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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?

Russell Clark
Russell Clark
September 14, 2023
Let’s talk about UX portfolios

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?

  1. Role: What were your responsibilities in the project?​
  2. Team: How and who did you work with? (stakeholders, developers, designers, product managers, etc.)​
  3. Design story: What ideas lay behind your design?​
  4. Design decisions: How did you translate business or user needs into your design?​
  5. 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/

wearehumblebee
Russell Clark
Written by
Russell Clark
russell.clark@humblebee.se

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