Portfolio Design Tips For Non-Designers

As a Content Design leader and hiring manager, I'm often looking at portfolios and resumes. Here are five (5) things that delight me: 1. Clear navigation and IA for your portfolio. If I can easily find your UX writing and content strategy samples, that tells me you understand information architecture, which is critical to what we do. 2. Good storytelling. Tell me concisely what the problem was and how you solved it. Don't forget to describe the user and the role they played in your project. Show "before" and "after" screenshots where you can. 3. White space. Portfolios and resumes crammed to the margin edges with content indicates you have trouble self-editing. Remember the editing rule: cut it in half, and then cut it in half again. Use progressive disclosure. 4. A brief intro of who you are in your portfolio. I love photos of you, your pet, your kids, your favorite dish. Whatever makes you a human. 5. Empathy. UX research, asking questions...tell me how you considered the user. ("Because there were so many modals, we wondered if this process would be too complicated for our users to complete. So, we tested it.") That's it! Resumes and portfolios are writing samples in and of themselves. You don't have to be a visual designer to create an effective presentation, but as a content designer you must have a sharp eye for how things *could* look. It's time well spent. 😊

Confession: While I've reviewed thousands of portfolios, I've never read a case study all the way through. I ALWAYS scan them. I just don't have the time to look through every detail. And I know that most other folks who are reviewing portfolios are doing the exact same thing for the same reasons. This means that your portfolio should: 1. Make it easy to scan 2. Use big, high quality visuals 3. Tell quick, concise stories 4. Most importantly, make that story easy to consume in two minutes or less If I were to build my portfolio today, here's how I would do it using these principles: 1️⃣ I'd have a top overview section that has a short blurb of what to expect/what I accomplished AND the final mockups/prototype of what I created. 2️⃣ I'd write out each case study using a word document first to make sure that my headlines told the entire story quickly and concisely. I'd use a classic story arc 1. Context/background 2. Conflict 3. Rising action 4. Climax 5. Falling action 6. Resolution The simpler version of this is the 3 Cs of storytelling: 1. Context 2. Conflict 3. Change (AKA what improved as a result of your work) 3️⃣ I'd optimize my headlines below the overview to tell the story of what I learned. Once everything was written out in a Google doc, I'd edit everything down to the essentials. I'd make sure to pull out the important learnings/quotes and make them big so reviewers could easily scan them. 4️⃣ I'd break up sections with large images to make it feel more interesting and less fatiguing. 5️⃣ I'd ask friends and family to read it and provide feedback about clarity and how much time it took them. If they can easily understand it, see my impact, and quickly go through it, then I'm on the right track. 6️⃣ I'd use LinkedIn and adplist.org to find more folks to provide feedback. Again, I'd focus their feedback on clarity and the amount of time it took for them to go through it.

My last post about hiring went a little viral — and my DMs + connection requests have been flooded ever since. One question keeps popping up: “Do you have a portfolio I can see? I’m not a designer, but I want to show my work better.” Let’s clear something up: ↳ You don’t need a beautifully designed portfolio. ↳ You just need one that does its job. ↳ It’s not just for visual roles. It’s for anyone whose work is strategic, behind-the-scenes, or hard to explain in a bullet point. (& I’ve got to give credit where it’s due — Sidney Waterfall encouraged me to create mine, and I’m borrowing heavily from her approach. Grateful for mentors who stick with you!) ----- Here’s what I included in mine, and what I loved seeing from other candidates too: 1. Contact Info 2. Table of Contents ↳ Let people jump around easily 3. About Me (Professional) ↳ Your approach, edge, and TL;DR career story (not too long!) ↳ What you believe in and bring to the table 4. Experience & Impact ↳ Your 1–2 most relevant roles (link to LI for more) ↳ What you owned, how you thought through the work, and what changed because of it ↳ Performance results (even the ones you can’t post publicly (while still being compliant)) ↳ Visual examples — screenshots, anonymized decks, internal docs 5. What Others Say About You ↳ I included 7 testimonials from past managers, peers, direct reports, and leaders ↳ Ask people you’ve worked with to write 1–2 paragraphs ↳ It feels awkward, but it really shines — and they are more than likely flattered and willing to help! (Shout-out to my 7 who took the time) 6. Skills ↳ Grouped and easy to skim 7. Working Style: Leadership ↳ How you lead, what you value, how you develop others (if in a leadership role) 8. Working Style: Personality ↳ How you thrive ↳ What helps you do your best work ↳ This helps both sides see if the environment is the right fit 9. About Me (Personal) ↳ I included: Motherhood, Cooking, and House Flipping/Renovations ↳ It helps people get to know you, not just your output — easier to connect + build rapport Formats That Work Don’t overthink it. Try one of these: ↳ Google Slides, saved as a PDF ↳ Google Doc, saved as a PDF ↳ Squarespace/Webflow/Wix/etc., if that’s your thing ↳ Notion (mine was built here) ↳ Aligned Deal Room → Free for job seekers: https://lnkd.in/euYy5pXK. Organize your work, show examples, and personalize it. If it helps you land a role, imagine what it could do for your sales team. (Not posting this to push Aligned, it's just too good to not include 😉) ----- If you’re new to the job market or pivoting, try a hypothetical campaign or strategy. A few candidates did this in follow-ups — and it was more impressive than past experience because it was fresh and relevant. Your portfolio doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to help people get you. I know I'm missing good tips/sections in here (character limits!), so drop them below. Wishing anyone searching allllll the luck! 💛