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Is a UX portfolio essential?
Let’s face it, in an industry where experience and education are not required to land your dream job; your UX portfolio is more important than your resume. It serves as a meeting point before the hiring manager meets you.
The times have changed, and there are now more UX designer’s on the market. It would help if you were different, which means you cannot rely solely on your CV.
Many hybrid roles require UX skills. This is an excellent opportunity to show your experience in different areas of a project: UI design or strategic decision-making, or oversight of web development.
Portfolios are a great way to show off your personality. Portfolios are a great way to demonstrate cultural compatibility in an age when hiring is more important. A CV can be difficult to convey your personality because nearly 99% of CVs use the same format.
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What’s the purpose of your UX portfolio, and why?
Here’s my opinion. A well-curated portfolio is a sign that the person has taken the time to present themselves in the best possible light and can show their most important work artistically and logically.
It should describe who you are, your abilities, and the UX area you are best at. Don’t rely solely on your CV. Statistics show that recruiters spend only 6 seconds reading your CV.
They will examine four areas: your name and education, current position, past position, and education. Your CV is dull. Your portfolio need not be.
Your portfolio should reflect your cultural fit for the company you are applying to. Your portfolio should reflect your personality and show your unique style. This is your chance to impress the hiring manager and show that you are different from the rest.
Tips To Avoid A Generic UX Design Portfolio
Too much work or too little work.
A portfolio with more than 15 to 20 projects is bad. It can overwhelm users and may indicate that your portfolio needs to display your best work.
Portfolios are for displaying only the best of your work. Each project should be scored out of 10. Score each project out of 10. If it gets less than 9/10, then you should cut it.
This can prove to be a problem when you first enter the industry. Most UX design graduates have at least three to four projects in their studies.
Portfolios containing only student work may feel thin, even if exceptional. You can add depth to your portfolio by including personal projects, freelance work, and pro bono work.
Not paying attention to the user.
It is easy to forget that your portfolio website is a UX design project. Your site must be able to meet the needs of a variety of users.
Hiring managers, recruiters, and potential freelance clients are common user groups. However, these will vary depending on your specialization and the seniority and experience of the roles you are targeting.
You should be able to empathize with your users in the various situations they may find themselves in. Managers may have hundreds or even thousands of portfolios to go through in a short time. Your site should be easy to navigate. This shows respect for the users and reflects your values as a designer.
Using generic images
A red flag in any portfolio is generic photography on the homepage–particularly open roads or tidy desks with a MacBook, a notepad, and a mug of coffee.
You may only have a few seconds with the user before they close the website again. First impressions are important, so make sure to make an impact. Use meaningful images. Avoid photos of post-it notes stuck to a wall if they don’t add value to your story.
High-quality templates are essential if you want to enhance your portfolio with mockups. These templates are worth the extra money as they will reduce the likelihood that other designers will use the same template. You’ll be able to create consistent mockups to help unify your portfolio visually.
Too-large or low-resolution images
Getting the image resolution and file size right can be difficult, especially if many images are on one page.
It is a good idea to determine the maximum size your image should appear on your website. If your template is 960 pixels in width at viewport size, then you will want to save images at the retina (2x). Images must be 1920 pixels wide to appear sharp on retina screens.
Remember that images at retina resolution can get quite large. It is best to limit the size of your images to 1 megabyte. However, keeping the majority of images under 500 kilobytes is a good idea.
Too small thumbnails
It doesn’t matter how beautiful your work is. If users have to click tiny thumbnail images to see them, they may need help viewing them. A thumbnail shows the content in a way that is appealing enough to the user to make them want to explore more. People may leave your site if they see unusable thumbnails.
Template too complicated
Tobias van Schneider compares a portfolio to a gallery. It should be neutral so that people can focus on the work. Contemporary digital design is all about minimalism.
Too much narrative
You can also include no story about your projects in your portfolio. This approach has the drawback that it requires users only to see the final images to understand your project fully.
Your audience wants to know the steps you took to reach that solution. This includes how you defined and solved the design problem, the challenges you faced, and, hopefully, the business implications of your work.
Include process images such as sketches, research documents, and wireframes to create a narrative around your work. You should also include brief, informative passages that guide the user through the project. Each project should have between 300-400 words and be clearly structured with bullet points and headings.
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There is no call to action
What would you like people to do? What are you asking people to do? Please give them a way to do it and guide them visually toward the action. A one-page, a printable resume can make it easier for people to remember your name and follow up with you if they are interested in hiring. You can also link to your LinkedIn, Dribbble, or professional Instagram account to keep in touch with people who appreciate your work
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Our Ui UX design services help you improve your user’s experience and let them enjoy checking out your website or application. We help make your interfaces more user-friendly and efficient. UI/UX design services can also help you gather valuable feedback from customers to improve your product or service.
