how you may be contacted for hirement or for interested parties to reach you. Include your email address, phone number, and social media profile on your contact page in your art director portfolio.

💡 Compile images and other files to be included in the art director portfolio.

When you are putting together your art director portfolio, images are of the utmost importance. It is important to choose images that represent your style as well as your ambitions correctly. Marketability can be improved by demonstrating artistic flexibility. Your samples in your art director portfolio demonstrate your ability to complete a wide range of tasks.

💡 Create a color palette.

Branding with color palettes is important because it's a tangible part of your business that people notice first and foremost. The colors of your brand are also essential to establishing the personality of your brand.

💡 Update the art director portfolio regularly.

Updated portfolios, on the other hand, demonstrate that you regard yourself as a designer rather than merely someone who performs design work. You will be noticed by many people, including your employer, potential clients, recruiters, and colleagues. Your art director portfolio will serve as an extension of your professional identity outside of the workplace.

The Internet is an essential place to display your creative director portfolio, offering a wider audience, from potential clients to friends and partners to work on projects together. Your art director portfolio represents you and your work, so it should be great and easy to share.

Make sure your work in your art director portfolio is presented in the best possible quality. To do this, here are 5 art director portfolio websites to display your work out there.

Cake

Cake's free online portfolio creator is ideal for creative professionals, artists, and other creators in the same field. With its user-friendly features and interface, you can create your own art director portfolio in no time. It comes with a number of features that make it one of the best art director site builders when it comes to portfolios.

One of the unique features is you are able to link your digital resume to your art director portfolio. Links can be easily pasted as you wish. Furthermore, users can create several portfolios under their profile, allowing them to organize and promote past work efficiently and in an organized manner. 

Behance

More than just being a portfolio site for artists and designers, Behance is a very active social network with job postings, reviews, the opportunity to follow artists, and even join galleries. Behance has a user-friendly interface so creating an art director portfolio won’t be a hard task.

It's ridiculously easy to sign up and upload your projects, and having a Behance is essential for a digital art director making a portfolio, as well as any fresh talent looking to get noticed. 

Adobe Portfolio

This website is pretty easy and intuitive for creating a creative director portfolio: pick a layout, customize it, and make your own domain name. Moreover, it can be synced with Behance.

If you are looking to create a complex and highly personalized site, this is not the right option for a digital art director portfolio. However, your art director portfolio will be automatically optimized for any device, and you can use your own domain name, as well as have access to Lightroom photos and photo grids.

Fabrik

Creative professionals would benefit from making a creative director portfolio with Fabrik. This art director portfolio website has attracted thousands of projects from designers, illustrators, studios, and filmmakers.

With Fabrik, you can choose from thousands of possible design combinations across different themes to make your digital art director portfolio. You can change them (and you can change them as many times as you want without affecting your work). Themes have been adapted to different professions, so the themes for designers, for example, will be different than those for illustrators. The only drawback is Fabrik’s layouts are very similar to one another.

Dribbble

Dribbble is above all a design community where all kinds of creatives share their work. It's a great place to explore, learn, and of course, show off. The way it works is that you mount screenshots of your designs - so you may want to employ another main site to show your art director portfolio.

With a social media-style interface, this portfolio lets an art director put their work out there as well as communicate with other users. The images will be shown as thumbnails on your profile, and readers may click on the thumbnail to expand the image and read any explanations you've provided in your art director portfolio. Some disadvantages are that certain features require the pro plan, and it only allows single image uploads.

--- Originally written by Jose J. Rosales ---