How can I make my portfolio standout? Well, You Can't!

Photo by Noah Näf on Unsplash

In my mentoring session on adplist.org a lot of young (some experienced) professionals frequently asks for feedback on their portfolio, case studies, what's missing and most commonly "How can I make my portfolio standout?".

Well an honest response is 'You can't', while that's hard pill to swallow, there is a bunch of things you can do to 🌈 make your design portfolio a true reflection of YOU! 💡

Make it reflect you, your journey and your work.

Will this help you stand out from the crowd? I don't know, but this should surely help you tell your true story in your unique own way.

Let me use a Start, Stop and Continue framework to help with some key pointers.

Start

1. Start, treating your design portfolio work as, your real work, your client project, or your product design work you do for your company. Treat it with the same seriousness.

2. Start, by creating a work backward schedule, with milestones and timelines. Set a target date, schedule reviews with mentors on platform like adplist.org or via your LinkedIn network. Happy to help here! Found this interesting quote on LinkedIn UX your UX portfolio.

3. Start, defining your 'How Might I' s. Don't just leave it at 'How might I make my portfolio stand-out?' :D. Go deeper, define your goals, problem statements. Treat it as your work.

4. Start, collating your best work and all its artifact at one place. This seems trivial, but trust me this is the hardest and longest part of the whole process.

5. Start, thinking about the story line that reflects your journey. This should be done at an overall portfolio level and individual project level.

6. Start, gathering requirements on what recruiters look for in portfolio. Read articles on case studies that illustrates their approach and journey and not just the final output.

   1. Found this one super interesting! Faang UX case study

   2. Another one, on what design recruiters look for in design portfolio

7. Start, reading design case studies published by various companies, start-ups, designer. Good way to learn on how to tell a compelling story.

   1. Material 3 case study

   2. Apple's all new design language

   3. Building Obsidian Tinder's design system
      

Stop

1. Stop, researching other designer's portfolio, to see best practices, common structures. Guess what, you do this and you are already in the trap of making your portfolio reflect the one that inspired you the most. Inspiration soon becomes a lift and adopt. See where your creativity on a blank piece of paper or a blank canvas on Figma takes you. You might be surprised!

2. Stop, using web templates. This should be your wheelhouse, design your own site.

3. Stop, worrying about the length of case study. If its relevant to your design process, or to the story you are telling, you should have it.

4. Stop, making it an archive of all your projects. While you need to keep it up to date, be diligent in selecting the work that should go on your portfolio.

Continue

1. Continue, refining and iterating your portfolio. There is no such thing as 'portfolio work done'. Its an ever-evolving product, that needs your continuous attention and nurturing.