How to 'sell' your design work in your portfolio

Rob Millington graduated from BA (Hons) Graphic Design at the University of Salford in the summer of 2006. Rob designed the promotional material for the show the cohort had in London to showcase their work.

From the images above the viewer immediately understands that these promotional items weren't just designed - but they went to print too. The viewer has a sense of scale (person holding poster, shoes in top image) and an understanding of the print finish (gloss finish on the invite). The top image shows the scale of the items in relation to each other - the layout is well considered so that they aren't competing with each other and there is a sense of balance. There is a separate close-up celebrating the detail in the typography too. This is an excellent example of how to 'sell' a design project.