Myself and one other designer each got here up with ideas for a undertaking. The shopper ended up selecting the opposite designers idea however cherished all of them and I’m nonetheless proud and proud of my very own ideas. Ought to I embrace these on my portfolio, and do I would like to say that they’re simply ideas, not ultimate items chosen by the shopper? I had no half within the different designers work, so I couldn’t put the ultimate piece up as a collaboration or one thing.
Present your best work even if that isn’t the final, approved look.
That’s how I got my current job. A client’s bad taste doesn’t invalidate your strong work. You still made something great, show it!
Yes
100%
I would add it 100% if you are happy with it. Just specify that it was concept.
Yes!
It’s your portfolio. Choose the work that you want to be seen. It’s truly that simple.
Yes – you can also show what the client chose, and talk a bit about the process of the design. Knowing a design is great and having to change it to make a client happy shows professionalism, flexibility, adaptability, and perspective on who the project is actually for. Tell your story!
Clients just ruin good works
It’s your portfolio, not your client’s.
100%
Label them as “unpublished”, “conceptual”, or “alternate”
Check to make sure it’s not against any NDA. Technically, the client owns anything you presented to them – even if they don’t select them.
But outside of that, absolutely you can add them to your portfolio.
Yes I recently designed a logo for an application my company created, and some of management loved it, but ultimately it got turned down because it wasn’t quite what the intended vision was in their minds. Better communication would have been nice on their end, but I had to start over. They all loved what I came up with the second time around. But I am very pleased with how both versions came out and it would be foolish not to add both to my portfolio. Good design is good design, whether it’s ultimately used or not. Final decisions are subjective. But if it could have been used, why not show off your work!
Absolutely. I run a design studio for almost 20 years and I was always keen to see sketch works and ideas to support the end product. It’s somewhat rather soul destroying as a Creative Director to just see loads of ‘highly polished’ visuals – if I’m going to hire anyone then they need to demonstrate their ability to generate ideas.
Present what you think is your good work, does not matter if the client didn’t like it, what matters that the next customer likes what they see to get you hired.
For sure. I save my stuff in versions. If your best stuff is V3 on a project that went to V6 then so be it. I wouldn’t do this for the bulk of your stuff and if the campaign was large enough and the final work isn’t bad then it can be included in the context of steps to get to the final product even if you want to use some examples of how you took the project all the way through from co caption to completion.
This approach isn’t something I would do for all your stuff, but having the extra detail if they drill in doesn’t hurt.
Can I ask why you were competing with another designer on this project?
While it is important to present work that has been approved and in use in order to show authenticity, it’s also equally important to showcase your best work. Clients don’t always choose your best; they choose their best.
Paul Rand designed a new logo for Ford that was never used. It’s in Paul Rand’s portfolio.
If you only ever put the work the client had chosen into your portfolio then there’d rarely be anything wonderful in there. Choose the work that best shows your talents
Almost all of my works in my portfolio are different from what the client approved. I always upload the stuff that I like and stand behind, even if the client didn’t choose it.