101 Awesome Portfolio Sites
By Steven Snell | Published August 3rd, 2008 in InspirationFor designers, having a great-looking portfolio site is one of the best ways to attract attention to your services and to quickly prove to potential clients that you are capable of high quality work. If you’re working on building or re-designing your own portfolio, you should definitely find some inspiration from sites featured here (shown in no particular order).
UPDATE: We recently launched a gallery dedicated to showcasing the best portfolio sites – Folio Focus.
Showcase of Portfolio Websites:
For more portfolio inspiration see:
Great list! I am re-designing my portfolio site right now and although it’s close to being done, this list is certainly good for inspiration, and to see what else is out there.
All fantastic site – no doubt about it. You’ve done really well compiling this amazing list.
However, it would be really amazing to see some lesser known sites. I’ll bet that almost every designer that sees this article will recognize 90% of these designs. While this isn’t a bad thing – because the sites are all amazingly-well designed – it would be great to have something new in the mix.
But again, great work!
Shannon,
Good. I’m glad it can help.
Brian,
I can’t argue with that. Thanks for your feedback.
They’re all beautiful, but then again, they all look a bit alike.
thanks for the link up! Glad you like my work
brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brilliant stuff, its strange being featured among so many designers that I admire. I think my favourite has to be “Deaxon” – I just love that site. Nice stuff!
Nice list of portfolios.
There is too many to pick a favorite from.
thx 4 add my page! Nice overview!
Great post! Each one of these sites is incredible… you must’ve spent ages finding them all.
Nice list! The Things We Make is one of my favs… A few new ones here that I will have to check out!
this list seems to be only taking visual design in consideration, not code strength, validity and accessibility.
Quote:”I think my favourite has to be “Deaxon” – I just love that site. ”
Try increasing the font size in your browser preferences by 2 points. You’ll see that the design is broken and the site unusable. That should be taken in consideration when making these lists. If a site design is broken with a 2 points bigger font size, it means it is poorly coded, difficult to update and manage, and will probably be unusable on mobile phones or text-only web devices.
These are issues that any web designer should be concerned with.
Hi, thanks for the fantastic and full list!
A good beginning place for students building digital portfolios.
@sebastien – I see what you’re saying, but It doesn’t change my opinion. I still love it. What’s wrong with just liking something because it looks good anyway?
Very nice list here. Lot’s of inspiring ideas.
Hey, thanks for including my portfolio in this list of awesome sites. It’s quite an honor!
Excellent list of portfolios. It’s amazing the amount of creativity there: so many portfolios, yet each is individual!
Thanks for gathering these sites in one place.
Joost,
I don’t see how you can say they all look alike. Some are artistic using illustrations, some are minimal (two very different styles), some are light, some are dark, some use tons of images, some don’t use any.
Sebastien,
You’re right, the sites were chosen almost exclusively based on looks. My purpose with the post was to provide some design inspiration, not code inspiration. Looking at it again, maybe the post title wasn’t as clear as it could have been. If a site looks great but has some coding issues, the coding can be fixed/changed. You can still achieve the same look with better coding. My point was not to put these sites on a pedestal to say that they’re all perfect.
nice list, but this should really be called 101 awesome blog sites, since pretty much all have the same blog style layout…
Thanks for mentioning us on this list, awesome company to be in!
@sebastien – I totally agree with your point on font resizing. I went back and tested our home page and it does indeed withstand the two size change in Safari. That is one thing I always preach to our team.
As for conformity, I definitely don’t think all of these sites look familiar. Of course there are a few UI standards to follow but outside of that, there is quite a mix of designs here.
Tony
Fantastic list and an inspiration. I intend to one day design something that will make it onto a similar list.
very nice list thanks for putting it together.
Max | Design Shard
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Fantastic list. I would agree that this might be called 101 Awesome Blog Sites
Hey! Thanks for including me on the list. Awesome!
Hey! I’m so happy to be included in this list
thank you so much.
Coooooooooooooooooool!!! Loads of thanks for adding me to the list!!!
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Nice list.
@Sebastian, I agree – it would be nice if everyone coded to take the little (but important) things into account but it is also good to see people pushing blog templates in new directions to avoid them all looking the same. As Steven Snell put, you can always improve the code later on, which is easier than improving a design..
Great list. Hope one day my portfolio will make it to the top 102! Thanks for the inspiration.
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hey all great websites here….can any1 tell me hw these sites utilized d entire size of d pages, are they all CSS???
[...] 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
@tripsville
w these sites utilized d entire size of d pages – what do you mean?
are they all CSS??? – Yep!
[...] 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
Nice List! Mine is http://www.richardcastera.com
thanks for adding us to the list Steven!
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nice collection with various styles. it’s cool if you keep the list going longer
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[...] 101 portafolios. [...]
[...] a portfolio site is a priority for freelance designers, and online portfolios are often one of the primary methods [...]
Digital Mash…..fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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[...] – Freelance: Is name recognition important for success? – 10 Tools for Evaluating Web Design Accessibility – Cómo encontrar trabajo en una agencia de publicidad? – Qué es el BTL? – Wayole – Qué es el Marketing Viral? – 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
[...] designers have incredible portfolios, but they just aren’t being seen by enough people to make a real difference. One of the best [...]
[...] of what type of website you’re developing (a blog, a portfolio site, an e-commerce site, etc.), the success of the site will hinge on being able to communicate [...]
[...] designers have incredible portfolios, but they just aren’t being seen by enough people to make a real difference. One of the best [...]
[...] I Love all these and visit this one everyday. It keeps my eyes fresh. [...]
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Nice job all of you… keep up the good job… As a freelancer, I continuous learning and getting all the best info from the BEST… http://www.rickywilson.ws
[...] of what type of website you’re developing (a blog, a portfolio site, an e-commerce site, etc.), the success of the site will hinge on being able to communicate [...]
[...] to Steven Snell at DesignMag for choosing Cleverful as one of their 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites. It’s a real honor to have [...]
[...] 34. 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
[...] of a website is to communicate with its visitors. Regardless of whether the site is a blog, a portfolio site, a corporate site, or an e-commerce site, it exists to communicate with [...]
Nice list of portfolios.
There is too many to pick a favorite from.
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[...] 101 imponentes portafolios (inglés) [...]
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[...] iniciar me gustaría que leyeras el artículo de designm.ag que te muestra 101 portafolios increíbles en donde te muestran una lista de inspiradores portafolios de diseñadores web. También, si [...]
I expected to see http://www.bearskinrug.co.uk and http://www.circografico.com.ar here, both examples are top quality portfolios, plenty of originality.
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[...] number of lead generation methods that freelancers can use (PPC, bidding sites, a high-visibility portfolio site, blogging, etc.), but none can top a steady stream of referral business. Potential clients who come [...]
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Indispensable list– I have to say, as one of those rare designers who values code strength as well as design aesthetic, I have to agree with Sebasiten’s comment. Though, as a user, I sort of expect aesthetic to be sacrificed when increasing font size. Well done!!
[...] 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
Hi. Great list of inspirations, thanks for including us on the list ♥.
[...] 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
Ok, these all look the same and they are not awesome portfolio sites. They have zero individuality and lack concept. If you want to see samples of good portfolio work then go to digitalthread.com or designcharts.com, these websites have really good portfolio samples and very successful design websites.
I launched my portfolio yesterday and maybe somebody is interisted http://www.matthiasdittrich.com. It is a slim list of my projects as interaction designer. I used flash papervision to find a new unused look.
Thanks for adding our site (ImageX Media). I’m proud of the work our design team has done and appreciate you recognizing their work
Glenn
Great list, a complete mix and contrast in styles. Some really inspirational and enviable ideas.
[...] 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
very nice portfolios, thanks for the list..
[...] 26, 2009 … not sure about the ‘awesome’ness of some of them, but there’s plenty of examples of what (and what not) to do when creating an online [...]
The thumbnail image for http://www.davidhellmann.com/ is different here. The live site is having a new design. Pls. update it.
div,
This post is old and the blog gets updated quite frequently. There is no way I can keep all of the images up-to-date with re-designs. I would spend all of my time checking to see what had been changed and updating it on my site.
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There are some really awesome portfolios here! I think Tony Geer’s portfolio looks the best out of all of them. He has a great sleek, and modern design.
[...] the past we have featured a number of well-designed portfolio sites (see 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites, 50 Excellent Designer Portfolio Sites, 30 More Portfolio Sites for Your Design Inspiration), and [...]
Very inspirational. I used some of the websites above for inspiration not too long ago on my own portfolio. Brilliant post!
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Amazing collection… each and everyone of them is better than the other… superb… jam packed inspiration…
coooooool
that’s is most beautiful collection I had ever seen
Very inspirational. So jealous
[...] 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites [...]
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Great sites!
I’m working on my portfolio, I would like to criticize to improve.
http://www.joseacreative.com/
Thanks for posting! I’ve really enjoyed looking through this list, and I’ve pulled some fresh new ideas from some of the sites.
[...] out this collection put together by Steven Snell. Lee Munroe’s article 10 Steps to the Perfect [...]
Some really Great Designs, Credit to the designer of course.
[...] http://designm.ag/inspiration/101-awesome-portfolio-sites – 101 really good porfolios done by web designers. Leave a Comment [...]
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wow. amazing collection I like it, especially Noe Design Studio
thakns
Nice collection of website portfolios. I just recently finished a portfolio design for the company I work for, would love to hear some feedback.
Check it out: http://onyxcreates.com/category/our-work/
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
very very attractive collections. it will leave deep impressions to use.
Awesome work,Thanks for this meaningful sharing
[...] We found it in this big list. A fun way to spend at least a few minutes (or hours) geeking out on design. [...]
You should also post the following site:
http://www.pointsnpixels.com
new impressing design
Some nice portfolios here, hope to see my site on here oneday.
nice portfolios here…
whoever put this list together has really bad taste in design.
very nice collection ….loved the effort
Great inspirations!
I waz hanging around for portfolios sites.
My search culminates.
-Aru
Thank you – I’m always looking for good tips, hints and ideas to improve – I’ve been tring to find articles now for quite a while, and I’m always trying to come up with unique content for visitors to my site. I’ll be sure to check back soon for more
Really awesome portfolio sites! Great inspiration for web-designer!
nice collections but needs some to be updated…..
Cool collections… waiting more
super designs – thanks für your inspiration
Nice collection of sites and good inspiration. Thanks.
super designs
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Great collection..very inspiring indeed. just came up with my own portfolio. check it out.
Tc
good collection – an update would be gr8
Nice collection
Well done
A lot of these look like templates. Some good creativity as far as color composition and content. But, the layouts on most are so similar, it’s hard to see any major, creative differences between them. I included a link to just one of the many i have bookmarked that has caught my eye over the years of browsing. It’s definitely a unique site. Enjoy & good luck!
http://www.bogdanpavel.com/
this is a great post
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[...] of the first posts on DesignM.ag was 101 Awesome Portfolio Sites, which drew an excellent response from readers. Many of the current readers/subscribers weren’t [...]
I realy appreciate the value your posts brings to my day. I am thinking about starting a new blog. what would be a good wordpress theme for a web design blog?
I really learned a lot. I appreciate the effort put into this site and will visit here more often. Thank You!
Great post! Good collections !!
awesome.. great collections..
cool design, so creative, i like it.
this collection very helpful
nice collections but it needs some to be updated will somebody do that~~i don’t think so
I have been trying to acces this website for a while. I was using IE then when I tried Firefox, it worked just fine? Just wanted to bring this to your attention. London,UK
Wonderfull stuff and collection about portfolios..We get lot ideas..really its usefull designers…very nice sharing
i like the last one
Nice collection
Thanks
wow. amazing collection I like it, especially Noe Design Studio
thakns
nice collection
great list you have
thanks for sharing
I love the BaseKit one
Natural and awesome
so inspiring me…
nice collectionn
wonderfull…
Thanks for sharing
Just awesome. congratulation for this great post!!
Greetings from bremen:-)
Hi. Great list of inspirations, thanks for including us on the list
nice collection…
that’s beautiful site… i like them… how can i make like them…
just want to say hello for my friends here…
Great showcase. I really liked Dawghouse Design Studios and Spoon Graphics. I love it when designs are a little sketchy and not to neat. Especially for creative blogs. Thanks for sharing.
just want to say hello for my friends here
Great showcase. I really liked Dawghouse Design Studios and Spoon Graphics. I love it when designs are a little sketchy and not to neat. Especially for creative blogs. Thanks for sharing.
I have to admit, a lot of these sites look really similar. So many of them use that same old web 2.0 look… I call it the Neapolitan ice cream look. Header, content, footer in 3 different colors, usually dark to light from top to bottom separated by clean lines and sparse content. Not all of them, mind you. But if I scroll down quickly, I definitely see a pattern. Web standards have dealt a blow to creativity.
Great roundup guys! but I like http://www.eatablegraphics.com/ its better.
I ran across search engines and find this blog that fulfill my needs. There is a thing I do not agree but It doesn’t matter since I think it does not hurt the whole content.
Gorgerous!! all outlays… looks like APPLE style
And this site’s also good! http://www.uggs-outlet-store.com
agree with Celia, look like Apple style.
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nice collection… great website
Awesome outlays! Great designs, good variety. I found what I’ve been looking for.
The Mark Forrester Digital farm is the best animal toys theme in the list.
very nice portfolios. Thanks for the list. I think the coolest looking site is probably the 31 three. I think they should make a site that has copper cookware in it that would be funny!!