A typical client will want to know your abilities and skills before you can land big design projects. A professional portfolio website with an elegant design can help you make a great first impression.

A portfolio website can often be the difference between professionals and amateurs. Employers are more comfortable working with designers who have experience. This demand might prompt you to look at multi-author portfolio websites such as Adobe Portfolio and Adobe Behance.

Creativity is your greatest selling point as a designer. Having a portfolio website that is custom-made for you is the best. This allows you to showcase your work exactly how you want.

You’ll soon realize that you could benefit from some inspiration once you have decided to create a portfolio website for your design work.

Your uniqueness is undoubtedly your strength. You don’t want to copy someone else’s work. However, it is possible to get creative ideas by looking at some portfolios.

Are you a web, UI/UX, or graphic designer who is looking for the best ideas to showcase your work?

This article contains 12 amazing design portfolio websites that will inspire you.

What makes a great design portfolio website?

A portfolio website is essential for designers. A portfolio website not only showcases your best work but also allows you to share your expertise and define your niche.

Before you go create your portfolio website, you need to understand what makes a portfolio website effective. What should businesses be looking out for as they peruse pages upon pages of portfolios from multiple designers?

These are the top factors that design portfolios can stand out, according to our experience:

• Design: A design portfolio website is nothing without great design. Design is subjective, it’s clear. There are however universal guidelines for modern, elegant graphic design. Your portfolio should reflect current industry trends. Also, be sure to look for the things that appeal to your dream employer.

• Creativity You should also be focusing on making your website unique. Designers who bring new ideas to the table are a big plus for employers.

• Branding: A portfolio can also be used as a strategic branding tool. Even for established brands, this is especially important. It is often easier for companies to work with designers who have a good reputation.

• User experience It is not only important to design a site, but also its usability. It is important to not sacrifice usability and ease of navigation for aesthetics.

• Content A portfolio website’s content should give visitors enough insight into your brand, your services, and your brand. The goal should be to have well-structured pages with relevant copy.

When it comes to content, we suggest adding the following pages: ‘Home’; ‘About’; ‘Portfolio’, Services’, and ‘Contact’.

You might also want to add a link to your social media profiles to the footer, or navigation bar.

12 Best Design Portfolio Websites

After we have discussed the main factors that went into compiling the list, let us dive right into our selection of the top design portfolio websites.

1. Portfolio Cyd Stumpel – Freelance Developer/Designer

This is our number one choice for this list: a portfolio website of a freelance web developer.

Cyd Stumpel, a web developer at the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam, is creative.

Most striking about Stumpel’s resume, however, is the fact that she has been a judge at Awwwards for over a year.

The homepage of this portfolio website features a 3D scrolling effect that showcases the best projects. Clicking on a project will take you to a dedicated page.

Every page has a variety of interactive sections-to-section transitions to keep visitors engaged. Users may experience some stuttering while scrolling on smaller devices.

2. Display — Disability-Oriented Design Studio

This example will inspire you to create a personal portfolio website for your design work.

The display is undoubtedly one of the most respected design studios in care.

The site has three tabs vertically dedicated to each page: ‘About’, ‘Works, and ‘Resources. The pages are composed of minimalistic looped animations that are easy on the eyes. A modern approach to design is evident in the choice of fonts, color palettes, and other details.

3. Kuon Yagi – Web Designer

Kuon Yagi is a Miami web designer and makeup artist. His portfolio showcases the incredible work he does out of Tokyo.

As you would expect from a modern website, Yagi’s portfolio features animations and transition effects that will keep users on their screens.

The 3D mouse effect powers the background elements on the homepage. Scrolling down is all it takes to navigate between pages. To view more projects and learn more, click on the “Show me More” button.

You can also use it as a hamburger button, even on desktop screens. This opens a fullscreen menu.

4. Active Theory – VR & AR Design Agency

Active Theory’s portfolio site is a great example of a design that is perfectly suited to its industry. The site offers a virtual tour experience that is similar to an AR/VR tour.

This homepage features moody cyberpunk aesthetics with glitchy 3D mouse effects and a wholesome virtual environment. The portfolio page features several websites, apps, platforms, VR/AR projects, and installations.

This structure is a testament to years of digital design expertise. Potential clients in this niche will be hard-pressed to not be impressed.

5. Wendy Ju – UI/UX Designer

Wendy Ju, a New York-based UX/UI designer, is well-known for her ability to create digital experiences by problem-solving.       

The site welcomes users with a simple animation called “Hello – Hi”.

The site is only two-colored and the background is a bubble effect. The navigation structure is a vertical bar that runs along the left and right sides of the page. The logo and contact icons can be accessed on the left, and the navigation menu on right.

If you hover over any portfolio item on the homepage, the title of the project and the taxonomy tags will be displayed. Click on the image to view more information, such as the designer’s role and the final product or the design process.

6. Tom Sears Designer/Creative Director

Are you still looking for modern minimalist designs?

Another interesting example is Tom Sears’s portfolio of design.       

Sears is an Englishman who has over 14 years of experience and is currently Squarespace’s Design Director.

This website is the only one that’s entirely based on text. It only has two pages: ‘About’ as well as ‘Projects’. The majority of creativity can be seen on the Projects page, where projects are listed in vertical tabs.

The cursor will be replaced by a circle with a dot in its middle. A preview of a project listing is displayed in a lightbox when you hover over it.

7. Virginia Orosa– Tech Startup Designer

This portfolio website is a design showcase and it has been selected because of its simplicity and high-quality usability.

Virginia Orosa is a designer and brand identity expert who has over six years of experience using Figma, Webflow, and Adobe XD.

Each page has its section. Click on the “Call to Action (CTA), to get more information. Other profile icons will be displayed at the bottom of each page in the left navigation.

This site is a great inspiration for designers who want to keep their portfolios simple.

8. Edward Hinrichsen – Developer/Engineer

We love the creative use of technical features on this portfolio website.

Edward Hinrichsen graduated from the University of Melbourne in Computing and Software Systems. His engineering and design background are well combined. This is evident in his website.

You’ll be greeted immediately after the site loads with a booting Mac screen. This screen displays Hinrichsen’s avatar and allows keyboard input.

Scroll down to see the rest of this site.

Scrolling will also bring out some beautiful transitions and animations that enhance the visual effect.

9. ToyFight(r), – Design Studio

ToyFight, a Manchester-based design studio, is made up of directors and strategists who have a flair for creativity and humor.

The ‘What’ page displays 3D-rendered models that show the founders chasing one another. This is an example of humor.

After you have finished this, there are many parallax effects available and several entrance animations.

ToyFight’s portfolio provides a lot of inspiration for your creativity.

10. BenMingo – Designer

Ben Mingo will welcome you to his portfolio website for design in an unusual manner.

Once you have loaded the homepage completely, you will see a blank page with text on it. Follow the instructions below to interact with the site.

Mingo’s portfolio projects are instantly revealed by dragging the cursor until the white bar to the left is full. Each project has a full-screen preview, which is an image with a bubble overlay and the project title.

To navigate through the five projects, you will need to hold the mouse and drag it. This unique design has one major drawback: it is not responsive.

You’ll find a “Get a Real Screen!” meme when you visit it on a smaller device. Also, you can click the link to purchase a monitor from Amazon.

Although it is a humorous attempt, not everyone will be impressed.

11. Thai Pham Photography Photographer/Artist

Here is a special pick for artists and photographers. Thai Pham Photography’s portfolio website is a simple way to introduce your work to potential clients.

The site’s focus is on visuals. There are no details about the project or backstory. It just provides enough information for clients to feel your creativity.

Site pages divided the work of Vietnamese creatives into three categories: Editorial, Personal, and Weddings .

The home page features a featured image and two horizontal navigation panels to the left and right.

This design portfolio website uses one of the WordPress portfolio themes. You can have your website up and running in no time.

12. Xavier Cusso – Independent Creative Designer/Director

Are you looking for more creativity in your next project? Check out Xavier Cusso’s design portfolio website.

You’ll find the homepage’s first item a slideshow of Cuusoo projects, ranging from 1 to 21.

Scrolling through the projects will reveal multiple split-screen transition effects. To learn more about each project, users can click on it.

The page will redirect you to a different page that contains all the information you require. This page includes information about the client, the role description, as well as a link to the current project.

Curso has extensive experience in interactive branding and website design. He is currently an Awwwards judge.

Google, Adidas, and Coca Cola are some of his largest clients.       

These design portfolio examples will show you what you can do for your business.

Create a Portfolio Website for Design Excellence Today

Every designer should have a design portfolio website. It is the perfect solution to showcase your best work, land new clients, and establish your expertise in your field.

Not all portfolio websites are created equal. For the best results, you want your portfolio website to be unique, creative, and elegant.

A template is a great way to get started quickly if you are a beginner. There are many creative WordPress themes available.

These 12 portfolio sites will allow you to compare notes with top-notch designers. These sites should inspire to help you get started.