The Importance of Fashion Portfolio: A Discussion Around Creating and Presenting Your Concept Board

In the world of fashion, where many fashion designers are working hard to make a name, a fashion portfolio acts as a very effective tool. It also enables fashion designers to maintain a digital archive of their work, helping them coherently explain their work to their clients. If one wants to create a digital portfolio by themselves, they can do so by using online platforms such as Behance Portfolios. 

What is a Fashion Portfolio?

A fashion portfolio is a collection of all the samples created by a fashion designer. It is a way to present the collection of works before a potential client. A fashion portfolio consists of several vital components. Let's discuss them to understand the concept of a fashion portfolio better. 

Introduction

The introduction to a portfolio must not be a thorough introduction of the designer, but it should include the inspiration and purpose of the collection. Moreover, it should be clear what type of designs the client can expect to find in the portfolio. 

Concept Boards

Concept boards are the most crucial sections of a fashion portfolio. These boards help fashion designers showcase their creativity and inspiration through drawings, sketches, color palettes, fabric swatches, and pictures of their work. 

Fashion Designs

After explaining the concept and inspiration behind the work, fashion designers in this section present high-quality photographs of their works. The pictures can be of models or mannequins wearing the garment. Apart from this, fashion designers also add the outline or silhouettes of their work. It is advised that one should not overcrowd this section and present only the selected best of their works. 

Technical Drawing

Technical drawings are the best way to show your clients that you have the skills to draw accurate sketches without using any illustrator or drawing tool. The emergence of fast fashion has increased the demand for designers good at technical drawing because these technical writings have been crucial in making fashion prototypes. While adding these technical drawings, do not restrict yourself to a particular genre; provide designs of jeans, trousers, and coats, etc., all in one place. 

Types Of Fashion Portfolio

There are two categories of a fashion portfolio that designers create using Behance Portfolios, these are: 

Personal Portfolio

This portfolio is the one that designers take to their interviews. A personal portfolio is meant to demonstrate a skill in which you are specialized. Moreover, this portfolio will have all the skills that you have acquired in your time as a professional designer. 

Specific Portfolio

As the name suggests, a specific portfolio is designed for a particular client. This type of portfolio is presented after an initial discussion with the client about their requirements. This portfolio shows a client a specific collection to ensure that the designer is suitable for the job. 

Importance of Fashion Portfolios

A fashion portfolio is one thing that will give your clients a fair idea about your level of creativity and work experience. One should have both an online and an offline portfolio. An online portfolio will make your work accessible to anyone from anywhere in the world and will keep you connected with clients on all levels. With an offline portfolio, you can take part in physical interviews and coherently present your work.

With the help of tools like Behance Portfolios, you can be a part of the pool of designers who are connected online and are working on some fantastic projects. Furthermore, a digital portfolio will also give you a chance to showcase your creativity using various tools and templates. Therefore, every fashion designer should create a portfolio consisting of all the above elements. These elements will help you present yourself and brand yourself better in front of clients. And one such element is a concept board, which is one of the essential sections of a designer’s portfolio. 

What is a Concept Board?

Conceptboard is a board used to present creative ideas using images, textures, texts, and various colors. Designers use this space to present their ideas and inspiration behind a particular design or collection before the client. 

It can be created in a digital or physical format. A physical concept board is mounted on large cardboards to accommodate various ideas. A concept board can also be seen as a starting point of a collection, as it highlights the ideas and inspirations that led to that particular project. 

Use of Concept Boards

In the world of fashion, a concept board is something where fashion designers can collaborate and work together to create a space where they represent their ideas. The use of texts, clothes, and color palettes makes a concept board very attractive.  

How to Create a Concept Board

A concept board should reflect your inspiration and ideas, so you must devote enough time to designing it. 

Fix a Template

Before starting to design a concept board, one must ensure that all the elements are given equal space and are in the proper position. The important elements should be highlighted clearly on the concept board, while the secondary ideas need to be arranged on the extremes so that clients do not confuse them with the central theme. 

Choose the Right Color

The color of the concept board plays a significant part in presenting the designer’s ideas, so one must be very picky when it comes to choosing the right color for it. Think of the idea or concept that one wants to put forward through their board. Find a color that conveys the message most clearly, according to color psychology. 

Don’t Overdo

A concept board needs to be as straightforward as possible because the idea it conveys should not be confused with any other ideas on the board. Therefore, one should avoid putting everything on one plate. However, suppose a designer wants to convey multiple ideas to the client. In that case, it is better to design separate concept boards rather than mix them into one to avoid overwhelming the clients. 

Use Good Online Tools

Nowadays, several tools are present online, using which one can quickly get things done. If a designer is making a digital portfolio, they should use tools like Adobe Illustrator or Canva to create and edit templates. Moreover, one should also take into account the resolution of the pictures that are added to the portfolio. 

These pictures should be clear, and the resolution of all the photos should be the same to create a uniform look. If an image has a lower resolution, use online tools to upscale its resolution. 

Observe and Learn

There are a lot of fashion designers using concept boards to present their work to their clients. One can look at all those concept boards to get an idea of how they can deliver them in a better way. 

Use Variations

A concept can be explained and presented in several ways. So why not deliver different versions of the same concept board to clients to make them understand the idea in a much better way!

Present Your Idea Boldly 

Several fashion designers make a big mistake in their Behance Portfolios because they combine too many elements in their concept board. This overlapping of ideas creates confusion in the minds of the client. Therefore, a concept board must be consistent and present the same idea in each element. 

Make it Flexible

One should not put any rigid boundaries on their concept board. Choose an idea that can be modified later if the client wants to make minor changes. Avoiding fixed ideas will give flexibility to your concept, which will help you adapt to the client’s needs.  

Ways to Present a Concept Board

Designers can present a concept board to a client in two ways:

Through a Portfolio

A concept board is an integral part of a fashion designer’s portfolio. Therefore, if one wants to convey their ideas and inspiration for any upcoming client project, they can attach the concept board in the final portfolio. 

Online Presentation

When a client is remotely connected to a designer and wants to know the designer’s ideas and inspirations about their project, the designer can choose to do it through a concept board. A concept board created on Behance Portfolios can be presented online in a meeting. 

The importance of a portfolio is clear from the above discussion. If fashion designers want to boldly present themselves, and their collection before clients, they should work on their portfolios diligently. Furthermore, they also need to pay attention to the concept board attached to their portfolio. This concept board will help them present their ideas more coherently in front of their clients. However, to design a collection, fashion designers often need good-quality clothes. They can make their collection with the help of Fashinza, which is an apparel manufacturing platform that helps clothing brands connect with the best suppliers in the industry.