Had a client in a coffee shop tell me my portfolio looked 'too clean'

I was showing my branding work to a potential client at The Daily Grind downtown. He looked at my tablet, sipped his coffee, and said, 'It's all very neat, but where's the mess? The good stuff is in the rough sketches.' He meant my process work. I only showed the final, polished pieces. It stuck with me because he was right. How do you guys decide what 'messy' inspiration to include in your own portfolios?

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3 Comments

kareng277mo ago

Oof, my portfolio's just the clean laundry pile.

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blair6267mo ago

Actually, a clean laundry pile sounds pretty organized to me. Mine is more like that one junk drawer everyone has, full of random stuff from years ago. It takes real effort to sort through and show only the good parts.

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kelly.daniel6mo ago

Disagree with that client completely. My final work is the product, not the rough drafts. Showing the mess just distracts from the clean finish, like @kareng27 said.

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