A designer’s journey is one that’s littered with many portfolios. Many of which have been reduced to a mere 404 error page, an abandoned link or another archive in the folders. Recently, while updating my portfolio, all the forgotten versions that preceded came to mind. I thought it’d be interesting to have an

设计师的旅程充满了很多作品集。 其中许多已减少到仅404错误页面，废弃链接或文件夹中的另一个存档。 最近，在更新我的作品集时，我想到了之前所有被遗忘的版本。 我认为拥有一个

Even as I take inspiration from other designers’ portfolios, I am reminded that we all took a journey to arrive at our present-day version. My portfolio journey has been one that’s filled with frustration, procrastination and comparisons — and I believe I’m not alone.

即使我从其他设计师的产品组合中汲取了灵感，但也提醒我，我们所有人都在尝试开发最新版本。 我的投资组合之旅充满了挫折，拖延和比较-我相信我并不孤单。

I encourage us to take a look back at our previous portfolios, how we built and crafted them. Acknowledging (and sometimes laughing at) every cringe-worthy and embarrassing moment — that’s how we grow right?

我鼓励我们回顾一下以前的产品组合，以及如何构建和制作它们。 承认(有时还嘲笑)每一个令人畏惧的令人尴尬的时刻-那就是我们成长的正确方式吗？

背景 (Background)

Since university, the thought of a design portfolio has always lurked. Exacerbated by classmates seemingly armed with polished PDF decks and professors chiming in on the importance of documentation. Or simply just driven by a designers’ innate desire to display our craft.

自大学毕业以来，关于设计组合的想法一直潜伏着。 看起来似乎戴着抛光的PDF甲板的同学加剧了这种情况，而教授们则对文档的重要性大加赞赏。 或者仅仅是出于设计师与生俱来的愿望来展示我们的Craft.io。

I’ve had countless conversations with my design friends — just unpacking the amount of stress and worry over creating and updating our design portfolio.

我与设计朋友进行了无数的对话-释放了很多压力，并担心创建和更新我们的设计产品组合。

• “Is PDF or website portfolio better? Static vs. online portfolio?”
  “ PDF或网站组合更好吗？ 静态还是在线投资组合？”
• “Where should I host it on? Squarespace, Wix, Cargo, Weebly, Webflow, Adobe portfolio, Uxfolio, Notion, Wordpress… etc. ”
  “我应该在哪里托管它？ Squarespace，Wix，Cargo，Weebly，Webflow，Adobe产品组合，Uxfolio，Notion，Wordpress…等。”
• “How frequent should I update my portfolio?”
  “我应该多久更新一次投资组合？”

Truth is, there are no right or wrong answers, as long as you start.

事实是，只要您开始，就不会有对或错的答案。

I’ll briefly share some of my takeaways as I took a deeper look into my past portfolios. Scroll on for the tell-all, or browse my portfolio compilation here

在深入研究过去的投资组合时，我将简要分享我的一些收获 。 滚动查看全部信息，或在此处浏览我的投资组合编辑

2014年：通过仪式 (2014: The Rite of Passage)

A Behance account is probably the rite of passage for most student-designers. This portfolio marked the start of my path as a designer — tinkering with materials, obsessing over millimeters and learning to get my hands dirty.

Behance帐户可能是大多数学生设计者通行的仪式。 这些作品集标志着我作为设计师的道路的开始-修补材料，痴迷数毫米并学会弄脏我的手。

I initially archived the projects as they were no longer relevant. But I’ve since made them live again — for me to relive the cringe anytime!

我最初将项目归档，因为它们不再相关。 但是自那以后，我又让它们重新生活了-我随时可以重温这种恐惧！

Takeaway: It can be slightly embarrassing to display old works or past portfolios out in the open, but fundamentals always make for a good story.

要点： 公开展示陈旧的作品或过去的作品集可能会有些尴尬，但基本原理总是能造就一个好故事。

https://www.behance.net/maghuang/

https://www.behance.net/maghuang/

2015：网站模板 (2015: Website Templates)

I dabbled into website templates for the first time when I hosted my first ‘proper’ portfolio over at Cargo Collective.

当我在Cargo Collective托管我的第一个“适当”投资组合时，我第一次涉足网站模板。

There were zero thoughts given to the storytelling of each project and the process. It was simply a platform to ‘dump’ images and text.

对于每个项目和过程的故事讲述，零思想。 它只是一个“转储”图像和文本的平台。

It took me multiple portfolios later, to realise the importance of storytelling through a design process, beyond the images.

后来，我花了很多时间来完成作品，除了图像之外，还通过设计过程意识到了讲故事的重要性。

Takeaway: By starting a portfolio early, I gave myself more chance to try and fail at it while earning more time to get better at documentation.

总结： 通过尽早开始投资组合，我给了自己更多尝试失败的机会，同时获得了更多的时间来完善文档。

https://cargocollective.com/maghuang

https://cargocollective.com/maghuang

2017年：大迁移 (2017: The Great Migration)

Looking to update my portfolio, I decided to shift hosting site onto Wix. This was the worst decision.

为了更新我的投资组合，我决定将托管站点转移到Wix上。 这是最糟糕的决定。

There were a lot of frustration with Wix, but it made one thing clearer—Templated websites were starting to feel like a handicap.

Wix带来了很多挫败感，但这使事情变得更清楚了—模板化的网站开始感觉像是一个障碍。

The layout constraints that once made sense for someone with no coding background, started to feel more like a hindrance. The visual options that came with the templates were limited, and often, bad.

曾经对于没有编码背景的人来说有意义的布局约束开始变得像障碍。 模板附带的视觉选项是有限的，而且常常是不好的。

Takeaway: There are plenty of website builder tools available in the market and they all work in very similar ways. A mistake I made was switching between 2 similar platforms for the sake of ‘updating’. Be very clear why you need to make a switch between platforms for your portfolio.

要点：市场上 有很多网站构建器工具，它们的工作方式都非常相似。 我犯的一个错误是为了“更新”而在2个类似的平台之间切换。 非常清楚为什么需要在投资组合的平台之间进行切换。

https://maghuang.wixsite.com/hello

https://maghuang.wixsite.com/hello

2018：令人不安的PDF (2018: Unsettling PDF)

After a rather disappointing run with Cargo and Wix, I decided that it was the end of templated websites. I ran back to the arms of Adobe’s InDesign.

在对Cargo和Wix进行了相当令人失望的运行之后，我认为这是模板化网站的终结。 我回到了Adobe InDesign的怀抱。

Yearning for that 100% control over each pixel and layout

渴望100％控制每个像素和布局

How ironic to seek ‘refuge’ with InDesign. Considering how much heartbreak it brought, through countless of force quits and unrecovered files.

在InDesign中寻求“避难所”具有讽刺意味。 考虑到它通过无数次退出和未恢复的文件带来了多少令人心碎的事情。

Finishing up the PDF portfolio naturally felt accomplished — but also unsettling.

完成PDF产品组合自然感到很成功-但也令人不安。

In 2018, I was transitioning into the realm of digital product and UIUX. With a supposed claim in the craft of mobile and web experience, I was greedy for an online presence and the thrill of owning a domain.

在2018年，我过渡到了数字产品和UIUX领域。 凭借对移动和Web体验的认可，我对在线业务和拥有域名的热情感到非常贪婪。

Takeaway: PDF portfolio may be good during interviews but an online website gives you greater discoverability. An interactive and responsive website speaks louder of the craft in a way that a static PDF could not.

要点： 面试过程中PDF组合可能会很好，但是在线网站可为您提供更大的发现能力。 交互式且响应Swift的网站以静态PDF无法做到的方式大声疾呼。

2019年：拖延症 (2019: Procrastination)

My 2019 resolution was to work on my website portfolio... It never happened.

我的2019年决议是要使用我的网站组合...这从未发生过。

Indeed, one’s portfolio journey is never complete without procrastination.

的确，没有拖延，一个人的投资旅程就永远不会完成。

2020年：今天 (2020: Present Day)

Portfolios have always seemed like another item on a designer’s checklist to complete. But…

项目组合似乎总是要完成设计师清单上的另一个项目。 但…

If a portfolio is a case study of yourself, then there’s no project more important, more fulfilling and more fun than that.

如果投资组合是您自己的案例研究，那么没有比这更重要，更充实，更有趣的项目了。

Takeaway: Don’t let the pressure of perfection and completion get to you. Perfection is crippling. A portfolio is never completed. Aim for a MVP version and continuously improve from there.

要点： 不要让完美和完成的压力带给您。 完美无能。 投资组合永远不会完成。 争取获得MVP版本，并从那时起不断改进。

For the first time, I approached my portfolio as a passion project rather than a to-do. Plus, I was relieved from the pressure of working against the clock. All of which, gave me room to have fun with it and enjoy the process.

我第一次把我的投资组合作为一个激情项目而不是一个要做的事情。 另外，我摆脱了日以继夜的工作压力。 所有这些，给了我充分的乐趣和享受过程的空间。

Takeaway: A portfolio will always be a chore — tedious but necessary (we should at least make it an enjoyable chore).

要点： 投资组合将永远是一件繁琐的事情，但乏味却是必要的(我们至少应该使它成为一件令人愉快的琐事)。

在制品和基辅 (WIP and KIV)

To end off, I’ll state the obvious. Portfolios will always be WIP and KIV — Work In Progress and Keep In View.

最后，我要说清楚。 项目组合将始终是WIP和KIV-进行中并保持关注。

Cheers to all the forgotten and archived portfolios that led to the present day. No matter how embarrassing or cringe-worthy, it is evidence of one’s growth as a designer and a testimony for further growth.

欢呼直到今天的所有被遗忘和存档的作品集。 无论多么尴尬或令人畏惧，这都证明了自己作为设计师的成长和进一步成长的见证。

“Your portfolio is the biggest investment you can make in your career. Doing your best work makes your portfolio better. Making your portfolio better leads to more great work. And the circle continues” — Tobias Van Schneider

“您的投资组合是您职业生涯中最大的投资。 尽最大努力使您的投资组合更好。 改善您的投资组合会带来更多出色的工作。 圈子还在继续” – Tobias Van Schneider

I hope to inspire you to take a trip down memory lane and look back at our forgotten portfolios. I believe we’ll learn a thing or two about the growth we’ve made in our craft or the shift in our mindset. And hopefully, we’ll be reminded of the starry-eyed passion we had for our craft when we were just starting out.

我希望能激发您的记忆，并回顾一下我们被遗忘的产品组合。 我相信我们会从技术上的发展或思维方式的转变中学到一两件事。 希望能使我们想起刚开始时对Craft.io的满天星斗的激情。

Credits to Lum E-Sean for helping out with the article. Illustrations doodled by yours truly.

感谢Lum E-Sean提供的帮助。 真正由您涂鸦的插图。