UX Portfolio: Portfolio opinions

UX Design Express #16

Author

Aneta Kmiecik
December 13, 2024

Welcome back. This is issue #16 of UX Design Express and today we’re talking about

Portfolio opinions

A common struggle for us designers: when one hiring manager says A and another says B. When a job description asks you to do it all, but a design content creator says, 'niche down.' Opinions, ah, we all love them! 😉

Story outline:

  • Why designers can’t expect single ‘right’ answer for portfolios

  • My framework for handling portfolio opinions

  • UX Portfolio Spotlight 🔦

There's no single ‘right’ answer for portfolios

No matter how much you crave a single answer on how portfolios should be shaped, there will always be different opinions. No surprise there, honestly. My advice? Let go of that dream, and I'll explain why.

  1. UX Design understanding is different

  2. Different needs and preferences = different expectations

What does it all mean?

1. UX Design understanding is different

UX, UI, web design, and similar - these buzzwords have sparked many debates online. Did they ever reach a single agreement? No. Because design is not math. Every designer and hiring manager comes from different backgrounds, with their own experiences, and that’s why they have different points of view. Ultimately, we also all come from various cultures, and this is actually the first thing that shapes our perspectives.

You may be considered a top-flight communicator in your home culture, but what works at home may not work so well with people from other cultures.

2. Different needs and preferences = different expectations

Hiring managers are like users - they value different things and look for different skills in a design role based on what they believe will help their company grow. This is their mental model of an ideal candidate. Similarly, users have different preferences. For example, I don’t like gamification apps because I’m self-disciplined and don’t need these triggers. I’m not competitive, I prefer harmony. The same goes for how people judge your portfolio. We can have different opinions.

Framework for handling portfolio opinions

1. Start with insights

As a designer you are equipped with tactics that help design better products for users. Do the same with your portfolio.

Gather user insights

  • talk with hiring managers, designers, recruiters

  • folks who review portfolios and hire designers

  • Available in the UX Portfolio Course in January’25

Do competitive analysis

  • generally check designers’ portfolios

  • analyse portfolios that are close to your goals

  • ideally look for portfolios from the company you want to work for

  • Available in the UX Portfolio Course in January’25

Track behavioural data

Test your product and iterate

  • Change things that no longer represent you

  • Improve according to user needs

  • More about testing available in the UX Portfolio Course in January’25

2. Follow design principles

Act as a designer.

3. Check others opinions

Just to get a perspective and new inspiration. Available in the UX Portfolio Course in January’25.

4. Decide like a boss

You’re a product owner and a boss of your product - portfolio. You decide. It’s your personal brand. It’s your presentation. If you don’t feel good with it, something is probably not aligned with your values and needs. And if you right now want to tell me “But Aneta, I don’t want to make a bad decision”, then I’ll say “what’s worse can happen?”. As humans we make both good and bad decision. That’s normal. Just make sure to learn from every move.

UX Portfolio Spotlight 🔦

Pooja’s portfolio is an example that includes both: some great tactics with some common junior designer struggles. That’s why today I’m reviewing this portfolio.

Great tactic

Pooja’s in one of her case studies presents results from user testing in a visual way. This is already much easier to scan than if she would have used just a text block. She uses annotation notes in the context that also makes the presentation more clear. I also appreciate the large size of mockups that make the designs readable. Tips for a similar presentation here.

Potential improvements:

  • Labels describing which screen is before / after could be more visible to increase the clarity. What about placing a “Before” and “After” label above the screens since the reading pattern goes from the top?

  • Another idea is to think about how to differentiate from each other negative and positive learnings, as well as your decisions.

    Template available in the UX Portfolio Course in January’25.

  • The graphic in the background is also a bit distracting

Struggles

I would like to receive a feedback (…) on the structures of my case study as I have heard from multiple mentors over ADPList and recruiters that my Portfolio does not have enough details or has too many details. Yes, I have heard drastically contrasting opinions and I am not sure whom to believe.

Question from Pooja

Current case study story structure with my POV:

  • When I scan this case study, I see this

  • And while in theory, this is correct, this is a design process we all use more or less but

    • it’s not your unique story

    • it makes it harder for you to stand out

    • you’re selling a process here, not your skills

Potential improvements:

  • To create a unique story, I’d focus on your role, your design decisions, your struggles

  • I’d also include in my stories 3-part structure: problem - change - retrospective

  • To make it easier to stand out, I’d write unique headings, e.g. Older people in the UK often forget their medicine

  • To sell your skills, I’d prioritise project moments that best showcase when I made a good decision

Practical tips and templates for these 3 points will be available in the UX Portfolio Course in January’25.

Don’t miss your chance and submit your portfolio for a free review. While I can’t promise to review every single one, I’ll be selecting a few to provide feedback based on first impressions and overall design.

That's it for today!

The UX Portfolio Course is launching in January’25 ⭐️

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

I’m back in two Fridays with another edition of UX Design Express 👋

Keep designing ✨
Aneta