What is #PortfolioDay and should you get involved?

If you've ever wondered why #PortfolioDay is suddenly trending on your Twitter feed, and is still trending a couple of days later, you're not alone. Although Portfolio Day is supposed to be just that – a day for creatives to share their portfolio on Twitter using #PortfolioDay – sometimes that day seems to drag into weeks, probably because no one seems to know when it's supposed to be.

Artists and creatives seem to be sharing their portfolios pretty much any day of the year, and while there's nothing wrong with that per se, the hashtag does work better when everyone's posting their art and design portfolios at once. With that in mind, we decided to address some common questions about the event.

What is #PortfolioDay?

Portfolio Day is a day once every three months where artists and creatives can share their portfolios on Twitter, in the hope of attracting more followers and landing creative roles or freelance work. It's a great way to motivate yourself to refresh your portfolio regularly, and could lead to not just more work, but also some fantastic new creative connections.

We should also remind you at this point that if you are looking for a new job, there's no need to wait until Portfolio Day to check out our design jobs board.

When is #PortfolioDay?

When exactly Portfolio Day is has been the bone of some contention. Ben The Illustrator was so confused about the timing of the event that he took to Twitter to ask fellow creatives for clarity, and many of them were equally confused. 

Audrey Gonzalez clarified things, and pointed out that Portfolio Day is the second Tuesday of the month, every three months. That means the next two in 2019 are 9 July and 8 October, so there's plenty of time to get your portfolio in order ahead of these dates.

Can you share your portfolio whenever you want? Sure, but you're probably less likely to attract the attention of others, as more people will be checking the hashtag on the 'official' #PortfolioDay.

Should you get involved in #PortfolioDay?

Seeing as getting involved is as simple as sending a tweet with some images of your work, a link for people to see more and the hashtag, there's no reason why you shouldn't get involved with Portfolio Day. You can also add further relevant hashtags, of course, to make it clear exactly what sort of creative you are, e.g. #illustration or #3dartist. 

It's also worth checking out how other people are sharing their work, and what work has gained the most traction, in order to see what stands out. Below are some of our favourite recent examples from the hashtag. And no, not all of them were shared on exactly the right day.  

Read more:

• The dos and don'ts of perfect portfolios
• What's the difference between art and design?
• How to change the font in your Twitter bio