Online Portfolio Builders for Creatives

Most creatives know the value of a strong portfolio - but if you’re good at what you do, you’re probably also a very BUSY creative. Sometimes a portfolio takes a back seat to more important projects that pay for the necessities in life (like Starbucks, for example).

Whether you’re a web designer, photographer or illustrator, you may need a solution for showcasing your work online to prospects. You can build a great looking portfolio without investing a lot of time and here are some good places to start.

Carbonmade does an excellent job of downplaying the design of its own service site, to focus on yours. (See what I mean). Artwork, photos, flash, and more are showcased on a light or dark background (your choice) so they really pop. Easy upload and editing tools make the job of describing each project a breeze. Choose between three different layouts, all with auto image resizing, so you don’t have to spend any time fooling around with thumbnails/enlargements. Also includes an ‘about me’ page. The free service allows you to display up to five projects, and the membership price is extremely reasonable from there.

Behance Network - is much more than just a portfolio builder. It’s a network by, of and for creatives. Build a dynamic portfolio, search the job board, share your knowledge or learn from others, and collaborate with like-minded individuals to make ideas happen. Very cool. Unfortunately, it’s by invitation only so there may be a wait to get in. I “applied” this morning and haven’t heard anything back yet.

Big Black Bag - is geared heavily toward providing a full service solution, rather than just a portfolio builder. There are a lot of templates to choose from, and a variety of ways to edit them. Uploading images and customizing your mini-site is made simple with an interactive control panel, and detailed instructions on how to do everything. I think the monthly hosting fee is a little high, but they do allow a lot of space for storing and displaying multiple file types, along with unlimited bandwidth. They also have additional options such as search optimization, stats, and easy Paypal integration for selling your work online.

Coroflot - is another community site for creative professionals, allowing you to create a portfolio, share your work and browse for jobs. If you’re looking for a simple, streamlined portfolio you’ll get it here. No fancy graphics, background images or templates, just a strong focus on your work. You can describe and tag each project and include a profile page with your specialties or background. Coroflot even provides a contact form page for anyone interested in your work to easily get in touch.

A couple others worth mentioning include Viewbook and Foliolink. Viewbook allows you to create image slideshows and presentations. It’s currently in beta, but it looks easy to use and allows you to create a portfolio or gallery, then decide how or whether you want to share it. Foliolink is targeted mainly at Artists and Photographers, and aims to provide an all inclusive service similar to that of Big Black Bag. They offer a good selection of templates and even more skins to make your mini-site unique.

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