How to Make a Portfolio Presentation [Detailed Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jul 10
- 6 min read
A few weeks ago, while working on a portfolio presentation for our client Zeth, he asked us a question that made our entire team pause for a second.
"How do you show off your work without sounding like you're bragging?"
Our Creative Director smiled and replied,
“By showing what changed because of it.”
And that, honestly, nailed it.
As a presentation design agency, we work on a lot of portfolio presentations throughout the year. And one pattern we’ve seen repeat itself like clockwork: people get stuck between showing too much and saying too little. It’s the classic portfolio paradox. You want to prove you’re great without yelling, “Hey look how great I am.” You want your work to speak for itself but not sit in silence either.
So, in this blog, we’re going to walk you through how to make a portfolio presentation that doesn’t just show what you’ve done but shows why it mattered. And we’ll do it without the fluff.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
Why Many Portfolio Presentations Miss the Mark
When Zeth shared his first draft, we saw what we usually do — solid work, but no real narrative. Just a deck full of projects and no clear takeaway.
That’s the pattern. Most people treat portfolio presentations like storage units: pack in everything, shut the door, hope it impresses.
The problem? No context. No reasoning. Just screenshots.
A good portfolio presentation isn’t a gallery. It’s a highlight reel with commentary. It needs to explain:
What problem you were solving
What decisions you made
What changed because of it
Otherwise, it’s just noise.
If your deck doesn’t make people think, “This person knows exactly what they’re doing,” it’s not doing its job.
How to Make a Portfolio Presentation
If you’ve ever opened a blank slide deck and thought, Where do I even start?, you’re not alone.
We’ve helped professionals, agencies, consultants, and creative founders build portfolio presentations that get them hired, funded, or featured. Most of them start in the same place: too much content, too little clarity.
So, here’s how we help them fix it.
1. Start with the Role You Want to Play
Before you even open PowerPoint or Keynote or Google Slides, answer this:
Who is this presentation for, and what role do you want in their world?
Zeth, for example, was trying to attract product innovation partners. But his first version looked more like a generalist designer’s catalog. So we helped him cut out everything that didn’t support that specific goal.
Your portfolio is not your full résumé. It’s a pitch deck. A curated story that makes you look like the obvious choice for a very specific kind of work.
If you’re a UX designer, are you trying to land a lead role in a fintech startup? Or freelance branding gigs from e-commerce clients? That changes what projects you show and how you frame them.
Action: Write down your target audience in one line. Then, pick 3–5 projects that align directly with the kind of work you want to do more of.
2. Pick Fewer Projects (And Tell Better Stories)
This is where most people get nervous. They want to show everything they’ve ever done.
Here’s the truth: More slides won’t make you look more experienced. Better slides will.
You don’t need ten projects to prove yourself. You need three that you can explain deeply and clearly.
For each project, we recommend using this structure:
The Problem: What was broken, unclear, or missing before you stepped in?
Your Thinking: Why did you make the choices you did?
The Outcome: What changed as a result of your work?
Here’s how we helped Zeth frame one of his slides:
Before: Just a layout with mockups and the client’s logo.After:Challenge: The client’s onboarding process was losing 40% of new users within the first 60 seconds.Approach: Zeth simplified the UX to focus on one clear call-to-action. He rewrote the microcopy and reduced steps from 6 to 3.Result: Bounce rate dropped by 38% within a month. Retention increased. Then we showed a before-after comparison on the screen, with minimal text.
When you present it like this, you're not just saying "Look what I made." You're saying, "Here’s how I think. Here’s how I solve problems."
That’s what people hire.
3. Design for Simplicity, Not Style
Yes, you want it to look good. But most people over-design their portfolio presentations. They fall into the trap of making it pretty but unreadable.
We always tell clients: Design for clarity first, and aesthetics second.
Here’s what that means in practice:
One key point per slide. Not five. Not three. One.
Use white space like it’s your best friend. Don’t cram.
Use large images, not tiny thumbnails. Let the work breathe.
Minimal text. Speak during the presentation — don’t try to cram your script onto the slide.
Also, if you’re using visuals (you should), label them like a human. Not “Client X Homepage” but “Simplified UX to reduce friction in user signup.” Make it obvious what they’re looking at and why it matters.
We also recommend creating visual consistency across all project slides. Use the same layout or structure for each case study — it helps your audience follow along without guessing what’s coming next.
4. Include a Strong Intro and Exit Slide
People often forget the beginning and the end. But these are the parts that stick.
Your intro slide should:
Say who you are
State what you do (in plain language)
Signal who this presentation is for
Example (what we wrote for Zeth):
Hi, I’m Zeth.I design products that simplify complex workflows.This is a short deck showcasing how I’ve helped early-stage SaaS companies build intuitive user experiences that scale.
Your final slide should:
Invite action
Give a next step
Share your contact details (but do it with personality)
Example:
Thanks for your time. If this resonates with the kind of thinking you need on your next project, I’d love to talk.[email][LinkedIn or portfolio website]
Simple. Clear. Direct.
5. Present It Like a Conversation, Not a Performance
A great deck falls flat if your delivery doesn’t match.
Here’s how we coach clients to present their portfolio:
Don’t read from the slides. Expand on them.
Tell short stories. One project, one story. Keep it moving.
Watch for signs of engagement. If the other person leans in or asks a question, go deeper. If not, move on.
Practice transitions. Don’t say “So yeah, moving on…” Have a bridge. Example: “That project taught me the value of clarity in onboarding. Let me show you how I applied that in a more complex setup.”
And don’t memorize a script. Know your work so well that you can talk about it like you're explaining it to a friend.
Confidence doesn’t come from sounding perfect. It comes from sounding sure of your process.
6. Adapt the Deck for Different Contexts
One version of your portfolio is not enough. Depending on the situation, you’ll need different versions:
A self-led PDF version (for sending cold emails or uploading)
A live presentation version (for Zoom or in-person meetings)
A short teaser deck (3–4 slides max for networking intros)
For Zeth, we made two formats: one he could talk through, and one he could email without needing to be there. Each version had a slightly different layout and level of detail.
If you’re serious about using your portfolio to grow your career or business, this is non-negotiable. Your deck isn’t just a file. It’s a tool — and tools should be shaped for the job.
7. Include Work You’re Proud Of (Not Just What Was Client-Approved)
Sometimes the most impressive parts of your process aren’t visible in the final product. That’s fine. If the final designs got watered down, show the part where your thinking made a difference.
You’re not just showing the end result. You’re showing how you work.
And if there’s something you did as a side project, or a personal redesign, or an internal concept you’re proud of — add it. Just be transparent about the context.
We helped Zeth include an internal prototype he worked on that never went live. Why? Because it showed strategic thinking and user testing insights that most designers don’t talk about.
Clients loved it. It became a conversation starter.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.