New Beginnings: How I use my Portfolio as a Growth Tool

Illustrator: Kamelia Hristova
Editor: Lakshmi Jagad

New year, new Me!

Come January, we make all kinds of promises to ourselves, hoping that this time will be different. This year we will be better people, accomplish what we set out to do, and achieve happiness. That explains why my gym only offers annual contract memberships. Can you imagine the number of people rushing through the door on January 1, forking out their hard-earned money in an attempt to buy their way to the perfect body? A week later, it is a different story. The idea of waking up at 5am to go on the treadmill doesn’t sound that desirable. In fact, research shows that 30% of all New Year resolutions are dropped by the end of week 1. The gym card is left in the junk drawer. The favorite jeans don’t fit any more.

(Scientists, I love you guys, but how about some encouraging data?)

Knowing myself, I can confidently say that these numbers really stack up against me. Rationally, I know I won’t turn my life around that easily. I wish I could! Like Michael in The Office declaring bankruptcy, I wish I could just as easily declare veganism, or complete dislike for video games.

Regardless of outcome, it’s still incredibly fun to imagine a better version of me. I guess it’s kind of like what people do when they play the lottery. My granddad frequently took me with him to play the lottery. Each time he’d ask, “What would you buy with the jackpot?” The responses usually ranged from “new bike” to “candy store.” I am surprised he did not get bored with my answers all those years. I can’t help but draw similarities here. The last day of December feels the same as holding the lottery ticket in your hands. You could be anyone; you could be anywhere; you could have almost anything. How is that not fun?

Goals at VMware

As the new year rolls in, we set goals for ourselves here at VMware. We are not unique in that — I’m sure everybody does it. But we have an effective approach when it comes to the actual execution. We start by thinking, “What if I hit the jackpot?” If there were no limits or time constraints, what would I like to achieve over the next year? Who would I like to become? These abstract questions are fun. They are meant to get people in the right frame of mind to identify aspects of their work they find meaningful and aligned with their values as professionals.

Next, with the help of our managers, we narrow down the abstract into actionable. Our managers act as our career coaches at VMware by helping us set measurable goals to aim towards through the year. For example, my manager suggested I aim for two measurable goals, one new skill, and one 50–50 goal. The last one refers to a goal with a low probability of success, yet valuable to pursue.

Most importantly, our managers put in a lot of work, trying to find the match between our personal ambitions and the organization at large.

For the visuals thinkers out there, here’s an illustration of my 2021 goals & progress.

Additionally, we schedule regular reviews to talk about progress, blockers, and viability of the goals we’ve set. As you may notice from the illustration, some elements were adjusted while some others were removed completely. There is no shame in dropping a goal, nor pressure to finish it by a set time. We try to have an open discussion about it, though. It is OK to fail and to miss targets, as long as there is growth and clear communication.

Design Portfolios

Setting yearly goals, having regular reviews with our managers, adjusting milestones — all great methods to advance our skills and become better professionals. They are forward-facing, though, and that means they cannot adequately show the trajectory we are on. This is where design portfolios come handy. You know those weird websites where we often talk about ourselves in third-person (️🙋‍♂️ guilty), show our work, and do our best not to come off as self-absorbed egomaniacs? (Don’t just take my word for it. There are actual designer bio generators out there.)

As designers, I think we have one additional responsibility toward our own careers, and that one relates to updating our portfolios.

Why did Pringles update its brand? It’s still the same addictive potato-drugs in a can, but now it has a cooler, more modern package. Won’t change the fact that I tell myself that I won’t eat all of them in one go. Might make me want to buy it more often, though… which is the whole point.

A designer’s portfolio is a representation of their skills, not simply their work. Structure, navigation, colors, interaction, animation are all elements that subtly communicate the values and capabilities of its creator. Moreover, they help translate the boring walls of text we call “case studies” into easily consumable pieces of information that help readers judge the skills that went into building the portfolio in the first place. Our portfolios were designed and developed in the past. They reflect who we were as designers in the past. The longer we go without rebuilding them, the greater the disconnect between who we appear to be and who we’ve become.

I’ve redesigned my portfolio almost every year. As I began to spam my PDF portfolio to the unfortunate people I liked to call “my clients,” I realized the monetary value of updating it as frequently as possible. I just closed more deals each time I updated it.

Simple math.

Too ashamed to share my old PDFs! Take a look at a few of the web versions I had over the years.

Each one tells a different story that creates an entirely separate impression of the creator. (Told you, I’m guilty of that third-person style!) I don’t feel that I’ve fundamentally changed as a person in this period, so the only variable is my skill set. In fact, some of those websites in the case studies haven’t even been edited. It’s the same material, albeit packaged in a more exciting way.

Portfolios should be redesigned every year. From scratch. This process will not only help us present the latest version of our professional selves, but it also helps us look ahead into who we are becoming and where we are heading as designers. By looking back at the dots, we are able to trace a path forward, as Steve Jobs said. Combine that with yearly goal setting and reviews, and you’ve set yourself up for success. I’ll leave it at that.

January is over and February will follow soon.
Hopefully, our gym membership cards are not in the junk drawer, and we have set goals for ourselves to take actionable steps toward the abstract future versions of ourselves. More importantly, let’s rebuild our portfolios to add another dot onto our career timelines and to help guide ourselves forward into an exciting, yet unknown, 2022.