Portfolio is one of the most important things a UX designer should have - it plays a defining role during the job application process. In professional circles it is even called a designer’s “calling card”. Portfolio is not just a collection of your work - it’s your way to present yourself, your problem-solving skills and your talent. No matter whether you’re a freelance designer who posts their portfolio online to attract clients, or if you prepare a portfolio for the HR team at a job interview, you should try to make it look both serious and interesting, while not overloading it with too much information. In this article we’ve collected a list of components that a good portfolio should contain and mistakes that should be avoided when compiling it - let’s discuss them.
Necessary components of a UX designer portfolio
A short personal bio
Before diving into your work, HR managers need to understand who you are. So be sure to open your portfolio with the “About me” section. It should be short and concise - no longer than one paragraph of 5-7 lines. Include there your name, city of residence, skills and professional passions. Instead of mentioning too much info, attach a link to your CV. You can also include links to your social media, especially if you run a design-related blog.
Specification of your professional activity
UX design is a very vast field, so your set of responsibilities in one company may not be the same that you’re expected to have in a company that considers your application. In order for the HR to understand what exactly you’re doing, include a couple of lines with clear enumeration of your previous and current job tasks.
The best examples of your designs
Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary (and there is no need to) include ALL your works in the portfolio. Look through all your projects and give them honest evaluation, then include only the best ones in the portfolio. It’s better to include 3-5 projects that will show you as a skilled professional, rather than 10 projects of lower quality that will worsen HR’s perception of you.
Illustrations of your working process
Apart from beautiful end results, HR managers need to see what your working process looks like and what are your abilities in solving design problems. To show this, include some evidence of your working process (photos, videos, presentations), and accompany it with a thesis description that explains your logic of finding a solution to a problem. This is not a very easy task to do, but it will definitely raise your chances of success during a job interview.
Interesting bonus projects
Bonus projects are projects that you do outside of your official job. It can be designs that you do as a hobby, charity, etc. You can also showcase your non-design skills, like writing or photography. Again, these projects should be done professionally and of high-quality.
Compiling your portfolio is a pretty hard task, especially if you are a junior designer who is just starting a career, and it’s easy to end up making some mistakes that will spoil the impression of your future clients or HR-managers. Here are some working tips on how to avoid them.
Mistakes to avoid in a UX designer portfolio
Scanty portfolio
According to the unspoken rule, a good portfolio should contain about 5-7 projects so that people could evaluate your work. Being a recent graduate, you might not yet have completed this number of projects, but be sure to include at least several ones into your portfolio in order for it not to look scanty. Include projects that you did when studying UX, or try to find some projects as a side job and add them to your portfolio as well. But don’t add poorly implemented projects in order to “add anything”, choose the ones that present you in the best light.
Overfilled portfolio
This mistake is the opposite of the previous one. Do not overfill your portfolio with more than 7 projects - it will be overwhelming for anyone who’s going to look through it. If you have a lot of projects in your “baggage”, evaluate them all and include only the best ones in the portfolio.
No descriptions of the projects
A portfolio should not be just a bunch of screenshots or links of your projects. It should also show your working strategies and your approaches to solving design problems. The best way to do that is to provide your projects with descriptions: write a short story about each project, commenting on how you set up your workflow when working on it, show some sketches or share some ideas that led you making this or that UX decision. Keep your narrative concise, about 400 words for each project’s story.
Low-quality images, large file sizes
Images and files are a huge part of a UX designer portfolio, so they require extra attention if you want your portfolio to look classy. Make sure all the images you use are uploaded in high-quality resolution, but keep every image not larger than 1MB. If you add links, check them all to be clickable and readable. Don’t add file types that require special programs to be opened.
Typos & inattentiveness to details
Clients and HR managers who are looking through portfolios are not just interested in a bigger picture. It’s the details that greatly affect the overall impression. Typos, formatting errors and other details always catch the eye and give a feeling of sloppiness. Portfolio should show not only your work, but also your responsibility and neatness as a professional. In order to avoid this mistake, check all pages of your portfolio attentively before uploading it online or handing it in to a manager.
Conclusion
A well-compiled portfolio plays a huge role in the successful career of a UX designer. It’s important to remember that its main purpose is to present information about you as a professional to the HR managers - thus it’s better to keep it neat and structured while at the same time not omitting valuable components. If you’re compiling your portfolio for the first time, there are a lot of examples on the internet that you can hang on to make yours correctly so that it would showcase you as a dedicated and hardworking aspiring professional.
