How Many Pieces Do You Need In Your Surface Pattern Portfolio? — Elizabeth Silver Surface Pattern Design (2024)

When I first came into the freelance world, I brought with me a lot of surface pattern design experience, but not much of a portfolio that I owned. I worked as an in-house designer for the first 10 years of my career which meant that all the designs I created on the job belonged to my employer.

Because of my experience as an in-house designer, I was relatively confident in my skills. But I still needed to make progress in building a portfolio of my own designs, that represented my personal style.

If you’re in a situation where you have design experience (illustration, graphic design, fine art, etc) or have that natural talent and feel secure in your abilities to create something beautiful for product surfaces, you may be asking this question. It's one I hear all the time:

I’ve heard all types of different advice on this subject. But here's the thing: if you’re satisfied with the skill level of the work you’re currently creating (hint: you will never be satisfied, so you should really just go for it) the answer is “way less than you think.”

With Under 10 Strong Designs in Your Portfolio, You Can Start Submitting Work to Potential Licensees, Agents, and Clients.

You may have heard me say this before, there’s very little downside to starting ‘too early’. However, putting off pitching your work until you have built up a large portfolio is a wasted opportunity.

Let’s Look at Some of the Possible Outcomes of You Pitching Your Work Today:

1. You Bring On A New Client Right Away

   The art director sees your work and loves it: Awesome, you’ve got a new client. Go you!

2. You Get Feedback to Develop Your Work a Bit More + Then Get a New Gig

   The art director sees your work and likes the style, but the art isn’t right for them at the moment. They come back and ask “What else do you have?”. You ask some follow-up questions about what they need and get to work designing some new artwork for your portfolio, specifically for what this potential client needs. Or, maybe the art director says “These are lovely, but we are looking for XYZ subjects. Would you be able to create that for us?” You negotiate a fee for commissioned work and have found a paying gig. Holla!

3. You Plant the Seeds for a New Client Relationship

   The art director sees your work and it isn’t enough for them to get a feel for your skills. They file your name away, and when you email back in six months (You’re for sure following up, right?) they remember that initial contact and have a frame of reference when they're looking at your new work. Relationships are everything.

4. You Get Valuable Intel About What Your Dream Client Is Looking For

   The art director sees your work and it’s not for them. Good to know. You’ve practiced at putting yourself out there, and nothing is stopping you from trying again down the road when you’ve developed your work a little more. If it’s a company you’re REALLY sprung on, this feedback could help you develop your portfolio to be more in line with what they *are* looking for. Dope.

Sooooo, can you see how even if you don’t get a new client right away, there’s really no downside to pitching your work TODAY? 🙌

Now Let’s Think About What Goes Down if You Wait to Submit Until You Have 50 Incredible Designs:

All the Same Outcomes, but 10 Months Later.

Ooof. I don’t know about you, but the reality of WASTING all that time hits me right in the gut. There’s no benefit to waiting, friend.

Seriously, What Are You Waiting For?

No matter how much work you have, there will always be situations where you don’t have what an art director is looking for, and not having enough work on hand is not a reason for people to dismiss you entirely. At best, it’s a reason to commission you to do something specific just for them, and at worst it’s a reason to file your name away for when you’re a little more developed. Developing client relationships take time even in the best cases, so there’s really no sense in putting it off.

Have you been waiting until the ‘right time’ to submit your work? What else is stopping you? If you’ve got a whole host of other reasons ripping you up, you may want to check out these posts:

👉 7 Reasons You're Not Pitching Your Surface Pattern Design Portfolio (And Why They’re All BS)
👉 Mindset Mini-Series: How to Overcome 3 Common Beginner Hurdles in Your Creative Career

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Making your surface pattern dreams come true does not have to be complicated or intimidating. I created the Start Your Surface Pattern Business course as a master plan for you to get focused, ditch the fear, and start pitching your work today.

Get more info here

Here’s What One of My Brilliant Students Had to Say About Their Results From the Course…

“This course lit a fire under me! Besides new friends, I have a list of potential clients and their contact info, and email and snail-mail pitches ready to go!”

- Karen Burns (owner of The Warped Spinster Illustrates, @warpedspinster)

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