Crafting a Winning Portfolio: 6 Key Tips for Aspiring Designers
“We avoid what is closest to our soul”
Six months ago I shared a public Calendly link and was surprised to have dozens of aspiring junior designers reach out with questions about roles, their portfolios, and about how to approach getting their first job.
Over these conversations I’ve noticed that a lot of designers get stuck in the application-treadmill, but their portfolio and CVs are unfocused, imprecise, and full of unforced errors. I understand this completely and it is what that quote up top refers to. Applying to jobs *feels* like positive progress, but working on your CV and portfolio is slow, laborious, and existentially challenging. The most emotionally vulnerable thing to work on is the easiest to avoid.
So, after a dozens of these near-identical conversations, I want to share the 6 most common pitfalls I’ve seen. I hope this helps someone!
A Kick-Ass CV
Approach your CV as a personal branding exercise. The layout, typography, color, and content should mirror your values and attention to detail. Keep the hiring manager in mind as your user; cater to what they need to know about you. A confident minimalist CV says more than a page of text ever can.
Polish Your Online Presence
Consider this… you’re aspiring to be a product designer while your own website is limp and careless. Your website serves as your primary product and case study; so make it shine! Opt for a modern, friendly font and color palette. Display your strong grasp of layout and readability. Imbue elements of your personality that set you apart. Make learning about you enjoyable and engaging. Every touchpoint should demonstrate your character and design skills. Don’t tell me you’re a great designer - show me!
Simplify Contact Information
Make it effortless for me to reach you. Offer an email address and phone number, not an unwieldy contact form. Don’t redirect me to a Figma or Adobe Acrobat to get your resume - make my life easy and give me a well-named PDF.
Craft Engaging Case Studies
Your case studies should reflect your skillset, taste, and personal brand. Focus on great copy, good grammar, and an easy to follow narrative. Demonstrate an engaging layout and sensible font selection. Make sure images are high quality, easy to read, and easy to explore. Don’t hide the details, don’t skim. Remember, this is a product, and I am your user. Treat me like you care about my time and actually want me to understand your journey.
Streamline Case Study Content
Product design can be a winding and circular journey, but try and present it in an easy to understand narrative arc. A good structure tends to be:
Introduce the problem.
Delve deeper into the problem.
Describe your research and problem-solving process.
Reveal the solution and your journey to it.
Share your insights and lessons, along with what you'd do differently.
Remember, I don’t really care about this project, I care about how YOU cared about this project.
Stand Out and Stand Tall
Bootcamps are great and have their place but they have a huge downside - they produce designers with nearly identical cookie-cutter case studies. It’s a trap! To truly stand out, engage in your own creative endeavors. Collaborate on a startup's landing page, use no-code tools to create web apps, or devise imaginative fictional app ideas and meticulously detail their design process. Show your unique character, commitment to excellence, and constant desire to improve. Show me that the desire to design runs deep in your veins!
That’s who your soul really wants to be, and that’s who everyone is excited to hire!