The Behance Network

Members of the Behance Network can create online portfolios to showcase their work and attract new clients. Behance is a members-only website, but anyone can request an invitation by filling out an online form with just an email address and description of work.

Once you become a member of the Behance Network you can create a profile with your background information and portfolio. Your profile contains basic information such as a photo, name, website, bio and location. Profiles can be expanded to include creative fields, what type of work you are available for, your professional level and experience and links to sites that feature you. You can also customize your profile by choosing fonts and colors.

Building your Behance portfolio is quick, easy and free-of-charge, and you can customize the look and feel. Behance allows you to choose creative fields such as web design and web development to better describe your projects. To make your work easier for others to find you can assign search tags such as web design, clothing and apparel.

You can also select project details such as the type of work and media. All of this information makes it possible for visitors to the site to get to know you and your work before even contacting you. In addition, you can opt to allow commenting on your work. Behance also lets you specify the copyright information, project ownership and the tools you used to build the project. To make it easier to build a portfolio over time, you can save projects to publish at a later date.

After you publish a project to your profile you can promote it through your Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. The Behance Network is a highly trafficked website and can increase your exposure to potential clients and employers. As a member of the Behance Network you can start public or private groups with other members. These groups provide you a vehicle to interact with like-minded individuals to get project feedback, discuss new technologies and give and receive tips of the trade. If your work is for sale you can sell it by linking to an existing store from your profile or setting up eCommerce features right on the Behance Network.

Behance Network members also have the ability to create their own, fully customized personal portfolio site with no Behance Network branding, known as “ProSite.” These sites can use a custom domain name and automatically sync with your Behance portfolio. Setting up your ProSite on Behance takes five steps: select a layout, choose your projects, customize your design, add additional custom pages and publish your site. This upgrade is a great way for individuals who don’t have their own website or programming experience and want to display their work in a clear and user-friendly manner.

You can follow Behance on Facebook, Twitter and on their blog. You can also connect with them on LinkedIn search for work on the Behance Network Job List and sign up for their newsletter and RSS feed.