Create interactive digital portfolios for architects, builders, and interior designers
Creating an interactive design portfolio will help your architecture or interior design firm make an impression on your prospects and give you new opportunities for brand awareness. In this blog, you will learn what an interactive portfolio is and learn how to make a winning portfolio that stands out from your crowd of competition.
Why go digital?
2022 is the perfect time for design firms to introduce interactive elements into their portfolios. Consumers are using their mobile devices for every stage of the customer journey–from awareness to purchase. According to a customer insight survey conducted by PWC, forty-one percent of respondents say they make purchasing decisions on their mobile phones weekly. So it makes sense to share media in a way that matches your customers' behavior.
From a strategic point of view, you want your portfolio to integrate with the customer experience. Think about where that portfolio sits in the buyers' journey and add “next steps” that propel your prospects further down the funnel. It might look something like this:
A user searches for “Light Fixtures Austin” → They see your Light Fixtures Portfolio in the search results → They click through and browse your portfolio → At the end of your portfolio is a CTA that says “Schedule a meeting to plan your project” → Not only do they use your firm to update their light fixtures, they also use you to redesign their bathrooms.
Later in this blog, we’ll explain sidewalk farming techniques to attract prospects in a specific location.
Here are some tips for making a winning digital design portfolio:
Go small, then big
There are no rules to how many, how big, or how often you can make a portfolio. You might find that a comprehensive portfolio works best, or you might create portfolios based on themes. But we suggest starting small with individual themes, then creating a comprehensive portfolio for your brand.
For example, if you’re an interior designer, try making a portfolio for each theme of the interior, such as lighting, fixtures, artwork, etc. Embed each portfolio into a page on your website and pair the portfolio with copy explaining how your brand approaches that theme. This will help pull in more organic search traffic. Then, use a form fill or call-to-action that prompts the user to download your comprehensive portfolio.
Personalize and Localize
Perhaps you already have a prospect interested in your firm. You probably have an idea of what they like and what they’re looking for. Create a custom mood board that highlights their interest. End with a concept of your proposed design. Personalize the mood board and integrate this process into your customers’ buyer’s journey.
Sidewalk Farming
We know that consumers are using their mobile devices more and more. Consumers are also leaving their homes, and they expect to have seamless and sustainable experiences, like replacing a menu with a QR code. So this is a great opportunity to share your portfolio with the world by using a location-based QR code to farm prospects IRL (in real life).
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Create your digital content and map it to a location or address
Step 2: Create a physical sign with your location-based QR code
Step 3: Plant your sign. When users scan it, they’ll see a portfolio for a project tied to that location.
Why does it work?
People are curious. If they see a work truck parked outside their neighbor's house, and every day they hear saws and hammers working away, they’ll want to know what’s going on. This is a great way for your customers to show off their new project to their neighbors, aka, potential customers.
Track Results and Optimize
If your goal is to get more eyeballs on your brand, use a tool like Stagger to develop and track analytics on your portfolio. Tracking how users interact with your portfolio can indicate how to optimize it. For example, let’s say users are spending a lot of time looking at photos on a single project. Maybe they come back to this page over and over. You might want to repurpose those photos for a social media campaign.
Use templates to make it quick and easy
If you’re a small business owner, you’re probably short on time and high on workload. That’s why Stagger created easy-to-use, drag-and-drop portfolio templates. Design templates are a great way to give your brand a professional look and feel, without the tribal knowledge of design tools like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
Click here to start designing interactive portfolio with Stagger.