A career as an art director is an exciting and inspiring one that opens up a world of opportunities for creatives.
Art directors work across many different industries and media, including advertising, publishing, film, television, and video games. It’s a highly creative role that requires vision, strategy, and conceptual development, as well as project management and creative problem-solving skills.
Whether you’re a graphic designer aspiring to become an art director or an established art director looking for your next challenge, you’ll need a strong portfolio to land your dream role.
A well-presented, eye-catching portfolio serves as a visual resume, giving hiring managers a sense of your style, taste, and problem-solving abilities. It also helps with brand building and storytelling so you can unlock new opportunities.
Even if you already have a portfolio, it’s always a good idea to refresh it once in a while — especially if you’re moving into a new phase of your career.
If you’re looking for inspiration for an art director portfolio, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’ll look at seven successful art director portfolios and what makes them work.
Then, we’ll walk you through some best practices to keep in mind as you build your portfolio. So, let’s jump in!
7 top examples of art director portfolios
1. Jessica Walsh
Jessica Walsh is a Brooklyn-based designer, illustrator, and creative director of creative agencies &Walsh and Sagmeister.
Despite having already made her name for herself in the design world and amassed a sizable social media following (547K followers on Instagram, 83.2K on Twitter), Walsh understands the importance of having a portfolio that reflects where she’s at on her creative journey.
So much so that Walsh has not just one but two portfolios — one of her personal work on Behance and another for her creative studio on the &Walsh website.
Walsh’s Behance portfolio displays her work as a creative director, featuring various projects that highlight her expertise and creative style and demonstrate her versatility and skill in different areas of design.
Each project is displayed with high-quality images and descriptions that give insights into her creative process and how she achieved the objectives of each work. The layout is visually appealing and user-friendly, making it easy to navigate through her projects and understand her capabilities as an art director.
Meanwhile, the &Walsh portfolio showcases a diverse range of creative projects, emphasizing the agency’s capabilities in brand strategy, art direction, design, and production. The website is visually engaging and reflects its unique creative style.
Each project is presented with high-quality visuals and concise descriptions, and the overall design of the site is user-friendly, making it easy to explore &Walsh’s work and understand its brand philosophy.
Actionable takeaway: Build your personal brand alongside your portfolio to make yourself a name in the industry and ensure a steady stream of inbound clients.
2. Davy Denduyver
Davy Denduyver is an independent graphic designer and creative director based in Bruges, Belgium.
Denduyver’s portfolio is a compelling demonstration of his skills in graphic design and creative direction in branding, visual identity, music, and merchandise.
With its 3D tilt and four-corner navigation menu, his website design is modern and user-friendly, with some unique twists that make it stand out.
Denduyver presents each project with visually engaging graphics and succinct descriptions, highlighting his creative process, artistic vision, professional versatility, and the outcomes of each project.
Although his portfolio doesn’t follow any specific branding colors, and his style is loud and eclectic, Denduyver has managed to create a portfolio page that doesn’t feel cluttered.
Actionable takeaway: Use your portfolio to embrace your unique style and flaunt your boldest designs.
3. Laurène Boglio
Laurène Boglio is a French graphic designer, illustrator, and art director of ‘Little White Lies’ magazine who lives and works in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Brooklyn, New York.
Boglio’s work is characterized by black-and-white forms with splashes of color, as reflected in her portfolio page, which displays examples of her work in different categories, including:
- Campaigns
- Covers
- Editorial
- Animations
- Maps
- Murals
…and more, including a section dedicated to ‘Little White Lies.’ Each category displays projects with engaging visuals and succinct descriptions.
By curating a beautiful, eye-catching, and highly organized portfolio page, Boglio showcases her design talent, creativity, and eye for detail — three essential qualities of an art director.
Meanwhile, the clean and user-friendly design emphasizes her creative style and professional expertise.
Actionable takeaway: If you work in diverse fields, make sure your portfolio has a cohesive look and feel and clearly shows how you apply your unique style to different areas of work.
4. Lotta Nieminen
Lotta Nieminen is a Finnish illustrator and graphic designer based in New York whose diverse work spans children’s books, digital interfaces, furniture, packaging, and publications.
Nieminen brings them all together in one super organized portfolio site, labeling her work under the following categories:
- Visual identity
- Art direction
- Web design
- Print design
- Product design
- Exhibition design
All of Nieminen’s portfolio images are in black and white, contributing to a cohesive visual experience, and the website design is clean and minimalistic, which helps the viewer find their way around easily.
Additionally, the portfolio page strikes the perfect balance between text and images, providing enough information about each project without detracting from the images.
Actionable takeaway: Use text to guide the viewer through your portfolio, providing a seamless UI experience.
5. Darcy Moore
Darcy Moore is a San Francisco-based freelance graphic designer and art director with a background in campaign art direction, web and editorial design, branding, and illustration.
Moore’s portfolio site has an eye-catching, full-screen dynamic banner at the top, guiding the viewer through a carousel of diverse works without making them scroll.
Those who do scroll down will find bold images on a black background, making it easy to browse her projects while letting the artwork speak for itself.
Each project is accompanied by impactful imagery and concise information that provides insight into her creative process and the objectives achieved.
Actionable takeaway: Balance striking visuals with concise descriptions in a way that demonstrates both your professional abilities and unique artistic vision.
6. Carla Palette
Carla Palette is a freelance brand designer and art director living in Berlin who works predominantly with beauty, fashion, food, and lifestyle brands.
Palette is a former Senior Brand Designer at &Walsh and, like her former boss, has amassed quite a following on social media, turning herself into a brand with her catchphrase, “I’m not for everyone.”
Her bold, provocative, and intensely colorful style is perfectly showcased on her portfolio page, where she describes herself as having an “affliction for color and controversy.”
Palette’s portfolio stands out for its clear presentation of projects, each of which is visually engaging and accompanied by concise descriptions, highlighting her skills and creative approach.
Actionable takeaway: Select a focused and specialized body of work to display on your portfolio site that clearly demonstrates your expertise in design and art direction.
7. Michele Angeloro
Michele Angeloro is an Italian design director and designer based in Tokyo who is “closing the gap between brand and interface design.”
Angeloro’s interactive homepage allows the viewer to flip through his portfolio simply by moving the mouse across the screen — totally on-brand for someone who describes themselves as having “a head for interactive digital experiences that please the eye.”
The minimalist website design provides contact links to email and social media, and that’s it. The simplicity and professional layout allow his work to stand out, showcasing his expertise in branding and interface design.
Actionable takeaway: Sometimes, less is more, and a straightforward portfolio can be the most impactful.
How to create an effective art director portfolio
1. Carefully curate your content
Your portfolio shouldn’t include everything you’ve ever worked on — think of it more like a ‘greatest hits’ album that shows off a range of skills and styles and demonstrates your versatility as an art director.
It’s also important to tailor your portfolio to the types of jobs you’re applying for, ensuring it aligns with the requirements and expectations of your desired roles.
Playbook can help you curate and manage multiple portfolios easily, with done-for-you gallery templates and the Publish feature, which enables one-click sharing with anyone — even if they don’t use Playbook.
2. Tell a compelling story
Your design journey is as unique as your style, and telling a compelling story is a must in your portfolio.
You’ll need to craft a narrative that takes viewers on a journey through your professional development and creative process, using your most engaging images to infuse your portfolio with your personality and passion.
Think about what makes you different and distill your voice into succinct copy that guides the reader through your story.
3. Use clear presentation
The presentation of your portfolio should be clear and intentional. For instance, consider grouping projects together by category or media type and select each piece based on its ability to convey your creative process and the reasoning behind your design choices.
Playbook’s templates and customizable layout options can help you achieve a professional-looking and well-structured portfolio in just a few clicks — saving you time and helping you make a good impression on prospective clients or employers.
4. Provide a positive user experience
A positive user experience can make the difference between a client or employer choosing you over another designer, so make sure your portfolio is easy to navigate and accessible to a diverse audience.
Including clear contact information is also important, making it easy for potential clients or employers to reach out to you.
Playbook’s user-friendly design and sharing features enhance the accessibility of your website, making your portfolio more approachable and professional.
5. Optimize your portfolio
Keep your portfolio updated with your latest work by removing outdated pieces and adding new ones to ensure it remains relevant and reflective of your current skills and style.
You can also ask for feedback from peers and mentors and incorporate their suggestions to improve the quality of your portfolio.
With Playbook’s collaboration features, including chat, comments, and quick emoji reactions, it’s easy to receive and take action on inputs for collaborators.
Curate your art director portfolio with Playbook
A well-curated, easy-to-navigate, clearly presented portfolio that transmits your design skills and creative style is a digital calling card that can help you take your art direction career to the next level.
With Playbook, creating a beautiful and stylish portfolio that tells your design story while exhibiting your best, most relevant work couldn’t be easier.
With our gallery and presentation templates, collaboration features, and one-click sharing options, you’ll land your next art direction gig in no time.
Want to know more? Read about how Playbook goes beyond cloud storage.