Quick note from me

Last week, I helped a designer prepare for a portfolio presentation. Their projects were solid: real problems, great visuals, clear impact. But the story? It was built around methods: interviews, testing, wireframes. It sounded like a UX report, not a story. So we rewrote it using storytelling principles, and everything clicked. Today, I’ll show you how you can do it too.

Story outline

• Level 01: Start with strategy

• Level 02: Share a snapshot

• Level 03: Explain the problem area

• Level 04: Show constraints

• Level 05: Show the change

• Level 06: Reflect and connect

• Student spotlight

Level 01

Start with strategy

Before you even open your slides, ask: Who am I presenting to and what do they care about? Will your interviewer be a design manager, product manager, founder, or recruiter? When crafting your story, think about their mental models:

• What are they familiar with?

• What do they care about?

• How does your role connects to theirs within the product team?

Your case study story should also match the role. If you’re applying for a mobile-focused position, focus your story on mobile.

➡️ I once worked on a B2B platform + mobile app. Instead of talking about both, I focused only on mobile. It was more relevant, and I could go deeper and show real iterations.

Level 02

Share a snapshot

Give a quick summary:

• Insightful project title

• Business goal

• Short summary

• Your role, team, timeline

• Results

• Visuals

Make sure your audience understands the project at a glance. If the industry or context is unfamiliar, explain it briefly: what the product is, who it’s for, and why it matters. A few contextual photos can make it instantly clearer.

Level 03

Explain the problem area

Show why the project mattered for both the business and the user. Add context visuals like screenshots, photos, or flow diagrams.

End with a clear problem statement that connects user and business goals. Make sure your problem focuses on what users couldn’t do because of it, and how that caused the business to perform worse. Not just on surface-level triggers like cluttered interface.

Level 04

Show constraints

Every project has limits: time, technology, people, process, changes etc. Highlight the ones that actually influenced your design decisions or showcase skills relevant to the role you’re applying for.

Try to weave these constraints into a design change story. It’s a great way to show your collaboration skills and how you navigate process challenges.

Level 05

Show the change

This is where the story comes alive. Show contrast of a transformation you. made: before vs after, worse vs better, idea vs outcome.

If your role focused on early exploration, highlight divergent thinking: different concepts and approaches. If it was more execution-focused, emphasize iteration and detail. If you covered both, structure your presentation from broad to narrow.

Don’t show every single screen. Show the decision moments: what changed and why.

Level 06

Reflect and connect

End with a retrospective:

• What impact did your work have?

• How did it affect the business, team, or process?

• What did you learn or influence?

Even if the project was sunsetted, talk about potential impact you could make from a business and user perspective. Tailor this to the role, e.g. if it’s an in-house B2B position, you could mention collaboration and process improvements.

Depending on who’s interviewing you, connect one of your reflections to their point of view. Whether it’s a design manager, product manager, or another stakeholder.

⭐️ Student spotlight

Talking about your role by highlighting your impact

Sara is a designer with versatile experience: from B2B products to websites and AI. She keeps refining her portfolio through my course. It’s a great reminder that iterating on your portfolio helps you grow, every update teaches you something new about storytelling or visual design.

What works in Sara’s portfolio:

• Clear role descriptions in project snapshots that explain the type of product (e.g. 0→1) and her impact (e.g. improved user satisfaction score, supported 80+ client accounts)

• Dynamic visual presentation highlighting specific parts she worked on

• Recorded prototypes embedded directly into case studies

Sara’s portfolio is an example of how to present complex or less visual projects in a way that’s still scannable and engaging.

The takeaway? Focus on business impact, your role, and use relevant visuals to tell your story. Like a recorded prototype to show the flow or a close-up to guide attention to key details.

→ Check Sara’s portfolio

🫶 Together with Framer

Your portfolio doesn’t have to be a struggle

If you’ve been putting off building your portfolio, try Framer:

• Simple, visual, fast to update

• No coding skills needed

• AI helps you ideate quickly

• Design Pages let you sketch ideas

• Animations are easy and look polished

Most of my students use it, and Framer Academy helps you learn step by step.

Try Framer

Want help with your UX portfolio? 🎁

1. Build your UX Portfolio with my course

2. Sign up for a call with me to discuss your portfolio

3. Book a call with me to talk about any other career challenge

4. Get an async portfolio review (no call)