Your portfolio photos show what you created. But can someone looking at the images tell what the client needed, what you had to figure out, or why you made those design choices?

I was on a call with a design client, walking him through his new website copy line by line, the way I do with every client I work with. We landed on his About page, and he paused. "I incorporated in 2003," he said. "But I actually started working as a sole proprietor back in 1997. If someone got nitpicky and looked into it, does it make more sense to say 2003? Or can I keep it at 1997?"

I learned that the hard way. On paper, I drew thin, precise lines. I had my X-Acto knife, foam core, and glue, and built my first architecture model at Drexel University.