Quick note from me
Our industry is changing. So is design hiring. Showing AI skills in your portfolio is no longer optional. But most designers still sleep on this. I think this is your last moment to use it as a competitive advantage before everyone catches up. Today, I'm sharing tips based on Figma's State of the Designer 2026 report to help you get there.
Story outline
Intro: Design hiring changed. Did your portfolio?
Level 01: Figure out your AI lens first
Level 02: Craft is your fastest shortcut
Level 03: Present it like it matters
Level 04: Show how you spot AI opportunities
Level 05: Show AI judgment, always
Level 06: Do AI experiments (design and build)
Level 07: Show the human touch
Intro
Design hiring changed. Did your portfolio?
According to The State of the Designer 2026 report by Figma:
73% of hiring managers now say AI proficiency is increasingly required
79% say the same about designing AI products
Visual design is still #1 (58%), but AI skills are right behind (54%)
The shift is clear. AI is a baseline now. But most portfolios still look like 2024. This is your moment to still use AI skills as your competitive advantage in your portfolio. Show it before everyone else does.
Level 01
Figure out your AI lens first
Before you touch your portfolio, decide how AI fits into your positioning. Two profiles I see emerging:
Design engineer
You design and build, and AI is core to the products you ship
Prove you can take an idea from 0 to 1 using AI
Show shipped products, working prototypes, live demos
I think we'll see more roles like this soon
Designer with AI skills
You're a product designer who understands AI and thinks with it
You act from a business and user POV
You spot AI opportunities and connect them to value
You should still prototype and ship, but emphasis is on strategic thinking
Pick your lens. Then make everything in your portfolio support it. Random AI mentions without a clear angle dilute your story.
Level 02
Craft is your most visible shortcut
Craft has become even more important. According to Figma, visual design is still #1 for hiring managers (58%). It's especially important for high-maturity organisations and startups, where momentum and speed of high-quality designs matter more.
Because when AI can generate good-looking designs, the details that make them feel right are still on you.
Make your craft visible everywhere:
Every screen, every visual, every element should show care
Spacing, hierarchy, typography, micro-interactions
Every detail matter: icons, transitions from default state → hover → pressed
When everyone can generate screens with AI, taste is the differentiator
Make your portfolio itself unique:
Use AI design patterns in your portfolio interface (check Shape of AI for inspiration)
Add interactive details: hover states, smooth transitions, thoughtful animations
Your portfolio is a product so design it like one
Ridd's recent newsletter with Tommy Smith's portfolio approach is a great example of this thinking
If you're struggling to land a job, focus here first. Before they read your case study, they see your visuals. High craft makes you visible fast. Go through your portfolio screen by screen. If anything looks generic or rushed, fix it. Lowest effort, highest impact.
Level 03
Present it like it matters
I see this first-hand when I help startups hire designers. When you review 400 applications for one role, you can't read every detail. You scan. Visuals, snapshots (this is my portfolio method I teach at uxportfolio.co), and headings are what get noticed first.
In the AI era, video format starts winning even more.
Use video to show your work:
Short walkthrough of a prototype in action
Smooth animation of an interaction
Screen recording of your AI experiment running live
Tools I recommend:
Screen Studio for screen recordings
Rive for animations
Hera Figma plugin for showreels
A polished 30-second video does more than 10 static slides.
Level 04
Show how you spot AI opportunities
This one is for more strategic designers, targeting product organisation roles where managing risk is more important than in startups.
For old projects:
Create a future vision slide
Show what AI opportunity you spotted and what value it brings
Visualize it, build it, show it
For new projects:
Design and build a small AI experiment
Pick a problem where AI is the core experience
Ship it live and link it in your portfolio
In both cases: Show why this opportunity matters. This is what separates "I use AI" from "I think with AI". Communicate what risk AI helps you mitigate.
Level 05
Show AI judgment, always
Whatever you show, there needs to be a reason behind it. Your reasoning is either visible from a craft-level or explained both visually and in a written format.
How to show judgment:
Show rejected directions and explain why you killed them
Name the trade-off: speed vs. quality, conversion vs. retention, short-term vs. long-term
Explain why AI was the right choice, not just that you used it
Talk about risk that you mitigated
AI makes options cheap so choosing well is expensive. That's your value.
Quick note on what not to do:
ChatGPT-written case studies with generic sentences and zero human voice
AI chatbots as the only way to review your portfolio (extra work for recruiters)
Generic AI visuals with no personality
"AI-powered designer" in your title
These don't prove AI thinking. They prove AI dependency and tool obsession. Show your adaptability, but don't prove value through tools or technologies. Prove that you can design great solutions, no matter the materials you get.
Level 06
Do AI experiments (design and build)
One of the most common “nice-to-have” requirements in design jobs right now: experience with AI tools and process. Show you have it.
Why building matters:
A live demo proves more than any case study description
It shows you can go from idea to product, not just idea to mockup
Hiring managers remember the portfolio with a working link
Your move:
Try AI tools: Cursor, v0, Bolt, Replit and get comfortable with them
Pick a small problem, design a solution, then build it
Link the live demo version in your portfolio like Tommy did
Document your process: what you built, how, and what you learned
You don't need to be an engineer. You need to show you can make things real.
Level 07
Show the human touch
AI is powerful. It is also biased, wrong, and just artificial.
Show in your portfolio:
Where you considered bias, privacy, or fairness
Where you picked transparency over automation
Where you kept humans in the loop
A portfolio that feels designed and crafted by a human, not generated
The designers who stand out in 2026 don't just use AI. They also show they know when not to.
🫶 Together with Framer
Custom code in Framer just got easier to manage
If you’ve ever added custom code to your site and then forgotten where it lives, this update will help.
Framer now has a dedicated Custom Code section in Project Settings. You can see all the code added to your site in one place and split it into individual snippets, so it’s easier to find, edit, and update later.
Why this matters for portfolios and personal sites:
You can keep tracking, analytics, and scripts organised
It’s easier to manage third-party tools
You can control when code runs on your site
Less risk of breaking things when you update
If you’re gradually adding more tools to your portfolio or personal site, this update makes things a lot cleaner and more manageable.
Ready to build your portfolio on Framer? Start today
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Keep designing ✨
Aneta
