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We know finding the time and putting together a killer UX portfolio can seem overwhelming. That’s why we’ve invited an absolute expert to give you actionable tips and and guidance on how to nail this process.
Meet Aneta Kmiecik, Senior UX Designer, mentor and a UX portfolio expert. Aneta has helped dozens of UX designers level up their UX portfolios and land their dream jobs!
Below you’ll find Aneta’s advice on:
- Patterns found in successful UX portfolios
- What to include in your UX portfolio
- How to leverage storytelling
- Examples of standout UX portfolios and why they’re great
Let’s jump right in and see what Aneta recommends!
Make your UX portfolio count in a portfolio review process
Aneta: Portfolios are like this meme, you sit to create your portfolio and you suddenly open a pandora box. Who wasn’t in a similar situation at least once? Probably most of us were.
- We don’t know how to figure out our designer profile
- We don’t know which skills and experiences to highlight
- We struggle to craft our story just right
- Not to mention all the contrasting tips we get
The truth is that there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for portfolios and every hiring manager can have their own preferences relevant to positions they hire for.
How to make your UX portfolio right?
According to my research that I did for the purpose of the upcoming UX Portfolio Course in January’25, there are some patterns in this madness.
For the initial portfolio review this would be a good first impression. And this can be done mostly via:
Let me explain.
📗 Grab your copy of the UX Portfolio Playbook! In collaboration with Aneta we’ve created an ultimate UX portfolio playbook to guide through the process with our expert tips. There you’ll find: Get your free copy now ⬇️
Storytelling – what is this buzzword about
Back when I started in UX Design in 2018, there was still a trend for showing a process and dividing UX with UI with a bold line. I still remember how much I wrote about research findings in my case studies.
To this degree that I could not read my case studies again because they were too overwhelming. I focused too much on the process.
Right now we can clearly see that the preference to see a double diamond process in UX portfolios has started to disappear.
More and more hiring managers start to recognise the importance of storytelling in portfolios’ stories. But then no one knows exactly what it means in a context of UX portfolios.
My strategy is simple: I decide what to talk about. I pick project moments that best proves my skills and show my achievements. And since my portfolio is about my role and my contribution, I try to show it.
This is my exact formula on how I structure my case study stories ⬇️
1️. Start from the summary
Because hiring managers are busy people at work, they won’t read everything. You need to optimise for time to value. Communicate the key things first to increase their engagement. Check out Minto Pyramid framework or BLUF communication method to know more.
2️. Select project moments
Because you don’t want to overwhelm your readers so you need to prioritise. Pick key, the most interesting, relevant, impactful project moments: when you learned, when you made a change, when you tackled a problem, etc.
3️. Include problem, change, retrospective
Because your job is about making a change so talk about it. The easiest way for me to explain it is to start with the problem. Then, I go through the changes by showing the exploration and solution. Finally, I end with a project retrospective, sharing the impact, results, and my reflections.
4️. Talk about your impact
Because what matters the most is what value you can deliver. Show your impact by highlighting product metrics, areas you impacted, quotes from positive user feedback.
👉Learn more about how to write a killer UX case study in Aneta’s post.
And in this, don’t forget to explain your design decisions. Only then you will show that your decisions were intentional.
Metrics – to prove your effectiveness
Showing a proper double-diamond design process no longer convinces hiring managers that you can do your design job well.
They want proof to see that you’re an impactful and conscious designer. That you don’t just design nice visuals but really think about changing users and business world. How to do it? Look for numerical metrics 📊 but also qualitative proof 💬 or positive user feedback 👍
Below is a great UX portfolio example of how this can be done:
High-quality visuals – to show your craft
We sometimes see designers argue about the importance of visual design for UX designers. I still remember when someone told me in 2018 that it’s not UX designer’s job to do visual design. Meanwhile my whole design career was about the whole design process.
In a context of UX portfolio, this experience can’t be even more true. Visual design is the easiest to judge for people. We are all also sensitive to the attractiveness bias.
That’s why is a perfect opportunity to use it to increase your chance of making a good first impression.
Here’s what you can add to make your UX portfolio visually impressive:
- Beautiful thumbnails
- Detailed images of selected parts in your design
- Micro-interactions – let the reader play with the prototype directly in your portfolio
- Unexpected, creative layouts
- Cool typography
- Before and after comparison (for redesigns)
- Large images
Check out this post where I show various portfolio examples that make you go “WOW!”
Interactions – to engage your users
The reason behind this one is that static digital experiences are less and less common. The digital world is interactive. So if you add small interactions, you will make your UX portfolio experience a bit more lively and realistic.
Even if you’re like me, not an interaction design expert, you can still use no-code website tools like Wix Studio or Framer that will let you easily add some interactions.
Here are 5 ideas for how to make a UX portfolio more interactive:
🎥Recorded prototype
Example in the video: chengsuchen.com/coinbase
🫳Give users control with a toggle
Example in the video: perryw.ca/stadia-bluetooth
⬇️ Use animations on scroll
Example in the video: amie.so
⬜️ Interactive bento layout
Example in the video: chester.how
💡Interactive home page intro
Example in the video: damianskotzke.com
Find more examples in Aneta’s post.
Why do you need a UX portfolio as a junior in the UX field?
Crafting a winning UX portfolio is the first step to a rewarding career. It is an unmissable opportunity to show what you know and how have you grown in the UX field.
Even with no prior experience, a UX portfolio is essential for demonstrating your skills, standing out in a competitive job market, and building credibility as a designer or researcher. It is also a great asset for building your personal brand and networking.
What should your first UX portfolio include?
We know that it might be a daunting task to create a UX portfolio with no experience. There are so many dos and don’ts out there making it quite hard to cut through the noise. This is why we wanted to highlight the 7 critical elements that every UX portfolio should include to get you started.
Portfolio Introduction
Using an introduction to your portfolio is a great way to give your readers a quick overview of what it contains. This is the part where you can set the tone and ignite the imagination of your readers.
Contact Information
Adding your contact information in a visible place in your portfolio is another critical element not to be missed! Recruiters or clients will need to be able to locate your contact details should they want to come in contact with you. Don’t forget to add your email address, phone number, and a link to your LinkedIn profile.
A summary of who you are
This is another element that can make or break the success of your UX portfolio. Adding a short blurb about who you are, and what is your specialization or interests when it comes to UX is a great way to personalize your UX portfolio and make it stand out. You can try including a fun fact about yourself to make it more memorable.
UX Case Study
Adding your UX case studies is the most critical element in your portfolio. This is the gist of your entire portfolio and it is your unique chance to demonstrate your problem-solving skills when it comes to UX riddles as well as your ability to use tools and methodologies to get to the desired solution.
While the focus has shifted away from showcasing rigid processes like the double diamond, the stages of problem-solving—research, ideation, design, and testing—are still valuable as a storytelling structure. The key is to avoid overwhelming readers with too much detail and instead spotlight the most impactful moments and outcomes from each stage.
UX Case Study parts | What to write… |
The problem statement | This is where you would need to clearly define the problem or challenge that you were tasked to resolve. |
The research stage | Outline the research methods, tools, and key findings when researching the problem. |
The ideation stage | Walk the reader through your thought process and idea generation process. What has led you to take a particular course of action? |
The design stage | Add early designs, wireframes and prototypes of your design. |
The testing stage | Explain the methodologies and tools that you used to test your designs and how you applied the feedback that you received. |
Results | Quantify the impact that your design brought to the product or business. Here you should add specific UX and business metrics. |
Learnings | Reflect on what you have learned from this project or anything that you would have done differently! |
Testimonials and Recommendations
This is an element that often gets neglected but can be a powerful way to earn extra credibility points for your work. You can ask your peers or mentors to write a recommendation for you and your work.
How to build a UX portfolio with no experience?
If building a portfolio from scratch with zero experience seems an impossible task, we are here to tell you that it can be certainly done! From creating fictitious projects to redesigns here is how you can build your UX portfolio with no experience.
Yes, you read that right no professional experience what so ever:
1. Create a fictitious project
A great idea to create a UX case study for your portfolio is to create a fictitious project. Simply identify a problem or an unmet need that a digital service or product could potentially solve and then design the solution for it. When creating a fictitious project, highlighting the user research stage is of utmost importance.
This is where the whole project is based so make sure to conduct thorough user research and do not forget to communicate your research findings. Tools like UXtweak can help you get started on your user research as they offer a user panel that will save you the time to recruit and vet user participants.
Although this is a fictitious project, it is also important to outline your whole thought process from conception through to execution.
2. Do an unsolicited redesign
Another great way to go about creating a case study for your UX portfolio without previous experience is to do an unsolicited redesign. Simply choose a website or app where you think that the user experience could benefit from a redesign and get to work!
Start by doing a thorough UX expert review to address any early findings and then engage in rigorous UX research. Again here user research is one of the most important parts of the redesign so make sure to do a few usability tests that will give you great user insights. You can use online tools like UXtweak’s usability testing tool to achieve that!
3. Take a “portfolio-building” UX design course
Another clever idea is to take up a portfolio-building UX design course. There is an abundance of both online and in-person courses out there that cover not only the theory of UX design but also offer the chance to complete practical UX projects that you can then add to your portfolio as UX case studies.
4. Land a volunteer job or internship first
Last but certainly not least, landing a volunteering job or a short-term UX internship can be a great way to get your foot in the door and add some case studies to your portfolio.
This is a fantastic way to gain real-world experience before landing your first job and showcase the learnings of real-life projects to your portfolio. Nonprofit organizations or start-ups are your best bet when it comes to landing a volunteering job so these are a great place to seek out those opportunities.
UX portfolio templates to get you started
Here are some handy UX portfolio templates to get you started:
- UX Designer’s Portfolio template by The School of UX provides a simple-to-follow template on how to build a UX portfolio. This template is free and you can use it by simply making a copy and adding it to your own project in Figma.
- UXfolio has put together a highly detailed and easy-to-use UX portfolio template. This template goes the extra mile with step-by-step instructions on how to use it.
- Career Strategy Lab is another great resource to get started on your first UX portfolio. This template is really comprehensive and it requires you to sign up to fully access it.
Ready to create your first UX portfolio?
Crafting a UX portfolio without previous professional experience can seem like a daunting task but it is absolutely essential in kick-starting your career as a junior UX professional. UX portfolios can offer a host of advantages and they can make you stand out from the crowd in this competitive job market landscape.
Even with the absence of real-world professional experience, you can craft a winning portfolio by adding fictitious projects, unsolicited designs, or case studies from any volunteering work that you might have completed. A UX course can also help you further enrich your UX portfolio.
Don’t forget, when in doubt you can always use UXtweak to help you nail your first UX case studies and guide you to a winning UX portfolio!
📗 Grab your copy of the UX Portfolio Playbook! In collaboration with Aneta we’ve created an ultimate UX portfolio playbook to guide through the process with our expert tips. There you’ll find: Get your free copy now ⬇️
