This article will discuss how to make an interior design portfolio with no experience.

It is a good practice to make a portfolio with just a few samples of your work and a few previous works from other clients. Use these samples to support the price range you want to charge, and also to build a portfolio worth following up on.

Of course, this is also a great opportunity to see what you're doing well and what you could improve. Keep your resume brief and focused with no more than three pages.

Send your portfolio to as many clients as possible. Take time and have a lot of patience with yourself while working on it.

To have a successful design portfolio, you need to plan ahead. All the examples in this article have been created with the exact method as listed below. 

1. Outline Your Sample Portfolio

I personally write my own sample portfolio for each project. In between the different works, I put the preview picture of the overall design plan I have in mind for my client.

This provides them with a visual representation of what I'm aiming for.

It's not a good idea to just post a photo of your work. In many cases, clients would ask if they can contact you to review the rest of your work. It might be good to ask clients for an emailed preview copy instead.

2. Pick Your Tools

It's crucial to pick the right tools to help you create your portfolio. If you have a laptop, Photoshop and Illustrator are very important to use.

If you're more into pens and pencils, a portable drawing pad, some colored pens, and a copy of Adobe's Sketch is best. I also use Blender 3D to help make animated 3D prototypes.

I think it's also important to include a notebook. This is a good place to jot down your ideas or as a place to do quick sketches.

3. Work Slowly

Take your time with the process. Build a portfolio that you're proud of.

If you're ever approached to create a portfolio, you'll be able to deliver a portfolio that will show your range of skills and showcase your work as well as your design process.

The best portfolio is the one that you have worked on from beginning to end.

4. Keep An Eye Out For Clients

Spend time scanning job boards and send out resumes to all the designers you can find. Or if you know someone who has an interior design portfolio that you can critique, contact them.

Don't forget to keep an eye out for online sites like Dribbble or Behance to check out portfolio of design professionals that you admire.

5. How To Present Your Design Process And Benefits

Your work should demonstrate a clear design process and benefits you can offer your client, based on your experience and skills. If you work as an interior designer, you should know what these are.

And make sure that when you present your work, you show how these ideas come to life and why they're good for your clients.

6. Building A Reputation And A Brand

This tip is extremely important. The quality of your work should speak for itself. You want your clients to know that you're working on their projects.

That means that when you do one job, you should create a portfolio. You want clients to see what you can do and how you would approach their next project.

7. "Know Thyself"

The one thing that has helped me become better is to find out who I am. What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses?

What type of person am I? What do I love? What am I not good at?

Find your answers to these questions and take action on them.

8. Allowing Time To Process

When I'm working on a portfolio, I often get stuck and create many mock-ups. To stop myself from forcing more work on myself, I work slowly on each mock-up.

Let the ideas come to you and don't force them.

9. Journaling And Morning Thoughts

When I'm drawing or sketching, I do a lot of journaling and writing in my notebooks. It helps me filter out the thoughts that are bothering me.

These can be images or ideas from my current portfolio. Or I can make an in-depth thought or question about a certain design in my head and write it down.

This helps me think deeply about my portfolio, which makes it even better.

10. Finding Inspiration

Look around for inspiration. Pinterest is great for this. Find a photo, sketch, or concept that makes you think, and do the same. It helps to have a clear vision of the type of design you're trying to accomplish.

11. Trying Different Ideas

Whenever you're trying to create an idea, it's important to be patient and work on it. Don't rush this step. I often work on my portfolio until I get a good idea that I like. Then I'll move to the next step.

12. Running A Mind-Game

Sometimes, I make up a mind-game about a design idea that I'm trying to put together. It's fun to come up with this mental game in my head, since you're creating it in an imaginary world.

Or you can imagine how a client would react if he or she knew you did this sketch. This game can help get your brain in the right mindset.

13. Deciding On A Direction

Deciding on your direction is one of the hardest parts. It's important to know which direction you're heading in and why. Otherwise, it's possible that your portfolio will end up being random.

It can be hard to decide, but think about your goals and what you want to achieve.

14. "Trying Out" Scenarios

Trying out different scenarios to see if they would actually be possible in real life is a good way to work through design ideas. In design school, we had to come up with 10 different design scenarios, and it helped me become more creative.

15. Giving Yourself A "Free Pass"

When I'm working on a portfolio, I don't hold myself to standards that I wouldn't actually set for myself. This makes it easier to explore the direction I want to go and allows me to not be afraid to get things wrong.

16. Trusting Your Intuition

Always trust your gut. The only person you can really control is yourself.

17. Working In The Landscape

Using multiple mediums to create a portfolio is incredibly important. You can be abstract or graphic with your design and showcase your skills in different ways.

18. Testing Changes

Sometimes, you need to test your designs and find out if they're working. For example, if you're working on a large-scale project, you might have to change a few things to make it fit the space.

19. Having A Unique Style

Even if you're creating multiple styles, it's important to have a unique style and voice. Try out different styles and see what's the best fit for you.