Create MVP (Minimum Viable Portfolio)
Every designer must have both types of portfolios: short-form to get attention and long-form to showcase details.
Over the past few years, I've interviewed dozens of product designers and reviewed their portfolios. It made me think deeply about what a good product designer's portfolio should look like.
Most product design portfolios tend to fall into two categories:
Polished Dribbble portfolio with high-level shots and good presentation
Detailed case studies with rough ideas and actual prototypes
While there's no winner between these types of portfolios, some everyday things stood out to me every time I saw them in a designer's portfolio.
Every designer must have both types of portfolios: short-form to get attention and long-form to showcase details.
Let's break down some core parts of each portfolio.
Dribbble-like, attention-getting portfolio
The goal of such portfolio is to get attention to your work. And since visuals are the fastest way to communicate ideas, using beautiful pictures, isometric mockups, and interactive graphics is a great way to showcase in such a portfolio.
People do judge a book by its cover. Clients do fall in love with the look of the product or website before diving into the functionality. Make it eye-catching.
Even if you're not a designer, having a portfolio that makes a good first impression is crucial. Writers can include samples of their writing and the problem they've solved. Marketers can showcase the results of their campaigns and business metrics.
Case study, dive-into-details portfolio
Describe your contribution to the project: team effort, role, communication with the client, and the process. Case studies are great for diving deeper into the steps you took to accomplish the results showcased in the attention-getting portfolio.
There are a few key things that I always find fascinating when looking at such case studies.
Your role
You'll work either by yourself or within a team as a freelancer. In any of those ways, describe your role on the project. Think of the areas you contributed to and parts of the tasks you were responsible for.
Timeline
Clients are looking to see the timeline for the project to be sure you're effective in your workflow. Give them a sense of how long each step of the project took. It helps to adjust the timing and the budget for the project.
Process
Outline your process in simple, digestible steps. This gives the client a sense of what to expect when working with you. Again, if this was a team effort – describe which part of the process you contributed the most.
How to structure a portfolio to get maximum results
About seven years ago, I heard about a simple yet effective portfolio structure method. Since then, I've been using it to land 5-figure projects and work with Fortune 100 companies.
This structure can be applied to your website, PDF portfolio, or proposal. It looks like a simple sentence, which makes it easy to remember.
👉
Hey, what about me.
Hey
This is your introduction. This is the beginning of your portfolio, where you briefly tell who you are and present yourself. I like to keep it very simple, including:
Name
Title/What you do
Photo/Logo (optional)
What
What is about what you do, your work. This section is for up to 3 relevant pieces of work you've done.
An obvious but important consideration that's easy to forget is to tailor your portfolio to the job you're applying for.
For UI design jobs, your portfolio's presentation and visual polish are incredibly important. If it's a UX / Experience / Interaction Design position, demonstrating your design process to solve a UX problem should be the priority.
It helps to have at least three solid projects in your portfolio. It might sound like a lot for beginners, but be aware that your projects shouldn't be massive or have hundreds of different elements to them. I've seen people talking about changing a few fields in the form during a 30-minute presentation, expanding on their research and history of patterns.
About
In this section, give more details about who's talking to the client—a short bio, your services, past clients, testimonials, etc.
Me
Finally, how does a prospect finds you? This section is for your contact information and social profiles.
Final thoughts
Document your work constantly. Take lots of pictures (no selfies). You never know when you want to show that one whiteboarding process you did last summer as part of your ideation process!
Write a project summary as soon as you finish it when it's fresh in your mind. Going back to that one project you did six months ago and figuring out what you did is no fun.
You don't need a logo or fancy animations to build a portfolio. Freelancers are caught in the process of polishing details of their portfolio that doesn't matter at first.
Don't sell yourself & your work short. University projects are just as valuable as client work or side projects. If you want to present them and are proud of them, do so.