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Nail your “why” in your UX portfolio
Be Your Own Design Team #42
Aneta Kmiecik
November 21, 2025
Quick note from me
I’ll be honest. I’m not intentional all the time.
My first UX portfolio was weak, my current work isn’t flawless, and I still make instinct-driven decisions without perfect evidence. Life happens.
But whenever I am intentional, things work better. And I want the same for you. So in today’s issue, I’ll show you simple ways to uncover the “why”.
Story outline
Level 01: Spot your reporting language
Level 02: Start from asking 4 fundamental questions
Level 03: Use constraints, insights and learnings to support your “why”
Level 04: Build a WHY-driven paragraph
Level 05: Add business context, even in conceptual projects
Level 06: Balance evidence with instinct
Student spotlight
Level 01
Spot your reporting language
Look at sentences like these:
I ran 5 user interviews
I created personas
I designed a user flow
I added a progress bar
These statements describe activity, not thinking. They tell nothing about:
the problem
the decision
the outcome
the trade-offs
how the business or user benefited
Your job is not to show what you produced, but what you changed. That’s why we are hired as designers. To solve problems, to make transformations, to provide value.
Why-driven description example
Level 02
Start from asking 4 fundamental questions
These three questions come from “Articulating Design Decisions” book and they’re the foundation of intentional design decision explanation:
What problem does this solve?
How does it affect the user?
Why is this option better than the alternative?
My addition:
What specific outcome improves for the business with this change (conversion, retention, engagement, efficiency etc.)?
If you can answer these, you’re no longer reporting tasks, you’re explaining your thinking.
Example:
❌ Reporting: I ran 5 user interviews
✅ Explaining: I ran 5 interviews to understand whether low engagement came from onboarding or the dashboard. 70% of users didn’t understand the dashboard structure, so I focused on restructuring that first
One is a task. The other is thinking, prioritisation, strategy, business awareness. Even in conceptual projects.
Metrics graph example from my old project
Helpful resources for understanding metrics
60 metrics to measure design performance (thanks to Anna for sharing this one)
Level 03
Use constraints, insights and learnings to support your “why”
If you don’t know how to justify a decision, use what the project already gives you:
Constraints: Time, tech limitations, localisation, accessibility, strategic decisions etc. They show why this direction was realistic.
Insights: From interviews, testing, research, data. They explain what shaped user needs and choices.
Learnings: Surprises, failed tests, stakeholder input etc. They show your ability to adapt with intention.
Example:
I reused existing components to reduce engineering time and keep the release within the sprint. This let us ship the improvement faster without sacrificing usability.
List of questions to help you find “why” answers
Level 04
Build a WHY-driven paragraph
Use this simple structure whenever you describe a design action:
The problem → Users struggled to complete…
The insight → This happened because…
The decision → So I prioritised / chose / focused on…
The change you made → I redesigned / restructured / removed / added…
The outcome → This reduced / increased… or This is expected to…
Example:
Users struggled to complete daily tasks because the navigation mixed actions and settings. After comparing 3 structure options and running tree tests, I prioritised restructuring the navigation. I reorganised it into clear action and settings groups. This reduced cognitive load and increased task completion in testing.
Trade-off decision description example
Level 05
Add business context, even in conceptual projects
If you’re working on a conceptual project, you can still make it feel real by adding a business POV. Ask yourself:
What business goal would this redesign support?
Would it help revenue, retention, engagement, efficiency?
What risk or cost does it reduce?
What opportunity does it open for the business?
Example:
This change improved task completion, which reduced the load on support tickets. One of the product’s key cost drivers.
Tips for selecting topic for conceptual proejcts
Level 06
Balance evidence with instinct
You don’t need a full research study behind every decision, and instinct doesn’t automatically lead to bad outcomes. Here’s how to keep that balance:
Use evidence for direction
Data, interviews, tests, metrics help you understand where the real problem is.
Use instinct for speed
Your experience, pattern recognition, taste help you move faster when evidence is limited or when the decision is low-risk.
Define when each applies
High-impact decisions → back them up
Low-risk UI details/micro-interactions → trust your intuition
Make instinct intentional
If you follow your gut, still say why.
The goal isn't to be always evidence-based, but to show you can make thoughtful decisions, even when the data isn’t present. Because that’s the reality in many teams.
Challenge description example
⭐️ Student spotlight
How to speak business in your portfolio stories
Durojaiye is a designer who built his portfolio through my course. He came from B2B environments with projects fully under NDA, yet still managed to tell clear, value-driven stories that show his impact.
What works in his portfolio:
Stories led by business goals, outcomes and impact
Highlights that go beyond product work, like mentoring, process improvements and collaboration
Value-driven CTAs such as “See how I gained buy-in”
Transparent communication about NDA constraints
Clear, scannable explanations of design decisions with pros and cons
Intentional, well-curated visuals
This is a great example of navigating constraints while still showing seniority. He worked around it with clean presentation and strong business framing, and it worked. Durojaiye got the job.
The takeaway: Every designer has constraints. NDA projects or low-visual projects are not an excuse. With intentional storytelling and clear positioning, you can still communicate expertise. Show only what strengthens your story and make the right skills visible.
🫶 Together with Framer
The best place to learn Framer
You can use Framer to launch your portfolio site, build landing pages or even client websites. Here’s why I use it a lot:
Flexibility, a freeform canvas makes it easy to ideate, collect inspiration and build in one place
Design and build in one tool, no more switching
No-code interactions, surprisingly simple to set up
Responsive layout view, all breakpoints visible at once
If you’re just getting started, it might feel like a new world. These resources will make it easier:
Framer Academy - learn how things work
Framer University - grab free, unique components
Ready to build websites on Framer? Start here
Which portfolio problem are you trying to fix right now? |
Want help with your UX portfolio? 🎁
Questions? Reply directly.
Keep designing ✨
Aneta