I work as a designer and currently have my resume in the same (styled) PDF file as my portfolio. It's clearly readable and scannable, so I'm not worried about that part. I don't upload my resume or portfolio on job sites, I apply through company forms or email.
I can't have most of my portfolio uploaded on a site like Behance due to publishing restrictions from previous jobs.
Is there any reason not to merge the two files? Or should I have 1 with just the resume and one with resume + portfolio?
I've personally never applied for a job where they didn't ask for both. I've even seen a couple where they initially only asked for a portfolio and the CV came during the second interaction. -- Summer's comment
From a simple Human Resources management perspective, they may need them both to be separated to handle your process.
For example, their system may store all employees/collaborators CVs through a form where the file size is restricted to 2 MB. If you add your portfolio in the same PDF, the recruiter handling your process may request to you later to separate it from the CV.
