Why Your Design Portfolio is Killing You
From the Lens of a UX Lead
Problem Statement: How can I improve my portfolio so I can get better job offers?
You don’t show enough work.
Today’s job market is hot, but that doesn’t mean I’ll forgo quantity over quality — or vice versa. I expect recent college or boot camp grads to have fewer projects — I’ll undoubtedly adjust my evaluation if I’m filling a junior role. However, I expect senior designers to have a minimum of six solid projects. There are always exceptions to the rule, but if you only have two or three projects to show, they’d better blow my socks off.
That said, if you have additional work that you haven’t had the chance to add to your portfolio yet, forgo the “coming soon” project placeholders. UX 101: no dead ends! If you have more work to show than what’s in your portfolio, it’s perfectly fine to send me a PDF.
There’s no project story.
There’s a difference between order takers and design thinkers. A design thinker’s portfolio opens with a problem statement and tells a story through outcomes and deliverables that lead up to a final design solution. Your portfolio will have more impact if you state your role, show the insights and research that informed your design decisions, and illustrate how you validated your work with testing. The key is to take the observer on a journey of a user-centered process.
Page after page of visual designs — especially with no contextual descriptions — doesn’t tell me much about your approach or how you reached a solution. Project briefs, links to prototypes, and lessons learned score extra brownie points because it allows me to see how you discover, execute, and reflect on your work.
You don’t show enough artifacts.
If you show nothing else but one image per artifact, say a wireframe for a product page, I’ll likely look no further. Generally speaking, I look for designers with experience working on flows of screens, not just one static page. You’ll best show your aptitude through multiple screens that capture a broader user journey. As a manager, I want to see that you’ve worked on more than one screen or module. Not to mention, showing your work on design systems is a plus.
Your work lacks an omnichannel experience.
Portfolios without other touchpoints as part of a more extensive user journey may put you at a disadvantage. For example, what happens after a marketing campaign brings a user to a landing page with a form? As designers, we don’t create pretty pages — we design experiences. The more you can connect the dots between an ecosystem of digital touchpoints, the better!
Your portfolio doesn’t align with your resume.
Talk is cheap. If your resume says you’ve produced wireframes, journey maps, and personas for a given role or project, I should see those artifacts reflected in your portfolio. Don’t fall into the trap of presenting flashy visuals. As a manager, I need to see the artifacts that went into shaping your final solution, including mobile designs.
Your portfolio doesn’t show a range of design execution.
Seasoned designers should present a body of work that’s more mature than a collection of modules or UI components. There’s nothing wrong with designing components, but if your portfolio shows nothing but an accordion here and a carousel there, you’re not showing your ability to work on flows of screens and end-to-end journeys at a larger scale. You’re better off presenting yourself with a multi-faceted skill set.
Your portfolio is under lock and key… but there’s no key.
Nowadays, many designers have their portfolios under password protection due to nondisclosure agreements. While this is understandable, I’ll likely move on if I have to work hard to see your work. If you can’t show anything at all, I won’t waste my time.
If, however, your entire portfolio is unnecessarily password-protected, get rid of it. (Password-protected portfolios seem to be a trend nowadays.) Consider the opportunities you’re missing because recruiters and managers can’t see your work. Sure, I could contact you for your password, but with not enough hours in the day and a stack of resumes to review, it’s easier to move on to the next person. I always recommend making a hiring manager’s job as easy as possible. Put your password on your LinkedIn profile, resume, or cover letter. After all, reviewing your portfolio is an experience too.
The UX of your portfolio sucks.
Like your resume, your portfolio is a key indicator of how you execute UX. A poorly constructed portfolio is not a good look. The most common no-no I encounter is the tiny thumbnails designers use to show their work without allowing me to enlarge them. Not only does this make it difficult to assess someone’s quality of work, but it suggests that they haven’t thought about the UX of their portfolio. If I have to struggle to see someone’s work, next!
Your work looks dated.
Many of us have roles requiring us to design old technologies. There’s no way around this unless you have the time to create how a future state could look. In my younger years, I freelanced nights and weekends to keep my portfolio as well-rounded as possible, which gave me the upper hand when competing with other designers for the same role. You can get around having dated work in your portfolio with a strong project story. At the very least, I recommend finding projects outside of work to add more impact to what you can show. A designer with more modern work samples will undoubtedly stand above those who do not.
Your portfolio is cookie-cutter.
One of the biggest turn-offs is a cookie-cutter portfolio that follows a script dictated by UX boot camps. Why? If your portfolio looks and sounds like everyone else’s — to the detriment of who you are as a designer — how will you stand out? I’m not saying that portfolios based on the design thinking model are flawed, but parroting a 3-month certificate program can come off contrived. Tell a project story, but make sure you’re not getting lost in the weeds.
You show work that isn’t yours.
I get it. There’s a lot of pressure to advance your career, but misleading hiring managers into thinking another person’s work is yours is a dead-end road. I can tell when there’s a misalignment between someone’s resume and portfolio, and the truth usually comes out during an interview. (And yes, I’ve seen designers plagiarize many times.) If you need to show someone else’s work in your portfolio for context, just make it clear that’s the case, and you’ll be fine. Otherwise, if I catch you in a lie, goodbye!
The titles in your resume don’t align with your skills.
Many designers feel like they have to chase buzzwords and fudge their titles to compete with other designers. I get it — I used to do the same thing. However, there’s a difference between product, UX, UI/UX, and UI design. For example, UX designers typically don’t just work on visual design. I expect to see a UX process and deliverables in your portfolio if you’re a UX designer. Be honest and clear about the work you’ve done and where you want to take your career — nobody’s perfect.
I wasn’t too harsh, was I? If you have any other tips, let me and other readers know in the comments below! If you found this article helpful, give me a follow or share this article with your connections. Good luck with your job search!
