Development Agency
Contact Sign in Get a project quote

Service

Designer portfolio development

For designers and illustrators, solo or in a small studio, who need a portfolio built around their disciplines, case studies and enquiry process rather than an image grid with a contact form underneath.

Get a project quote See the software package

The problem

What goes wrong today

Where it usually starts

A designer sells by showing work, and the showing is usually the weakest part of the operation.

  • The portfolio site was built from a template three years ago; adding a project means exporting images at several sizes, writing a caption in a field that does not fit the story, and then noticing that the grid now puts a brand identity next to a furniture piece as if they were the same kind of work.
  • The credentials deck that goes to prospective clients is a PDF that lives on a laptop, so three versions are in circulation and the one a prospect has is the one with the old rates page still in it.

Where it gets harder

Enquiries arrive as a line in a contact form or a direct message: no project type, no deliverables, no timeline, no sense of budget.

  • The designer spends the first two exchanges asking questions a form could have asked.
  • Some work cannot be shown yet because the client has not launched, and some can never be shown, but that status lives in memory rather than on the project record, so a case study goes live a week early.
  • Press mentions and features are a list in a notes app.
  • When a studio takes on an associate or an intern, they cannot update anything because the site only has one login and it belongs to the founder.

Scope of the service

What the build covers

A custom designer portfolio build is organised around disciplines and the enquiry. Each project is a structured case study with brief, approach and outcome written by the studio, tagged by discipline and client type so a visitor can filter identity work for hospitality clients without seeing packaging for retail. Each case study carries a permission record: what the client has agreed can be shown, from when, and whether the client can be named. A case study with no permission record cannot be published. Process pages per discipline explain how a brand project differs from an editorial illustration commission. The credentials deck is generated from selected case studies and exported as a document so there is one current version and it always matches the site. An availability status, set by the designer, tells visitors whether new freelance work is being taken and from when.

The enquiry asks what a form can sensibly ask: project type, deliverables, timeline, budget band and how the prospect found you. The proposal itself stays offline in your own document tools; the platform records the enquiry and its outcome. A press and features list collects coverage with dates and links. Media processing produces responsive image sets and handles video and motion work for product and interaction designers.

Deliberately out of scope

  • Design tooling, file storage for working files, and client project management, which sit in the tools you already use

When the scope grows

Scoping scenario

A three-person interior design studio wants case studies with floor plans and before-and-after image pairs, a separate route for trade enquiries from architects with a project address and stage, and a credentials deck that varies by sector. That is a different build from an illustrator with one discipline and an availability flag, and the scope document names which parts apply.

Deliverables

What you receive

  • Discovery notes from reviewing your current portfolio, deck and the last ten enquiries you received
  • A written scope document naming the disciplines, the case study structure and what is left out
  • Designs of the case study template, the filtered work index and the enquiry flow on phone and desktop
  • The build, including the credentials deck export where in scope, deployed to your hosting or ours
  • Import of existing case studies and press items with a redirect map for current portfolio URLs
  • Training for the designer and anyone who will add work, with a short written guide
  • Handover material and full ownership of the source code and your content

Process

How a project runs

Each stage maps onto the project view in your client panel. Durations are set in your proposal, never on this page.

  1. Onboarding

    Access to the current site, the deck in circulation, your press list and the master files for the projects you want to show first.

    Project stage: Onboarding

  2. Planning

    Discovery with the designer or founders; disciplines, client types, permission rules and the enquiry questions go into the scope document.

    Project stage: Planning

  3. Design

    The case study template and work index are designed around your own visual language rather than ours, and reviewed on the devices your prospects use.

    Project stage: Design

  4. Development

    Built in layers: case studies, disciplines and media, then enquiry and availability, then the deck export and press list.

    Project stage: Development

  5. Client review

    You load three real projects and route one real enquiry through the system, and tell us what does not match how you present work.

    Project stage: Client review

  6. Revisions

    Changes from the review are made and re-checked against the scope document.

    Project stage: Revisions

  7. Ready for launch

    All case studies imported with permission records set, redirects tested, deck export checked against the printed version, launch checklist signed off.

    Project stage: Ready for launch

  8. Delivered

    The portfolio is live and the next enquiry arrives through the new flow; hosting and maintenance continue under their own agreement if taken.

    Project stage: Delivered

Integrations

Commonly integrated

Systems this kind of business usually asks us to connect. Each integration is confirmed during discovery; none is assumed.

  • Video hosting providers for motion and interaction work
  • Email providers for enquiry notifications and follow-ups
  • Document export for the credentials deck in presentation and PDF formats
  • Calendar links for discovery calls following an enquiry
  • Newsletter platforms for studio updates
  • Analytics and consent management platforms

How we would approach it

Worked example

Concept demo

An interior design studio with trade and private enquiries

The situation

A small interior design studio takes residential commissions from private clients and fit-out work through architects.

Why it is a custom build

The custom route is needed because the two kinds of prospect ask different questions of the portfolio and need to be asked different questions back.

The scope we would propose

  • Case studies with paired before-and-after images and plan drawings as a distinct media type
  • Two enquiry routes where the trade route asks for the project address, stage and the architect practice while the private route asks for property type and rooms
  • A credentials deck assembled per sector from tagged case studies, and permission records that hold a residential project back until the client has moved in and agreed to publication

Concept demo: a scoping scenario written to show how we would approach the work. It is not a delivered client project.

Pricing

What affects the price

Every proposal is priced on scope. These are the factors that move it most for this kind of build.

  • Number of disciplines and whether each needs its own process page
  • Number of case studies to build and the state of the master files
  • Media types involved: still images, video, motion, plans and drawings
  • Credentials deck export and how many variants it needs
  • Enquiry routes and the questions asked on each
  • Press and features list and whether it imports from an existing source
  • Hosting choice: your own hosting or ours

Start from a package

Designer portfolio package

Case studies filtered by discipline and client type, permission records, a generated credentials deck, availability status, press list and structured project enquiries for designers and illustrators.

Custom build
View the package

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

When is the package enough and when is a custom build worth it?

A designer or small studio with a few disciplines, one enquiry route and a deck built from the same case studies is usually served by the designer portfolio package through configuration. Several enquiry routes, unusual media types or deck variants per sector point to the custom route, and we say which during discovery.

Can we show work that is under embargo?

Each case study carries a permission record with a publish-from date and whether the client can be named. The case study stays private until that date and can be shared earlier with a prospect through a private link if the client has agreed to that.

Does the credentials deck update itself?

The deck is generated from the case studies you mark for it, so when a case study changes the next export reflects it. You still choose when to export and send a new version, and the version sent is recorded against the enquiry.

Who owns the platform afterwards?

You do. The source code, case studies, images and enquiry records are handed over at delivery and can be exported at any time. Hosting and maintenance are optional and separately agreed.

Get a project quote for designer portfolio software

Answer a few questions about your business, your current systems and what should change. We reply with a clear, competitive proposal.

Get a project quote Discuss a partnership
Get a project quote

Cookies on this site. Strictly necessary cookies keep the site working. Allow first-party analytics so we can see which pages lead to enquiries. No advertising, no third-party trackers, no personal data; you can change this at any time on the cookies page.

Manage preferences