Switching careers at any point is challenging.
Switching careers during a time of global and economic uncertainty is an even bigger challenge. That’s why we continue to be awed by the creativity of our UX Academy graduates who commit to pursuing their dreams of a creative career despite the challenges they face.
As we enter a new calendar year, it's become more important than ever for new UX, UI, and product designers to enter the field with tools and training they need to stand out from the competition of entry level designers and top level talent.
A huge part of the career pivot into the world of product design includes a unique, relevant UX design portfolio. While we regularly publish success stories of UX Academy alumni that profile how and why they made their career switch to UX/UI design, we also like to spotlight a few standout portfolio examples to showcase the original, creative ways that they showcase their abilities.
With the help of mentors and career coaches, the Designlab community continues to create noteworthy portfolios. Read on to explore a selection of UX design portfolios from Designlab students— that are sure to inspire you.
What Is a UX Design Portfolio?
A UX design portfolio is a compilation of work samples that demonstrates your skills and abilities as a UX designer. It should include examples that span the UX design process for relevant projects you've worked on—research insights, concept sketches, wireframes, and prototypes.
One of the most important aspects of a portfolio is to showcase your design thinking process and results. Furthermore, the best UX portfolios demonstrate an applicant’s ability to think critically and solve problems creatively in order to come up with innovative solutions—all valuable components when it comes to hiring managers finding the right candidate.
UX design portfolios are incredibly important for job-seekers because they provide hiring managers with a glimpse into your skill set and experience. The quality of a portfolio is used to quickly weed out potential candidates whose abilities may not match the specific requirements of the job.
Read more: How to Make a UX Design Portfolio: Tips & Examples to Help You Stand Out
What Should I Include In My UX Portfolio?
When building your UX portfolio, think about the types of projects you've worked on and the skills you have developed that would be valuable to potential employers.
Your portfolio should include a mix of work samples from each part of the UX design process, such as concept sketches, wireframes, prototypes, case studies, usability testing insights, or interactive design concepts. The overall look and feel should reflect your personal style while also highlighting the technical expertise you possess. Additionally, consider including any certifications or achievements that help to bolster your credentials.
Ultimately, your goal is to create a portfolio that demonstrates both your technical proficiency as well as creative problem-solving ability. Your portfolio should be concise yet comprehensive – so don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to cram too much into one.
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What Makes a Good UX UI Design Portfolio?
There are some fundamentals to include in your portfolio, from projects that align with the type of company or role you're applying for (like how Grace Guibert tailored her portfolio website to highlight the UX writing elements of each project she worked on in UX Academy).
As you create your own portfolio, it's worth remembering that hiring managers aren't looking at your UX case studies in a silo to see if they check all the right boxes—if the UX work displayed in the projects is stellar but your portfolio website as a whole contains bad UX, that can wave a red flag.
For more insight and tips on crafting an effective UX design portfolio, watch this video by Kelly Stevens, who shares her top tips for design portfolios:
Read more: 6 UX/UI Design Portfolio Builders You Should Try, From Low Effort to Highly Customizable
10 UI & UX Design Portfolio Examples
Before they can graduate from UX Academy, each student must have their design portfolio approved by a panel of experts. This helps to ensure that each student has the strongest chance of success in the job search process as they move into the Career Services phase.
Each UX designer portfolio in this roundup is unique and stands out for a different reason. But it's worth noting that each UI / UX portfolio site also embraces visual design and UX best practices to create a powerful, engaging experience for curious viewers and prospective employers alike.
Nicole Locklair, formerly in charge of Talent Partnerships and Career Services at Designlab, selected these ten portfolios to showcase, along with insights into what was particularly great about each one. (Portfolios are listed in no particular order.)
10 Great Portfolio Examples from Designlab Students
Here are some of our top student portfolios, and insights into what we particularly liked about each. (Portfolios are listed in no particular order.)
1. Jane Noh
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Jane's portfolio stands up for its bold color palette, strong research, and attention to detail. Using vibrant imagery and font choices across her work, Jane creates a portfolio that is incredibly visually dynamic.
Jane also has a background in education and brings what she learned from teaching to her UX design work. This shows particularly in products such as Domokos, a responsive project geared towards helping teach math—her area of expertise from when she was an educator herself.
2. Josie Allison
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We talk about keeping things clean and minimal in design, but sometimes going over the top with visual elements works out. Josie has a background in Graphic Design, and clearly illustrates her ability to surprise and delight in her own portfolio.
Her unconventional case study presentations challenge the norms, but the details are all there for someone who wants to take the time to learn more. In a sea of grids and san serif, Josie's work is a breath of fresh air.
3. Florinda Sgueglia
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With high contrast colors and an easy-to-read case study layout, Flo’s design skills truly stand out in every part of this eye-catching, beautifully well-done portfolio. It's also clear to see that she has a background in graphic design, with fun, playful elements such as dynamic illustrations in her "About Me".
4. Paula Wrzecionowska
When recruiters or hiring managers are sifting through 50-100 UX portfolios for a single role, they may only look at one case study. Paula does a good job in her feature projects of summarizing the client/brand, task at hand, and work she did on the project in the rollover state.
By including that information, the viewer can choose what's most relevant to them, instead of clicking on a random project that might not resonate.
5. Gloria Ha
This is another great portfolio website that adds unexpected touches and a bold personal brand into the viewing experience. Elements on the homepage animate if you stumble across them, but aren't moving so quickly or intrusively as to detract from the work.
'Gloria also has a good variety of work: a skincare e-commerce experience, a bank feature, and a travel booking redesign. Showing your versatility in this way can certainly help when looking for your first UX/UI design role.
6. Celia Hazard
Celia takes a fresh and unconventional approach to the presentation of her UX materials. Calling herself a "design scientist", Celia's work is heavily rooted in strong research to back up her project work. There are some bold visual choices, and Celia's well laid out case studies are comprehensive but still scannable. This is an exciting portfolio showcasing a unique perspective on UX design.
7. Jared Bartman
So many portfolios are grid images on a white page, and while there’s nothing wrong with that approach, Jared’s portfolio stands out for its light grey background and use of color in general. One important feature is the “Back to Top” button on the right-hand side of the case study pages. Instead of having to scroll all the way back to the top of the page after you’re done, he’s made it much easier to navigate and keep going.
8. Siriveena Nandam
Another great example of how a subtle color shift can make the design that much more compelling. Siriveena also has a nice variety of projects in her portfolio. It’s tempting to only pick what you find most interesting or exciting, but in the real world, you’d be much more likely to work on a very specific feature, or for an audience you have no expertise with. It’s nice to show that you’re interested and able to design for all, and it’s great to see Siriveena reflect that here.
9. Katherine Chen
Katherine’s portfolio is clean, consistent, and easy to navigate, with section buttons on the left-hand side of the page for navigation on the case study pages. She also shows how to feature a confidential project, which will often happen as a designer. The “Healthcare Staffing” case study shows you a bit of the branding, outlines the ask and deliverable, and when you click on it, brings you to a page where you can email her for access.
10. Chofi Chang
Chofi's portfolio is a great study in how to display different types of projects without feeling fragmented. Chofi specializes in creating brand identity, and has project work across both UX and other types of design. The visual presentation showcases the various design projects, but still communicates a sense of cohesion.
Are you pursuing a career change into the field of UX/UI design?
If you want to create a UX/UI design portfolio that inspires, we invite you to learn more about our UX Academy bootcamp: a fully online, intensive bootcamp that equips you with the UX/UI skills and portfolio you need to launch a new career in the field of UX/UI design.
