10 UX portfolio improvements you can make while you’re stuck at home

A few months ago (before Corona) I had the opportunity to participate in a portfolio review for an entire class of college Seniors. Our team went through each one of these student's portfolios and gave them feedback on what to improve. I am writing this article to share some of the feedback we gave in hope of helping other UX Designers improve their portfolios.

You might be saying, "I don't have time to work on my portfolio." and I would believe you, but we are all stuck at home so stop making excuses!

Let's get started! (These are not in any specific order)

1. Start with who you are, and what you do

Recruiters and hiring managers want to land on your website and know exactly who you are and what type of designer you are. If you make them try and guess they are more likely to move on to the next portfolio than they are to start reading your entire portfolio.

An example of how to do this is shown in Marianne Wellman's portfolio. You can see that she is an Interaction Designer and that she is "passionate about play". Marianne goes on to add a link for those who are interested in learning more.

2. Navigation should be visible, not tucked away

You are an Experience Designer, making a site that's easy to navigate shows that you know what you are doing. If your navigation is tucked away into a menu it might be missed, leaving the viewer feeling lost and unable to see all of your content.

The mobile version of your site may have truncated navigation, and that's okay. The point here is to follow standard design patterns so a user doesn't have to think too hard when trying to navigate your site.

3. Show what makes you unique

Each designer has something that makes them unique, and the things that make you unique help you stand out when having your portfolio reviewed.

This may be difficult to figure out for yourself or understand what it means to show what makes you unique. The perfect example of how this is done is shown in James Lewis's portfolio. As soon as you land on his page you can see that he is a talented artist. As you explore his portfolio you start to see how he translates his skills to both the physical and digital work he does.

4. Make it clear what type of job you're looking for

While it's great to show a range of skills in your portfolio, you want to make it clear what type of job you're looking for. If you have followed item 1 in this list you will have already mentioned what type of designer you are. Now, for this step, you should show that in your work.

Are you a Visual Designer, Interaction Designer, UX Designer, Product Designer, Researcher? This should be shown both through case studies and the way you format your portfolio.

I work as a Product Designer so I aim to include at least a little bit of the range of skills I use in each case study. In the image below you can see how I have called out some of the research my team did while working on a project.

5. Be clear about who you are, don't brand yourself

There will more than likely be people who disagree with this, but let me voice my opinion. All I mean by this is don't make it difficult for a hiring manager to know what your name is and whose portfolio they are looking at. While a red circle with your initials might be great for branding, it isn't instantly clear who the portfolio belongs to.

A great example of how to do this is shown in Jonas Mosesson's portfolio. His name is done in a very artistic way that shows what type of designer he is, but the art doesn't take away from the legibility. A hiring manager can quickly understand whose portfolio this is without having to search.

6. Give enough details at a high level to get readers to click into your projects

The goal for your landing page should be to create as much interest in your project as possible so hiring managers want to click into them. This can be done by adding 3 things:

• Title
• Short description (pitch the case study)
• Other info: Which devices you designed for, what tools you used, what skills are represented in the case study.

Showing the title and description gets people interested in what you are showing. Why I recommend including the device is so that recruiters can quickly see if you have experience in whatever they are looking for (mobile, web, etc.).

You can see this done well by Tammy Taabassum. She has a clear title and description of the work, shows what tools were used, and has images of which devices she designed for.

7. Your work has a story, make sure it reads that way

This part is tricky for some people because they aren't used to telling a story about their work. While the process is important, most design managers have seen the same process a million times and are looking for what you do that makes your story different.

Taylor Nguyen does a great job explain how to tell a story and not bore your readers in her article, "5 storytelling tips for UX portfolio review".

8. Make sure your goal for each project is clear

This one is probably one of the easiest steps in this article. If you don't include your goal in your case study readers won't understand what problem you're trying to solve. My advice is to put this towards the top of your case study so readers immediately understand what you're trying to accomplish.

In my portfolio, I have added this as the third section in each one of my case studies. This makes it easy to find and is in a place where viewers might still actually be reading your case study.

Pro tip: In some cases, it's smart to add the outcomes at the beginning of your project instead of the end. This gives readers a glimpse into what they are going to get out of reading your entire case study.

9. Not all projects follow the same steps, show a diverse approach to projects

This goes along with storytelling but I think it's important to call out. Each project you work on will have different goals, different processes, and different outcomes.

Following the same cookie-cutter process to show this work makes it repetitive and less interesting. Instead go into the details about what made the project unique, what feedback you got that stood out to you, and what you learned along the way.

10. Lastly, make sure your site and projects are scannable

The majority of the people viewing your site are going to be skimming through it. Once you have finished documenting a project go through and try skimming through it yourself to make sure you can follow the story. While doing this also make sure that the story is the right story you want to tell. Here are a few ways to increase scanability:

Write clear titles that explain what each section is going to address. This allows readers to dive deep into whichever sections they find most important.

Pull out important quotes. This allows you to highlight key findings and decisions.

Highlight or bold important information. This will surface smaller text that isn't as prominent and will allow you to show off more details.

At the end of the day, your goal should be to make your portfolio as easy to digest as possible. We all go through a lot of steps to make great design work, but not every single thing needs to be shown. Tell a good story that is easy to scan and understand and you will have a better portfolio than the majority of designers applying for the same position as you.

I appreciate you taking the time to read through this. I want to state that these are my opinions, not facts. If you want to give me feedback you can check out my portfolio, I am extremely open to constructive feedback!

If you want to reach out to me other ways I am on Twitter and LinkedIn.