Let’s talk about UX portfolios
Building a portfolio as a young UX Designer or student can be a catch-22: To share your design experience, you need to gain that experience so you have something to share. So where do you begin?
Start with what you know
Your portfolio should help others understand
- How you think and how you approach your work
- What skills and interests you have
- Who you are as a person
Case studies are a great way to show your potential
What should it contain?
- Role: What were your responsibilities in the project?
- Team: How and who did you work with? (stakeholders, developers, designers, product managers, etc.)
- Design story: What ideas lay behind your design?
- Design decisions: How did you translate business or user needs into your design?
- Way of thinking: Why you did what you did during the project.
Let your personality and interests guide you
Authenticity rules
As you write about yourself, and your work and your aspirations as a designer, remember that writing well is a necessary tool in a designer’s toolbox.
Let your personality shine, be honest about where you are in your career, and what you want to do.
Where to build and show your portfolio
- A structured PDFMade in (for example) Figma
- Personal SiteWordpress, Notion, Webflow etc
- Portfolio PlatformUXFolio, Coroflot, Squarespace etc.
A final thought and a misconception
Why do you want to join the design industry?
Do you want to design mobile apps?
Do you want to specialise in something for the future?
Do you want to work in a specific industry?
Try to be specific with what interests you, and where you’d like to go in your career.
Don’t be afraid to show your failures and challenges
There’s a big misconception that it’s important to show only the good stuff in a portfolio, to show how well you did and how everything worked out fine. This is far from the truth.
We want to know how you handle failure and setbacks when they happen – and they will, often more frequently.
Guides + Insights
How to build your first portfolio
https://www.semplice.com/beginner-guide
How to write case studies
https://www.semplice.com/how-to-write-case-studies-for-your-portfolio
How to write your about page
https://www.semplice.com/how-to-create-your-about-page
How to finish your portfolio
https://www.semplice.com/portfolio-building-checklist
Jared Spool (UX industry veteran) on building a portfolio to land a great design job
https://blog.uxfol.io/how-to-build-a-ux-portfolio/
Jake Knapp (Design Sprint inventor) on how a good design story gets you hired
https://blog.uxfol.io/jake-knapp-design-portfolio/
Inspiration + Portfolio Samples
Novia Chao (Early Career)
https://www.noviachao.com/
Victoria Tu (Early Career)
https://victoriatu.info/
Birgir Baldursson (Early Career)
https://www.birgirbaldurs.com/
Jaclyn Chao
https://www.jaclynchao.com/
Malin Bergqvist
https://www.malinbergqvistdesign.com/work
Bestfolios (Inspiration)
https://www.bestfolios.com/
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