Hello, it’s Aneta here 👋 This is issue #19 of UX Design Express, and today we’re talking about 5 tips for:

Making your portfolio stories authentic

As I wrote in this post on Linkedin, some designers lie in their portfolios - sometimes intentionally, other times not. These things make their portfolios feel flat and boring, whereas they seem less trustworthy and credible.

So, what should you do? Let’s talk about authentic writing ✍️

5 tips for authentic portfolio stories

Instead of showing perfect design processes and frameworks, do this:

1️⃣ Talk just about juicy moments from your project

Pick moments that best show your design journey. Your decisions, challenges, problem-solving, surprises, and key learnings. These moments shape your story and show how you work. They help hiring managers understand your skills and approach.

Instead of faking achievements and making up metrics, do this:

2️⃣ Talk about hypothetical metrics

Think about the metrics your project might have influenced. What value did you create for users? How could success be measured? Start by identifying the key metric tied to the user's goal, like user engagement or conversion. Then, mention that these are the metrics you'd measure if possible. If you’ve done user testing, share the results.

Instead of talking about user research when no research was done, do this:

3️⃣ Base your design decisions on design rules

If you didn’t do user research, refer to business goals, visual principles, accessibility guidelines, UX laws, industry patterns, or market insights. You can also explain the context, such as any constraints like time, budget, etc.

Instead of making things so generic that it’s unclear if it even happened, do this:

4️⃣ Show design iterations and explain your decisions

Show more than just the final screen: include design iterations, before-and-after screens, and different design variants you explored. Don’t forget to explain why you chose one design concept over another.

Instead of not clarifying whether it was a real or conceptual project, do this:

5️⃣ Be transparent from the beginning

Include a label in the project snapshot section - at the top of your case study, next to the case thumbnail, or on the homepage. Being transparent is better, as it’s easy for hiring managers to spot if a project is conceptual from your story.

Tools and resources 🛠️

• Check this post if you don’t know why project selection is so important in your UX portfolio

• Maigen Thomas shared an important lesson from reviewing UX portfolios: don’t include your personal, sensitive information in your online portfolio

• Looking for device mockups for your portfolio? Check this tool

• Tom Scott shared a list of companies who value design in Europe

• Learn about divergent and convergent thinking if your portfolio stories about your design concepts look not convincing

• Sign up to free talk by Ruby Pryor if you want to learn how to connect research insights with metrics

That's it for today!

The UX Portfolio Course is launching VERY soon ⭐️

Make sure you follow me on social media to get daily updates about the course.

• See the behind the scene on Instagram

• Get more portfolio inspirations on Linkedin

Keep designing ✨
Aneta