Winning hearts and minds — let alone standing out — as a designer can be challenging. The field is filled with polymaths and creatives by design (pun intended?), which means showcasing an authentic version of themselves in a single place is difficult.
If that’s not enough, designers also bear the weight of creating a personal website that not only houses their portfolio or full-time work and side hustles, but doesn’t divert attention away from the real content: their designs.
It’s a challenge we’ve embraced here at Polywork HQ via our new personal website builder. But rather than participate in any (further) self-promotion, we thought we’d reiterate the benefits of personal websites for designers, along with examples from our community.
The designer x polymath conundrum
There are more than 500,000 graphic designers employed globally, and 265,000 in the U.S., according to data compiled by Colorlib. A large share of them are freelancers, and in many cases, polymaths to boot. That’s a large crowd to stand apart from. However, since the concept of “standing apart” is a bit broad, let’s unpack it below.
Calli Zarpas
1. It's about showcasing your unique work and skills
If your goal is upward career mobility, your personal website is the gateway to your best work and skills to potential clients and employers. According to a 2023 survey by Clutch, 88% of hiring managers say they have visited a candidate's personal website as part of the hiring process.
First impressions count for a lot, and a well-designed website is critical to making the best one possible.
2. Where your side hustle fits into the mix
If you're interested in building side income, your personal website can help you attract new clients. In fact, HubSpot’s 2022 State of Inbound Marketing found that 72% of businesses have acquired a customer from their website.
Leveraging the SEO of personal website builders or investing in your own site’s SEO out front can work in the background to help you gain clients while you’re hustling on the front end.
3. Are you investing in your brand and reputation?
Design is a huge piece of building your brand, no less as a designer. Hootsuite’s 2023 Social Media Trends Report found that a majority of consumers say that brand reputation is important when making a purchase decision.
Lori Goldman
Translation: Showcasing yourself, your designs, and your unique brand in a consistent way across the web is crucial for all designers hoping to build income of any kind, rising and experienced alike.
How these 4 designers showcase their talents on Polywork
Andrea Tellatin (@andrea_tellatin)
Computational design expert and side hustler Andrea Tellatin takes full advantage of the highlight and portfolio blocks for their personal site.
Matt Johnston (@mattsjohnston)
Get to know Zoom’s head of design, who shares all of his hyphens front and center.
Kyle Hamilton (https://wambamthankyouham.com)
Strava’s senior product designer highlights his professional expertise across his personal site, along with ways to find him across social channels.
Dave Amaru (@dave_amaru)
The Sydney-based designer honors his creative storytelling headline with the narrative of his career, centralized on his personal website.
Start designing your own personal website
Now it's your turn to create a personal website that showcases all of your talents in one thoughtfully designed place.
Not sure where to begin? Get inspired by your peers that are already in Polywork.