As a UX instructor and mentor, I’ve reviewed well over one-hundred portfolios. Unfortunately, I see the same mistakes committed over and over again.
So let’s take a moment to identify these mistakes and I’ll also share what makes a strong portfolio that helps you land the job.
Choosing the Wrong Platform
I see far too many people submitting portfolios from Behance.com and Dribbble.com. I have nothing against these platforms and I’m a fan of great visual design.
But many designers post only the final versions of their designs on these platforms and then they submit their Behance or Dribbble URL as their portfolio.
Sorry, that’s not good enough these days. These platforms are fine for sharing your visuals but they should not be used as your primary UX portfolio.
Final product designs are only part of the story. Without the background and details such as the project goals, design iterations, user testing results, etc., how do we know if it’s truly a good design?
If you want to compete with other UXers you are going to need your own website (ideally with your own domain name).
Lack of Customized Content
Employers use portfolios to help determine if you are a good match for the specific opportunity. This means you need to customize your portfolio to match every opportunity you apply for.
For example, if the opportunity calls for experience with VUI (voice user interfaces), you should customize your portfolio to include those types of case studies.
If you don’t have a case study that's an exact match for the opportunity, include a case study that shows how you utilized other skills from the job description.
For example, if they are seeking a team leader pick a project that you led. If they are looking for UX researcher, pick a project that took you deep into user research. Make sense?
Remember, you may already have a good portfolio but a great portfolio has content that clearly matches the opportunity.
TIP: Use PowerPoint or Keynote to create and manage your portfolio and export it as a PDF file when you are ready to share. This is much easier than trying to continuously customize your portfolio website.
Lack of Detail & Storytelling
Use your portfolio to tell a story about yourself, your work and your UX process. In order to effectively do that you need to provide sufficient details.
Here's a list of questions that you can use to guide you in the creation of your case studies or projects:
- Who was the client?
- What was the primary problem or challenge?
- Who was in your team?
- What was your role?
- What was the timeline for the project?
- How did you resolve the problem or challenge?
- What was the final outcome?
- What did you learn from the project?
- What (if anything) would you do differently?
While you are addressing the questions above, include hand drawn sketches, affinity maps (usually sticky notes on white boards), personas, user flows, screenshots of each product version, and user testing results.
Basically, include whatever will help you effectively tell your story and answer the questions above.
One more thing, please include detailed captions for each photo or screenshot, that really helps the reader understand what you're sharing.
So what are some UX portfolio mistakes that you've noticed? Do you agree or disagree with my recommendations? Leave a comment below.