A visual portfolio link in bio for designers: what to put first

Start with a clear brief

A designer’s link-in-bio page should help someone answer three questions: What do you design? Can I see relevant work? How do I contact you? Build the page around those decisions, with enough visual detail to make each project worth opening.

Here is a practical starting brief: one introduction, three selected projects, one primary contact action, and a small set of supporting links. Adjust the selection to the work you want next.

Give each section a job

Start with your name and a specific line about your practice. For example: “Independent brand designer creating identities and packaging for food businesses.” Describe your own specialty and the clients you want to work with.

Place your most relevant project immediately below. Use an image that remains understandable at phone size, plus a label explaining the work: “Packaging system for a coffee roaster.” Link directly to its case study so visitors can inspect the brief, your role, and the finished work.

Follow it with your primary action. “Discuss a branding project” gives a prospective client more context than “Contact.” Point it to an email address or enquiry form you already maintain.

Add two supporting projects next. Choose work that answers different questions: one might demonstrate a consistent identity across applications; another might show how you handled an unfamiliar constraint. Finish with a full-portfolio link and any useful professional profiles.

Decide whether video earns its place

For motion designers, a short reel can be the featured project. Choose a poster frame that communicates the work before playback, label the duration, and make the content understandable without sound. Provide captions when speech carries essential information.

For a static identity or editorial portfolio, a video is optional. Include it when it explains something a still cannot, such as a transition system or an interactive prototype. Otherwise, use the space for a stronger project image.

If your chosen page builder cannot present the video reliably, use a labelled thumbnail linked to the original video page. Verify the destination opens without an unexpected login requirement.

Keep the action consistent with your goal

Seeking freelance enquiries? Keep the enquiry link prominent. Applying for a role? Make the complete portfolio and résumé easy to find. Selling a template? Send visitors to its existing product page, with a clear label explaining the destination.

Choose one primary action for this version of the page. Secondary links can remain available without receiving equal visual weight.

Check the page on a phone

Open the public page from the social app where you will share it. Inspect these details:

• Your specialty and first project make sense without zooming.
• Project crops preserve important lettering and interface details.
• Link labels describe destinations, and each destination opens correctly.
• Text remains readable when enlarged, with visible keyboard focus and meaningful image descriptions.
• Video controls work, and the page remains useful before media finishes loading.

Try it with a fresh pair of eyes

Ask someone to find a relevant project and your contact route without coaching. Their hesitation identifies what to revise.