How to Build a Unique UX Portfolio

Want to build a UX portfolio that actually gets you interviews? It starts with a strong case study. I created this simple outline for one of my mentorship clients, but it was too good not to share. If you’re a UX or product designer on the job hunt, this can help you tell your story clearly, show your impact, and stand out from the crowd. Here’s the case study formula I recommend (plus a few tips to make yours even stronger): 🔹 Background/Context: What was the project about? What was your role? Timeline? 👉 Tip: Keep this to 3–4 sentences. Add a visual of the final product. 🔹 The Problem: What problem were you solving, and why did it matter? 👉 Tip: 1–2 clear sentences. Bonus points for "before" screenshots or user quotes. 🔹 Discovery: How did you get up to speed? 👉 Tip: Share your research highlights and key findings. Show evidence of collaboration with your team and stakeholders. 🔹 Design & Iteration: How did you approach the design? 👉 Tip: Include early sketches, whiteboard sessions, and messy Figma explorations — it shows your thought process. 🔹 Testing (+ more iteration): Who did you share your designs with, and what did you learn? 👉 Tip: Summarize the feedback you got and how you incorporated it. 🔹 Impact/Outcomes: What happened because of your work? 👉 Tip: Even if the product didn’t ship, focus on what you learned, how you moved it forward, and what impact you had. A few key reminders: MAKE IT SCANNABLE. Use visuals, headings, and type hierarchy to guide people through. Tell a story. Move through your project step by step so it’s easy to follow. Be selective. You don’t need to show everything you did — just enough to show the problem, your thinking, and the outcome. Hope this helps someone out there polishing their portfolio! If you want the full template (including extra tips), feel free to DM me — happy to share. 🚀 [EDIT:] I'm so glad y'all are loving this! if we're not connected, please include a note in your connection request so I can send the full template your way. Cheers! #uxdesign #productdesign #portfolio #uxcareer

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.

In the past few months, I’ve reviewed over 400 design portfolios while seeking to fill a mid-level design position (2-3 years of experience). More than 90% of these portfolios didn’t pass the screening process. One striking observation was that around 75% of all portfolios looked the same. If your portfolio resembles a basic template, you’re doing something wrong. Don’t get me wrong, perfect portfolios don’t exist, and I’m definitely not saying you should go overboard. However, hiring managers are reviewing many portfolios at once, and standing out with a well-designed portfolio that balances UX with a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing UI will definitely grab the hiring manager’s attention and win you more time. Top Mistakes: 1. Using the Same Design Process for All Projects: • If you have a one-size-fits-all design process, it indicates inexperience. Every project has different needs, requirements, constraints, and challenges. I want to see the challenges you’ve faced in the design process, what methods you chose to overcome a particular challenge, and why you chose that method. 2. Not Connecting Business Goals/Needs to Your Solutions: • Once I open one of your case studies, I want to see what problem you are solving and how it will help the business. Clearly linking your design solutions to business objectives demonstrates a deeper understanding of the impact of your work. 3. Not Enough Exploration: • Most portfolios I reviewed didn’t show enough solution exploration. They usually display only the chosen solution. I want to know which other solutions you considered, why you chose a particular solution over the others, and how you determined this was the best solution. 4. Too Much Clutter in Case Studies: • One of the greatest challenges in designing your portfolio is deciding how much detail to include in your case studies. Too much detail can overwhelm users (hiring managers), causing them to not finish reading your case study, which lowers your chances of getting an interview. Too little detail results in incomplete stories, which also lowers your chances. Focusing on the bigger picture and ensuring your case study is easily scannable is crucial. Make sure a user can scan and understand your case study within 30 seconds. Final Advice: There’s so much advice out there about this subject. If I have to leave you with one thing from this post, it would be to treat your portfolio as a real product design project and understand your audience really well. A well-crafted portfolio that effectively communicates your design process, challenges, and solutions can significantly enhance your chances of standing out to hiring managers.”

93% of Junior UX portfolios I see don't do this. 😔 👇 ↳ Reflect Real-World Problem Solving: → Many portfolios show beautiful interfaces but fail to show the designer's process of solving problems that matter. 💡 Pro tip: If you're new to UX, don't use bootcamp or school projects only. Get freelance or hackathon work as case studies. ↳ Have Personal Branding: → Many UXers don't give enough background on themselves. Companies hire you, not your 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨. ↳ Showcase Collaboration and Feedback: → It's rare to see a designer's ability to: ✅ Work on a team ✅ Articulate their working process ✅ Show their design changes based on feedback ↳ Show the Research Process: → The best case studies tend to: ✅ Showcase qualitative and quantitative data to back their designs ✅ Incorporate their insights into their solutions ↳ Show Empathy and Understanding: → I've noticed many junior designers have zero context to their users and the business in their case studies. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯: → Don't demonstrate their problem-solving process → Don't tell me why they did what they did and why it matters → Don't explain why their solutions help users and the business 🥇 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻: ☑ Craft a compelling story for your case studies that don't bore your reader to death ☠️. ☑ Show the results: what went wrong, what went right and what did you learn? ☑ Show how you've worked with others and leveraged feedback in your designs. ☑ Show your research process, how you gathered and interpreted data, and why it informed your design decisions. ☑ Articulate what problems you tackled and why. Show your thought process and how your design solves these issues effectively. ☑ Please for heaven's sake, get a real portfolio website. In this competitive market Dribbble sites, Behance sites, PDFs, and Figma files are not enough. ✨ Portfolios are hard to maintain and even harder to grow, but if you care about your UX career they are worth it. --- PS: What's stopping you from finishing your portfolio? Follow me, John Balboa. I swear I'm friendly and I won't detach your components.

I reviewed 2,000+ product design portfolios last year. Avoid these mistakes that 90% make: 1. 𝗧𝗢𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦 ❌ Showcasing every project you’ve ever worked on. ✅ 3-4 strong case studies with depth are better than 10 shallow or old ones. 2. WEAK VISUAL HIERARCHY ❌ Walls of text, tiny images. ✅ Clear sections, bold headings, and visuals that guide the viewer. 3. CONFUSING NAVIGATION ❌ Hidden menus, unclear labels, or requiring too many clicks to find case studies. ✅ Make it effortless: clear sections, easy-to-find projects, and a simple way to contact you. 4. SLOW OR CLUNKY WEBSITE ❌ Huge images, broken links, animations taking 3+ seconds to load. ✅ Your portfolio is your first impression. Make it fast and seamless. 5. NO PROCESS, JUST FINAL SCREENS ❌ A bunch of polished UI shots with no explanation. ✅ Show your thinking: research, sketches, iterations, and decisions. 6. UNCLEAR ROLES ❌ Instead of saying “We redesigned the onboarding flow.” ✅ Say: “I led UX research and wireframing, a teammate handled UI.” 7. NO METRICS ❌ “Designed a new dashboard.” ✅ “New design increased user engagement by 20% and reduced support tickets by 15%.” 8. NO PROBLEM STATEMENT ❌ “Redesigned the checkout flow.” ✅ “Users abandoned checkout at 65%. I streamlined the flow, reducing drop-off by 30%.” 9. OUTDATED OR IRRELEVANT WORK ❌ Student projects from 5+ years ago. ✅ Keep it fresh. Show work that aligns with the jobs you want. 10. NO PERSONALITY ❌ Generic “I love solving problems” statements. ✅ What makes you you? Show your voice, interests, and approach to design. Which of these mistakes have you seen or made? #uxhiring #design #productdesign #portfolio

Recently I’ve been receiving a number of DM’s asking about generalized tips for portfolios. And although I’ve been sending off links to everyone, I realized that it may be time to resurface some of the common “mistakes” I’ve noticed on Junior portfolios. 1️⃣ Not making your title obvious Hiring Managers have very little time to decide if they should move you forward in the interview process. That is why you don’t want to waste any time, even a few seconds. So having your title be understood within the first 2-3 seconds really plays a big difference. Think about ways to help it stand out so that your reader can know your area of specialty without doing any work or digging. 2️⃣ Creating a checklist, not a story It is important to note that there are two stories at play. One is the play by play of what you did. The other is your case study. Although this one should provide insights into what you did, it should be a more simplified and stripped back version of the story. This allows you to think through which deliverables are the most important, ultimately creating a better overall experience for your reader. For help with this one, check out my link in the comments. 3️⃣ Not thinking about the overall flow I’ve seen so many case studies where I end up at the bottom with no navigation showing so my only option to see more work is to scroll back up to the top and figure out my next step from there. In reality, I know that only takes about a second or two, but if we remember that our reader only spends 60 seconds max, losing 1-2 on scrolling is a lot. One way to fix this “mistake” is to add a button at the bottom of the case study that takes you directly to the next project. This way, you are creating a flow for your reader so they don’t have to think, while engaging with a number of different projects. 4️⃣ Not showing your personality I understand that using a template is an easier route, but by doing this it makes it harder for your case study to standout. The reason being is that it tends to look like all the others. Think about ways in which you can bring in pieces of who you are. This can be done through graphics, illustrations, or even fonts and colors. I have seen some that have gone as extreme as making their site look like a video game but it also doesn’t need to be that intense. Do what feels right for you. These are just four of the most common “mistakes” I have noticed. There are several other ones since everyone is going to have an opinion. These insights are from years and hundreds of portfolio reviews (Maybe even in the thousands now!) These 4 tips are a great starting point to try and elevate your portfolio. But if you want more personalized feedback, take a look at the link in the comments to understand how I can help you more.

Your CV & Portfolio Should Tell Your Story – Not Someone Else’s 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 In a world where interviews are getting tougher, standing out isn’t just an option anymore friends—it’s a necessity. Yet, I see so many candidates submit a Canva-template resume, even a JPEG image of a resume and a Dribbble-inspired look alike portfolio of someone else, the same Freepik graphics and the same hashtag #UIkits as your own project, hoping to impress. Truth be told and this is could be your turning point.1st copy-pasting someone else’s style won’t showcase your unique value. N E V E R! Your CV and portfolio should be a true reflection of YOU—your skills, your impact, the problems you solved (even as a member of the team) and the journey that made you successful. Hiring managers don’t just look for designers; they look for original thinkers and problem solvers. After my job post for positions at Apple and Google , I received 100s of DMs with the same questions and after going through a ton of CV's here's my 5 keys to standing out in your resume submissions and making interviews. -𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 and explain the ‘why’ behind your designs. What problem did you solve? What impact did it have? - Align your CV & portfolio to the role such that your tailor your materials to highlight skills relevant to the job. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭. - Be authentic & original as generic designs and processes don’t get impress, 𝟗𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐕𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭. - Designers MUST demonstrate business impact as companies now hire designers who drive results, for the no thought UI outcomes there's many tools. 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. - 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 and hence your portfolio should back up your words, your passion, clarity, and storytelling and that's the main thing that will make you unforgettable. Reenforcing for your good- 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞—so don’t let your CV and portfolio be one. Be bold. Be original. Be YOU. #Designjobs #Strategy #InterviewTips #UX #CareerGrowth

Recently I reviewed 100+ design portfolios. Here is what surprises me the most. 👇 Designer’s tend to hide their impact, results, and achievements. But why? 🤔 If you have measurable outcomes and results, be proud of them! Highlight them. Promote them. Make them easy to find. Don’t bury them in a large paragraph at the end of a 10 minute case study. These metrics are often what sets you apart from a crowd of applicants. The reality is every applicant is claiming to be “passionate” and to have the same skills (research, design, collaboration, etc…) But not every candidate can claim the specific impact and results that YOU have achieved. This is often what sets you apart. Here are some easy ways to promote them: → Put your biggest achievement in the title or subtitle of a case study. → Highlight your results in a quick summary at the top of the case study. → At the end of your case study, use visual hierarchy to highlight and promote your impact instead of burying it in a thick paragraph of text. In addition: → Add your accomplishments in your resume bullet points. → Add your accomplishments on your Linkedin profile. If you don't have measurable results, that's okay too. But if you do, be proud of them! Thoughts? 👀 #ux #userexperience #design #portfolio #resume