This week I opened an X (Twitter) account. I know, at least 10 years too late 🤣 What caught me is that X is full of designers posting their work. And this reminded me of my tip for a portfolio that most of us forget about when we put together our personal site. We think about looking for the best template, a better layout, an interaction, and then we add work. And we forget that the whole point of a portfolio is to show our work.

The problem is that many designers don't know what this artefact should be, or they have an internal fight between what they have produced so far on the job and what they would actually like to do on the job. And we both know that the type of work you show in your portfolio is the type of opportunities you get.

They can show

visual apps

interaction details

branding

But other creatives, generalists, more multi passionate, those of us who worked across the whole process and never really went deep into the detail UI or interaction stage, often feel lost. Your artefacts are either too weak to show, or too broad because you solved so many different problems, or maybe you just don't feel like this dashboard mockup should be your main work artefact.

The point of showing your work in a portfolio is to communicate it clearly. And visuals are the easiest way to do it. If your work wasn't based on UI details, you can show

schemes

recordings

full screens

snapshots

If you still don't know what type of work represents you, you need to do a self-awareness exercise.

Analyse your past experiences, present skills, and future roles or problems you'd like to solve. Look for patterns. Figure out where your biggest value meets what the market needs. Find connections. If you'd like to start something new, think about what type of work you'd have to show to prove that you can do it.

Your work is the biggest proof of your value as a designer.

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