I have been employed for five years at the same company working on the same internal web-application. It has evolved considerably with major improvements, design changes, UX updates, etc.
I would like to update my personal portfolio as the work that is currently on it is old and not representative of my current skill level or design sensibility. However, I only have this one web application as an example of “current” abilities. Due to family life, workload and various other factors I have not taken on freelance work.
My question is: would this application broken down into a case study covering different aspects (logo design, UX, workflow, etc) be the most effective way to handle this situation?
This would effectively mean I only have “one” project and I’m afraid this will hurt my chances in trying to obtain freelance now, or new employment in the future.
Answer
You’ve effectively joined the 9 to 5 job market and must rely on a CV until you can squeeze-in a few contracts to build a reference. That’s the trade-off with the job market versus freelancing.
You must start over
I’ve tried this twice and it’s problematic going back and forth between contract work and a salary. Freedom versus Security. You tend to stagnate the breadth of your work at the expense of depth. The larger the company, the greater the difficulty tearing free.
Will your present company allow you to use their IP in your portfolio? There may be a conflict with your disclosure of the company product development. It will give an advantage to their competitors. It might be unethical to reveal your best creative insights.
I decided to teach part-time for security and freelance for the lucrative and challenging brain candy. I have the best of both worlds as each different field complements the short-comings of other.
Deadlines continue to be a challenge, however, as each has its own schedule independent of the other. One is quite stable to balance the fickle direction of the other.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : crichins , Answer Author : Stan