UX Portfolio Improvement

I used to think my portfolio had to impress other designers. So I filled it with sleek mockups, polished animations, and endless case studies. It looked beautiful...But it didn’t land me clients. Why? Because clients don’t hire you for aesthetics. They hire you for outcomes. 🚫 Too many portfolios still look like it’s 2015: → Pretty mockups → Trendy layouts → 10-second Behance loops But here’s the hard truth: Clients don’t care how cool it looks. They care what it does. 💡 Ask yourself: → Does my portfolio solve real business problems? → Am I showing results or just visuals? → Is it written for clients or for other creatives? What actually works in 2025: ✅ Highlight before/after results (data if possible) ✅ Explain your thinking, not just your tools ✅ Tailor your portfolio to your ideal client, not your peers Because great design isn’t just about craft It’s about clarity, strategy, and trust. ✨ Your portfolio shouldn’t be a gallery. It should be a sales tool. One that shows the value you bring, not just the vibe. 💬 Got a portfolio tip that worked for you? Drop it in the comments, let’s help each other grow. 📌 Save this if you’re about to redesign yours. It’s not about looking good. It’s about landing the right kind of work.

Most portfolios fail in the first 10 seconds. Here’s why: I'll tell you exactly when I know a portfolio won't make it past my screen. The moment I land on "Hi, I'm a passionate designer who loves solving problems..." Listen. I've already read your CV. I know your name, your experience, and where you're based. I don't need a repeat performance. What do I need? To see if you can actually design. Here's what happens when I review portfolios: I have 10 seconds to decide if your work is worth 5 minutes of my additional review and hours of the interview process. And you're wasting those seconds telling me you "love design." Of course, you love design. You're a designer. That's expected. Show me this instead: → Your work / style / taste (Immediately) → The problems you've solved → The impact you've created → Your actual design thinking When I land on your portfolio, I'm looking for: First impressions that matter. Is it accessible? Any animations that show craft? Does it load fast? Can I navigate intuitively? Your portfolio IS the first design problem I see you solve. And if you can't design for me, your user, why would I trust you with my users? What actually gets you hired: ✓ Business context as a stage setting ✓ Your specific role (not "I did everything") ✓ Team composition and timeline ✓ The REAL problem you solved Not 20 personas. Not 50 wireframes. Not your entire design process is outlined. Give me: - 2-3 key research insights - 1 example of iteration that mattered - The final solution (3 screens max) - Actual impact or expected metrics Here's the brutal truth: I don't care about your design philosophy. I care if you can move my metrics. Design isn't just about beauty or experience. It's about business impact. Show me you understand that balance: - Skip the autobiography. Start with your best work. - Make me think "I need to talk to this person". Not "I need to read more about them." Your portfolio should work like your best designs: Clear. Intuitive. Impactful. Remember: I've hired dozens of designers. The ones who got offers? They showed me their thinking through their work. Not through their "About Me". Designers, what's the first thing visitors see on your portfolio? Time for some honest self-assessment (and a potential change).

Stop chasing UX job offers—let them come to you. Here’s how to become a lead magnet for your dream job. 1/ Identify a burning problem your target companies face. ↳ Research what specific UX challenges the companies you want to work for are dealing with—such as poor user engagement or complex interfaces. ↳ Create a case study, blog post, or portfolio project that addresses this exact problem with a detailed solution. ↳ Offer this resource for free, showcasing your expertise and willingness to solve their problem. Takeaway: Solve a specific problem to get on their radar and build trust. 2/ Create a compelling portfolio that serves as your lead magnet. ↳ Design your portfolio like a lead magnet—make it visually engaging, easy to navigate, and packed with value. ↳ Include interactive elements like before-and-after comparisons or video walkthroughs that demonstrate your design thinking. ↳ Ensure your portfolio doesn’t just showcase your work, but also educates and inspires potential employers about your process and the impact of your designs. Takeaway: Your portfolio should be a lead magnet that pulls employers in and keeps them engaged. 3/ Promote your portfolio like a pro. ↳ Share insights and snippets from your portfolio on LinkedIn, emphasizing how your skills solve real UX problems. ↳ Use curiosity-driven posts, highlighting a challenge you solved without giving away all the details—encouraging readers to view your full portfolio. ↳ Apply psychological principles like social proof to make your portfolio irresistible. Showcase testimonials from satisfied clients or colleagues. Takeaway: Drive interest and urgency around your portfolio to attract more attention. TL;DR: 1/ Identify and solve a specific UX problem your target companies face. 2/ Design your portfolio to be a lead magnet that showcases your value. 3/ Promote your portfolio strategically to draw in potential employers. What’s the biggest UX challenge you want to solve for your dream job? Comment below, and let’s brainstorm how to turn that into your lead magnet! P.S. Ever tried promoting your portfolio like a product? It might be the game-changer you’ve been looking for!

Do you use emojis instead of bullet points? Do you post a photo but forget to describe it? Maybe you love creating images where there is text over a photo... If you're doing any of these things, your communication is not as accessible as you might think. And as today is International Day of People with a Disability, it's a great time to reflect on our own accessible communication practices. The good news is that there are plenty of resources out there to help, like the brilliant Kelly Thibodeau, CUA, CPACC, and Matisse Hamel-Nelis, ADS, CPACC and Lisa Riemers' brand-new, amazingly helpful book, 'Accessible Communication: Create impact, avoid missteps, and build trust.' While you're getting your hands on a copy, here's five of my top tips to get you on the right track, especially if you're communicating through digital channels like social media. 1. Avoid emojis and emoticons. If a person uses a screen reader, these are very annoying! Also, they don't convey the same meaning for everyone. Use them sparingly, and at the end of a sentence if at all. 2. Include alt text and descriptions of your images. It's great for screen readers, great for SEO, and also just helpful for people to better understand the message the image is conveying. 3. Use colours with strong contrast. People with poor vision or visual processing can struggle to decipher text in different colours. Black on white is always a winner. There are great tools and guidelines out there to help assess your colour use. 4. Use short sentences and clear, common words. It's not just for accessibility ... it's just better for everyone! 5. Always include captions and transcripts for video and audio. People consume information in different ways and contexts anyway, and some people need a transcript to give them more time to process the messages. What else would you add to the list? [Image description: pale green tile with black text. The headline reads: Top tips for accessible communication, and lists the five points in this post. The logo for Cuttlefish, Mel's business, is on the right-hand side in black, all-caps text.]

Have you ever thought to use your UX process on your portfolio? Obviously, you won’t need every tool in your toolbox, but the mentalities are the same. Just like you think through who your target audience is in a project so that you can understand their pain points… you can and should do the same with your portfolio audience! Those of you on your job search should have personas around Hiring Managers and those in hiring positions. They should contain attributes like limited time, multitasking, and maybe even a piece around lack of UX knowledge. By creating this persona and switching your mindset, it allows you to create a portfolio using a strategy. Which ultimately will create one that provides a better user experience. In other words, your portfolio should be your most important UX project you ever work on. You heard me right, your most important project is not the one with the biggest name attached. It is the one that represents you. ✨ Because your portfolio doesn’t just showcase your skillset. It highlights your approach, how you apply those skills, and who you are as a designer. It’s a storytelling tool, not just a case study dump. Think about it. When hiring managers review your work, they aren’t just looking for polished UI screens. They’re looking for how you think, how you solve problems, and how you communicate your design decisions. They’re also looking for your personality. Your portfolio should make it easy for someone to get a sense of who you are, not just the work you’ve done. 🧐 Do you simplify complex problems? 🤝 Are you collaborative and thoughtful in your approach? 💡 Do you take initiative and iterate based on feedback? 📖 Can you tell a clear, engaging story that makes someone want to work with you? These are things that matter more than just having a big-name company or flashy project in your portfolio. So, if you’re spending all your energy chasing “impressive” projects but not thinking about how you present them, you’re missing the point. Your portfolio isn’t a collection of work. It’s the bridge between where you are and where you want to go. So, treat it like your biggest UX project. Because at the end of the day, it is.

>>> What if your next deal came from someone reading your LinkedIn profile, without ever clicking away? Yesterday, we wrapped up Referable Profile Sprint, and one insight kept coming up: We obsess over headlines and banners, but neglect our most powerful asset: client references. Don’t assume prospects will leave LinkedIn to hunt down testimonials on your website. Show the proof where they’re already looking. 🟦 How to write killer references 🟦 Sometimes your clients are so busy they’ll ask you to draft the testimonial. I recommend two approaches: →𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲 Send 5–7 targeted questions by email: “What was your biggest challenge?”, “What results did you see?”, “What doubts did you have before we started?” Ask them to answer in a few bullet points—then polish into a tight quote. →𝟭𝟱-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 Jump on Zoom/Teams with your client. Guide them through the same questions live, capture their words verbatim, and instantly craft the testimonial together. 🟦 What your references must address 🟦 Prospects want two things: → HOPE - tangible results “After upgrading my LinkedIn presence before attending a major industry event in Q4, I closed two deals in Q1 worth €20 K. Connecting with potential clients on LinkedIn was enough. Jasna took me from 0 to 1 with my personal and company profile and coached me on prospecting from my network. I wish I’d turned my profile into a sales page sooner.” → FEAR - overcoming doubts “My priority is finding new clients, and it always felt like trial and error. Before attending my first big trade show, I never imagined I could prospect so effectively on LinkedIn. Jasna took me from uncertainty to a clear process for reaching out, and the results speak for themselves.” 🟦 Where to publish your references  🟦 → 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 under each relevant 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 entry → 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 section: pin 3–5 top quotes, PDFs, or short videos → 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 reviews (with star ratings) if you offer services → 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 testimonial slider or case-study pages → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘀 and pitch decks: insert one-sentence highlights on each cover slide → 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: “See what clients say ⟶ [link to Featured testimonial]” 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: When you collect, craft, and showcase references directly on LinkedIn, you turn your profile into a self-running lead generator. No more “tell me about your work” - your clients’ voices do the selling for you. What’s your biggest hurdle in gathering testimonials? Let me know in the comments—or DM me, and I’ll share my free reference-request template.

Your clients’ wins are your wins. When clients achieve great results, it’s not just a win for them—it’s a powerful testament to your coaching effectiveness. But how do you ensure these successes translate into increased credibility and more business for you? And as much as we want to be "lowkey" about our achievements, it’s not enough to just celebrate privately. I mean, we can, but to truly leverage these victories, you need to strategically showcase these wins to → Build your reputation → Attract new clients → Strengthen client relationships Here’s how to turn your clients’ successes into business wins: ✨ Highlight Success Stories Share detailed success stories that illustrate how your coaching has made a difference. Real-life examples are the most convincing proof of your skills. ✨ Request Testimonials Encourage clients to provide testimonials or reviews that highlight their achievements and your role in their success. ✨ Create Case Studies Develop case studies from client successes to demonstrate the tangible impact of your coaching methods. ✨ Use Social Proof: Regularly feature client wins on your website and social media platforms to build trust and attract new prospects. ALWAYS with their permission, of course. However, we need to remember that showcasing our clients' successes is not about turning their achievements into our own personal spotlight. It’s about celebrating their progress and reinforcing the value we bring to their journey. When we amplify their wins, we also amplify the impact of our coaching in a genuine, CLIENT-FOCUSED way. How about you? How do you highlight your clients’ wins and leverage them in your coaching business? Share your strategies in the comments! #ClientSuccess #CoachingWins #SocialProof #CaseStudies #SuccessStories #ClientResults

Great experience, but nothing to show for it? As a recruiter specialising in design and creative roles, I often find myself in the middle of a really tricky dilemma: brilliant candidates with amazing experience, but no work they can actually show. I’ve been recruiting for an Art Director role recently, and I’ve spoken to so many talented people whose portfolios just don’t reflect the depth of their experience. Usually because the work is confidential or under NDA. Totally understandable, but from a hiring perspective, it can be a real challenge. In this case, my client was specifically looking for examples of retail campaigns that had been art directed and rolled out across a range of digital platforms. And honestly? It was a real struggle to find work that could be shared. From a freelance perspective, this becomes even more crucial. When you're brought in as a freelancer, you’re expected to hit the ground running. That’s why even if your CV and experience look amazing, clients need to see that you’ve done the kind of work they need. If you can’t showcase it somehow, chances are you won’t even get an interview. So I wanted to share a few practical tips for how to present your work when you're not sure what’s safe to include: If it’s live, it’s fair game – If the campaign has launched and is publicly available online, you can usually include it in your portfolio. Just be clear about your role in the project. Use screenshots wisely – Link to the live campaign if possible, or use screenshots with proper context to showcase your contribution. Strip out sensitive details – If something is still under wraps, anonymise the work. Blur logos, change names, or generalise the client. Focus on your creative approach and the outcomes. Get permission – When in doubt, ask. Sometimes companies are happy for you to include certain pieces, especially if you present them professionally and respectfully. Keep a “private” version – If you're applying for roles directly, have a password-protected or offline version of your portfolio that you can walk through during interviews. Just make sure it's clear it’s for their eyes only. This kind of thing can really make or break your chances, especially in senior or freelance roles. A little extra effort to present your work in the right way can make all the difference. I’d love to hear from others. How do you handle this in your portfolio? #portfoliotips #recruitment

If the right opportunities aren’t finding you, it’s rarely a visibility problem. It’s a clarity problem. Recruiters, hiring leaders, and referrers can’t discover what they don’t instantly understand. Personal branding happens when you consistently message a clear signal so the right people can find, recognize, and remember you. Your brand is your reputation. The perception others hold of your value, strengths, and impact. And in a crowded executive market, clarity is the real differentiator. Invest time between now and the end of the year to fine-tune your messaging/personal brand. (And see what your LinkedIn Year In Review reveals) Personal Branding Checklist ☐ Choose your top professional attributes (3–4) Select adjectives that describe how you create value, not your job title. ☐ Define your passions Pinpoint what energizes you and where those interests intersect with your best work. ☐ Identify your core values List the principles that guide your decisions, leadership style, and priorities. ☐ Name your core strengths (your superpowers) Identify the skills and capabilities you’re known for and relied on to deliver results. ☐ Clarify your vision and purpose Name the change you want to create and the role you play in making it happen. ☐ Define your target audience Identify the roles, industries, and companies you’re aiming for. Understand what hiring decision-makers care about and the problems they need solved. ☐ Get external feedback Ask colleagues, clients, and trusted contacts how they describe your strengths and impact. ☐ Analyze your competition Understand what others in your space offer and what truly differentiates you. Bottom line: ⌛ Commit the time to do this work. ♻️ Use the output consistently across your resume, LinkedIn profile, networking conversations, and interviews. Clarity is what makes a brand magnetic.

Boost your job prospects with this little-known portfolio hack for interviews- Most designers only showcase their best work in their portfolio. But what if I told you that showing your rejected designs could make you stand out even more? A while back, I started including scrapped concepts, failed iterations, and designs that never saw the light of day in my portfolio—explaining why they didn’t make the cut and what I learned from them. The result? More conversations. More interview invites. More interest. Here’s why it works: 📌 It shows real design thinking – Employers don’t just want pretty screens; they want to see how you solve problems, adapt to constraints, and iterate. 📌 It proves you can pivot – Not all ideas survive. Demonstrating how you handled stakeholder feedback, business shifts, or usability issues shows that you think beyond aesthetics. 📌 It humanises you – Every designer has work that got killed. But owning it and showing your growth from it makes you relatable—and hireable. 📌 It sets you apart – 99% of portfolios are polished case studies. The 1% that show raw process and real-world challenges? Those get remembered. 💡 Try this: Dig into your archives. Find 2-3 designs that got scrapped, explain what went wrong, and what you’d do differently today. Put them in your portfolio under a section called 🔥“The ones that didn't make it..."🔥 Every hiring manager who visits your portfolio will click on that link. It’s way past intriguing, it shows depth, and it gives them a story arc—proving that your final work wasn’t just luck, but the result of real iteration and problem-solving. Got your own portfolio hacks? Drop them in the comments below and let’s help each other out 🚀👇 👍