Creating my portfolio made a believer out of me.
I had always wanted to have a portfolio for my graphic design work and even more, I wanted it to reflect my personality. My biggest inspiration for portfolio design was when a friend of mine sent me Bruno Simon website back in 2019.
His site was a revelation — completely interactive, fun, and engaging. You could easily lose hours just playing around, all while appreciating his skills and creativity. It was the kind of portfolio that spoke volumes, and I knew right then that I wanted to create something just as memorable. But for the longest time, I couldn’t bring myself to start. I couldn’t even consistently post on my Behance. I was lost in the hustle and bustle of work and I couldn’t take out a considerable amount of time to work on my portfolio. All I had was a google drive link with scattered samples of my work. It felt inadequate, and I cringed every time I had to send it to a potential client — but it was all I had.
It took me another 5 years and moving out of Lagos before I eventually did it. I didn’t want to use a template based portfolio website because I wanted to have lots of freedom. I have a limited understanding of coding so building a website was out of the question. That’s when it hit me — why not use Figma? I googled ‘creating your portfolio with Figma’ to see what other people had to say about it and I found an article that was very helpful. The next big decision was whether to design both mobile and web versions or go for a responsive layout. I opted for the former since I was still navigating the nuances of Figma’s responsive prototypes.
I sketched out wireframes and brainstormed ways to inject personality into the homepage. I love making things move so I decided to create a playful avatar of myself that waves and points to my work. This was a bit ambitious as I had just started animation but the possibility and challenge was very exciting. I designed the avatar and dove into After Effects to bring it to life. I initially exported it as a video but quickly realized that for Figma’s free accounts, I would need to use a GIF.
I have a tendency to get lost when I am designing for myself. I’m a perfectionist at heart, but I kept reminding myself to keep things simple and that I could always build upon my work later. This mindset made the process so much smoother and far less overwhelming. In the end, I created a portfolio that I love and I’m genuinely proud of, finally fulfilling my long-held dream of having a portfolio with a true sense of personality. But I’m not done yet — I’ll keep refining and adding to it. The best part of making this is that I gained a newfound confidence in trusting myself and my creative instincts. I believe in myself more.
Feel free to check out my portfolio here, enjoy. I’d love to hear any feedback or suggestions you might have. Thank you for your time!
