What belongs on an artist portfolio page

Say what you do in one sentence

Somebody arriving on your page decides in seconds whether you make the kind of thing they want. A page that opens with a grid of images asks them to work that out for themselves, and most will not.

One plain sentence about what you make and who you make it for does more than any amount of design.

Show fewer things, chosen better

A portfolio is judged by its weakest piece, not its best. Cutting the middling work makes everything left look stronger, which is uncomfortable and reliably true.

• Lead with your strongest piece
• Remove anything you would not want more of
• Show a range only if you genuinely want that range of work

Make it obvious what to do next

If people can buy your work, say so and link it. If you take commissions, say so, say roughly what you take on, and make the enquiry route obvious. A page that shows work and offers no next step converts interest into nothing.

Write like a person

The "about" section is the only part in your own voice. Artist statements written in the third person and full of abstractions read as evasive; a few honest sentences about what you are interested in read as somebody worth talking to.

Keep it current

A page whose newest work is two years old suggests you have stopped. Adding one piece occasionally is worth more than a redesign.

Make it easy to be contacted

A portfolio that shows extraordinary work and offers no obvious way to commission it is a common and expensive mistake. Say what you take on and how to ask.

If you would rather not take certain work, say that too. Ruling things out attracts better enquiries than saying nothing.

Order matters more than volume

People rarely reach the bottom. The first three pieces do most of the work of deciding whether somebody keeps looking, so put your strongest and most representative work there.

Revisit the order occasionally. What you consider your best changes, and the page should follow.

Write the description as though somebody will read it aloud

Artist statements collapse into abstraction very easily — words like "explores" and "interrogates" that describe nothing anybody could picture. The test is whether a sentence survives being read to a friend without embarrassment.

Concrete is better than impressive. What you draw, why that subject, what you are trying to get right. Somebody deciding whether to commission you is looking for a person, not a press release.

How to start

Everything runs through one place. Artists sign in at the artist studio, upload work, choose which products each piece suits, and see what they have earned. Customers browse the artwork, pick a design, and choose what to put it on.

Nothing about it is exclusive. You can sell the same work elsewhere at the same time, and there is no listing fee and no minimum.

• Apply with three pieces so we can see how you work
• Choose which products each design belongs on
• Get paid by bank transfer on what sells

Common questions