By Niamh Byrne — Illustrator, freelance designer, and someone who spent far too long showing clients her work on a laptop trackpad.
The Problem With Screens
I've been working as a freelance illustrator for six years. For most of that time, client meetings followed the same pattern: I'd open my laptop, turn it to face them, and scroll through my portfolio while they leaned forward trying to see the screen properly. Sometimes the glare was bad. Sometimes the battery was low. Once, memorably, the laptop died entirely mid-presentation and I had to finish the meeting describing my work verbally.
I knew I should have a physical portfolio. Every designer I admired had one. But I'd always told myself I'd sort it out when I had a proper body of work, or when I had time, or when I found the right thing to put it in. The excuses were plentiful and the physical portfolio remained hypothetical.
Then I had a meeting with a potential client — a significant one, the kind that could change the shape of my year — and I watched their eyes glaze over as I scrolled through my laptop screen. I didn't get the project. I don't know for certain that the presentation was why, but I had a strong feeling. That evening I went looking for a proper solution.
Why I Chose This One
I had specific requirements. A5 — I work at that scale a lot and wanted something that would show my prints at actual size without reduction. Enough capacity to hold a proper selection of work without feeling sparse. Acid-free sleeves, because I was putting original prints in and didn't want them damaged over time. And something that looked professional enough to put on a client's desk without apology.
The A5 Recycled 100 Pocket Presentation Display Book with Box met every one of those requirements. 100 pages giving 200 viewable sides. 50 micron acid-free, glass-clear, copy-safe sleeves. A strong 700 micron black cover with a front cover and spine pocket for personalisation. An internal storage pocket for loose items. And made from 50% recycled materials, with both product and packaging 100% recyclable — which mattered to me as someone who tries to make considered choices about what I bring into my studio.
The storage box was the detail that sealed it. A proper box to keep it in when not in use, protecting the cover and the contents. It felt like a complete, considered product rather than just a folder.
Building the Portfolio
I spent a weekend selecting and printing the work I wanted to include. Forty pieces, curated properly for the first time — a process I'd been avoiding for years because it felt daunting. Having the physical format forced me to make decisions: what to include, what order to put things in, how to tell the story of my practice through a sequence of images.
Sliding the prints into the acid-free sleeves and watching the portfolio take shape was one of the more satisfying afternoons I've had in my studio. By Sunday evening I had something I was genuinely proud of — a physical object that represented my work properly, for the first time.
The First Client Meeting With It
Two weeks later I had a meeting with a brand looking for an illustrator for a packaging project. I put the display book on the table between us and opened it.
The difference was immediate. They leaned in rather than leaning back. They turned the pages themselves, which meant they were setting the pace rather than me scrolling for them. They paused on pieces I wouldn't have expected them to pause on. The conversation was richer, more specific, more engaged. I got the project.
Four Months of Using It
The build quality has held up completely. Four months of being carried to meetings, taken in and out of the storage box, handled by clients — the cover is unmarked, the sleeves are clear and undamaged, the spine is intact. This is made to last.
The acid-free sleeves have protected everything. I have original prints in some of the sleeves and they're in exactly the same condition as when I put them in. No yellowing, no sticking, no damage. The glass-clear quality means nothing is lost in translation between the print and the viewer.
It changed how I think about my own work. This is the part I didn't anticipate. Having a physical portfolio forced me to curate properly, which forced me to look at my work critically and honestly. I know what I'm proud of now. I know what I want to make more of. The portfolio became a tool for understanding my own practice, not just presenting it.
The Difference It Made
I've won three significant projects in the four months since I started using this portfolio. I can't attribute all of that to the display book, but I can say that my client meetings are better, my conversion rate is higher, and I feel more confident walking into a room with my work. That confidence comes from having something physical and considered to put in front of people — something that says, without words, that I take my work seriously.
Would I Recommend It?
To any creative professional who is still showing work on a laptop screen: please stop. Get a physical portfolio. This one is excellent — well made, properly specified, sustainably produced, and priced in a way that makes it an easy decision. You'll wonder why you waited.
👉 Shop the A5 Recycled 100 Pocket Presentation Display Book with Box
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Niamh Byrne is a freelance illustrator and surface pattern designer based in Cork. She now brings her portfolio to every client meeting and has stopped apologising for the laptop glare.
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