Creative Career Conundrums: Rebuilding a Portfolio Without Belief

In this week's installment of Creative Career Conundrums from If You Could Jobs, a 32-year-old graphic designer working in-house and a new father seeks guidance on refreshing a portfolio he no longer feels represents him. Katie Cadwell, co-founder of the branding studio Lucky Dip and host of The NDA Podcast, underscores the importance of in-house experience when presented effectively. She recommends focusing on the challenges addressed, constraints, budgets, timelines, target audiences, and tangible metrics—distinctive features of in-house positions. For older projects, she advises enhancing storytelling, refreshing visuals with contemporary mockups from platforms like Bendito or Supply Family, and incorporating impactful, low-effort elements such as campaign concepts or motion graphics. Incremental improvements of 20% for each project can be achieved during brief periods, like lunch breaks. Cadwell also emphasizes self-compassion, reminding that career paths are rarely linear and that the current portfolio might already be adequate for landing a desired role. This column is part of a weekly series from If You Could, the job board for It's Nice That, which features ongoing creative job listings.