Design Inspiration: 10 Great Minimalist Portfolio Pages

Designers once believed that more equaled better. More options, more graphics and more words meant a more qualified and impressive portfolio. Providing your audience with this type of sensory overload can still have its place with the right company or product, but designers are now discovering that going the opposite direction can make an even bigger impact.

Minimalism is the new trend, and it’s using clean lines, whitespace and a limited color palette to strip away any unnecessary elements and let the work speak for itself. Removing these distractions creates a calm environment that allows the viewer to see the possibilities and tempts them to seek out more.

People gravitate toward minimalism for many different reasons. It can make portfolios easier to create and change, and it minimizes load times for your visitors. Minimal sites can also exude confidence. Showing off your work in such a bold way can sometimes seem intimidating for designers as it leaves nothing to distract the viewer, but it also gives you a chance to showcase your best work.

The good news is that designing a standout portfolio doesn’t have to be difficult. There are numerous tools available to help get you started. Filtering your work through minimalist WordPress themes is one of the easiest ways to achieve this look. Play with their templates and let yourself be inspired.

Some of the best minimalist portfolios

Deutsche & Japaner

Jamie Gregory

Jessica Caldwell

La Moulade

Mark Heggan

Neotokio!

Opal

Petex Studio

Decorated Playlists

RSPNY

Whether you start from scratch or use a template, go with grayscale colors or white space, decide what minimal means to you and be consistent. Focusing on content rather than flash may be considered a bold move, but it might be exactly what your portfolio needs to stand out among the crowd.

This is a guest post contributed by Rob Toledo, who is working alongside Shutterstock and Bigstock stock creating guides to using stock footage and stock photography to increase user engagement and lower bounce rates. He can be reached on Twitter @stentontoledo.