How CalArts Leverages Squarespace to Launch Artistic Careers
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) career services department offers students the opportunity to build portfolio websites for professional development in the arts with Squarespace Enterprise. As students build out their sites, the department encourages students to think critically about how to best present their work.
Director Jen Hitchings is enthusiastic about offering Squarespace portfolio sites to students. “I wanted to bring some of my own experience to our students and say [to them], ‘Hey, this exists, it’s really user-friendly,” she says. “It's really good for visual artists and for connecting with people like curators and collectors and art advisers.’”
Squarespace Enterprise portfolio websites for selling student artwork
Students can create well-organized and visually appealing portfolio websites (leveraging Squarespace portfolio templates) that showcase their best works across different disciplines, giving visitors a comprehensive overview of their artistic abilities and range. Students can pair pieces with descriptions, images, or videos, offering insights into the creative process behind the work.
The control that students can exert when creating sites with Squarespace is key. “It's extremely important for the artist's control of how their work is shown, ” Hitchings says. “It just positions them in a better way to be marketable for anyone who's reviewing their work or looking to hire them.”
In addition, students can set up an online store to sell prints, original artwork, merchandise, or digital downloads. Hitchings says it gets them thinking about how they can carve out a niche as a professional artist or create revenue streams.
“There are [several] inventory platforms that integrate with Squarespace for selling art, so I wanted to show that to our students,” she says.
Squarespace Enterprise websites for career development
CalArts students can use portfolio websites to promote their work, build an online presence, and attract employers. According to Hitchings, a strong and memorable visual identity helps visitors recognize their work across various platforms and channels. This includes choosing a cohesive design, color scheme, and typography that reflects their artistic style.
She says, “Whether it's somebody hiring a full-time graphic designer, UX/UI, set designer, costume designer, or photographer, every type of recruiter these days is going to be looking for artists' websites. They're going to search for them and want to know what comes up first. Students need to be able to control how their work is promoted in the world so that they look the best that they can as a potential candidate for a role.”
Squarespace Enterprise benefits: analytics, SEO, and drag-and-drop simplicity
Squarespace offers built-in tools to track portfolio website performance and visitor analytics. It also provides search engine optimization (SEO) features, helping students' websites rank higher in search results.
Hitchings says, “Squarespace analytics are extremely helpful for creatives to understand what people are paying attention to on their portfolio sites.” I've always found analytics to be important as someone who relies heavily on data to figure out what to do next.”
She further explains that the user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop editor make it easy for students without extensive web design experience to create and customize their websites.
“It's so easy to build these sites in a way that is creative. The artist can have a lot of control over what their site looks like and make it unique enough so it doesn't look like every other artist's website. All those things are really important for our students.”
In fact, Hitchings maintains her own Squarespace portfolio website (not affiliated with her work at CalArts), which she designs and updates with minimal hassle.
“It's so easy to update. Every time I have a show I'll go in and add all those images to the website and update my CV. It just makes my life as an artist so much easier to not have to worry about spending time coding or dealing with things breaking,” she says.
Having a well-designed and informative artist portfolio website can significantly enhance a student's visibility and credibility. By showcasing their work, sharing insights, and engaging with their audience online, CalArts students can establish themselves as artists and create opportunities for themselves and others.