Mastering Portfolio Presentation Skills

🔥 During design interviews, presenting your case study can feel like a make-or-break moment. However, many designers can benefit from strengthening one essential skill: clearly communicating the impact of their work. In my latest video, I worked with Joshua McKenzie, a Senior Product Designer, to critique his case study presentation and help him elevate it to interview-ready status. The goal? Craft a compelling story that showcases his skills, approach, and outcomes 🏆. In this critique, we cover: - How to structure your case study for clarity and engagement. - The importance of pairing visuals with a strong narrative. - Why you need two versions of your case study: one to send, one to present. - How to effectively integrate data and metrics into your story. - Common presentation pitfalls (and how to avoid them). 👀 Watch the full critique and take your portfolio to the next level: https://lnkd.in/gcjxD7VJ Some key takeaways: - Structure matters: Start with a clear business problem and user challenge, then walk through your process step by step, ending with measurable outcomes. - Visuals over words: Avoid text-heavy slides—let your work speak for itself while you guide the story. - Tailor for the audience: Use a concise, visual version of your case study for live presentations and a more detailed, written version if sending out. - Leverage data: Metrics and insights show your impact and differentiate your thinking and work from others. - Practice storytelling: Your ability to communicate your work is just as important as the work itself. ✨ If you're preparing for design interviews or looking to refine your case study game, this video is packed with actionable advice to help you stand out! 💥

Not getting another interview after your portfolio presentation? Maybe this is why 👇 I've sat in many portfolio presentations. I also work with numerous mentees, helping shape their stories. The biggest mistake I always see is not showcasing the why behind your work. Context. So many presentations go like this: - Hi, it me 👋 - Here's my first case - Here is a persona I made - Here is another persona I made - Here is an arbitrary user flow - Here is a sketch I made - Here is a wireframe I made - Here is the final solution - I learned a couple of things Your presentation should be a story, not a simple show and tell. Don't just tell your audience WHAT you did. Tell them WHY you did it. The why connects your thought process to your design. We want to hear what drove your decisions. Paint a vivid picture of the challenges you faced, the insights you stumbled upon, and the brainstorms that led to breakthroughs. What separates you from other designers is how you think and your design decisions. ✅ Frame your failures ✅ Dissect your decisions ✅ Incorporate your successes ✅ Create a beginning, middle, and end ✅ Show the path from initial idea to final Each slide and each statement should reveal a bit more about your thinking process. Details matter. Subtleties matter. They all add up to a powerful narrative. When your presentation is infused with purpose and passion, your work shines. It demonstrates your technical skills and your capacity for critical thinking, problem-solving, and empathetic understanding. And that's what sets you apart. Not just the sheer quality of your work but also the depth of thought put into it. Make them remember what you did and why you did it. Because, in the end, it's the why that truly matters. ------------------------------------- 🔔 Follow: Mollie Cox ♻ Repost to help others 💾 Save it for future use

I was talking to a hiring manager who said something that stuck with me: “The best portfolios are everywhere. I’m looking for people who get it.” He wants someone who can clearly show how they think and how they fit. That’s where some portfolios fall short. I’ve reviewed hundreds of portfolios over the years. One thing is consistent and great work showing the final product with no context can get overlooked. Think about how to make it easy to understand:
 - What problem were you solving?
 - Why did you make certain decisions?
 - What was your role in the project?
 - What came out of it? (Impact, learnings, results) Tailor it to the role:
 - Want a UX job? Show UX work. Walk us through your research, early sketches, wireframes, testing, not branding projects. - Going for a visual/brand design role? Highlight your layouts, redesigns or campaigns. - Applying for a senior position? Make sure we can see leadership, not just execution. Tell the story, not just the outcome:
Some of the strongest portfolios I’ve seen had the goal, their role, process shots or early ideas and a short note on what worked. It doesn’t have to be everything but it does have to be clear. Your portfolio is your voice when you’re not in the room so help the viewer understand how you think, what you care about and why you're the right fit. I've learned a lot from the hiring managers and creative directors I've worked with over the years and I’m grateful for the insight they’ve shared. Every hiring manager sees things a little differently but I hope some of this helps someone out there trying to figure out how to stand out.

Confession: While I've reviewed thousands of portfolios, I've never read a case study all the way through. I ALWAYS scan them. I just don't have the time to look through every detail. And I know that most other folks who are reviewing portfolios are doing the exact same thing for the same reasons. This means that your portfolio should: 1. Make it easy to scan 2. Use big, high quality visuals 3. Tell quick, concise stories 4. Most importantly, make that story easy to consume in two minutes or less If I were to build my portfolio today, here's how I would do it using these principles: 1️⃣ I'd have a top overview section that has a short blurb of what to expect/what I accomplished AND the final mockups/prototype of what I created. 2️⃣ I'd write out each case study using a word document first to make sure that my headlines told the entire story quickly and concisely. I'd use a classic story arc 1. Context/background 2. Conflict 3. Rising action 4. Climax 5. Falling action 6. Resolution The simpler version of this is the 3 Cs of storytelling: 1. Context 2. Conflict 3. Change (AKA what improved as a result of your work) 3️⃣ I'd optimize my headlines below the overview to tell the story of what I learned. Once everything was written out in a Google doc, I'd edit everything down to the essentials. I'd make sure to pull out the important learnings/quotes and make them big so reviewers could easily scan them. 4️⃣ I'd break up sections with large images to make it feel more interesting and less fatiguing. 5️⃣ I'd ask friends and family to read it and provide feedback about clarity and how much time it took them. If they can easily understand it, see my impact, and quickly go through it, then I'm on the right track. 6️⃣ I'd use LinkedIn and adplist.org to find more folks to provide feedback. Again, I'd focus their feedback on clarity and the amount of time it took for them to go through it.

I cracked 4 UX portfolio rounds using this advice from my peers. One of the most crucial steps to landing a UX internship is the portfolio deck round. This round, typically led by a designer, might or might not be preceded by a phone screening. You'll usually have 15-20 minutes per case study, allowing you to present 1 or 2 depending on the time limit. I recommend showcasing 2 projects to demonstrate a wider range of skills. Tailor your presentation to the job description, highlighting relevant areas like visual design, user research, design systems, etc. Here are 3 key things to consider beyond your core UX skills: 1. Business Goals First: Companies hire UX designers for a reason – return on investment (ROI). Emphasize how you prioritized business objectives and how your design decisions resulted in financial gains for your previous employer. 2. Embrace the T-Shaped Designer: We all want to appear exceptional, but honesty goes a long way. Focus on being a "T-Shaped" designer – having a deep expertise in one area (visual design, user research, etc.) with a broad understanding of others. Recruiters can see through inflated claims, so be genuine about your skillset. 3. Inject Personality! You're more than just a portfolio! Infuse some humor, mention your hobbies outside of UX. Show them you're a well-rounded individual and a potential team player. Pro Tip: Personalized Decks Trump Websites While many designers rely solely on their websites, I strongly recommend creating personalized decks for each company. Integrate their brand identity throughout your presentation. This small touch demonstrates your genuine interest in working with them! Following these tips helped me advance beyond the portfolio round at companies like Asana, NBCUniversal, and Sleeper, reaching the design challenge and whiteboarding stages. If you'd want to discuss more about your upcoming portfolio deck do let me know in the comments or reach out to me personally ⬇️ #UXDesign #PortfolioTips #UXInternship #DesignJobs

Recently I’ve been receiving a number of DM’s asking about generalized tips for portfolios. And although I’ve been sending off links to everyone, I realized that it may be time to resurface some of the common “mistakes” I’ve noticed on Junior portfolios. 1️⃣ Not making your title obvious Hiring Managers have very little time to decide if they should move you forward in the interview process. That is why you don’t want to waste any time, even a few seconds. So having your title be understood within the first 2-3 seconds really plays a big difference. Think about ways to help it stand out so that your reader can know your area of specialty without doing any work or digging. 2️⃣ Creating a checklist, not a story It is important to note that there are two stories at play. One is the play by play of what you did. The other is your case study. Although this one should provide insights into what you did, it should be a more simplified and stripped back version of the story. This allows you to think through which deliverables are the most important, ultimately creating a better overall experience for your reader. For help with this one, check out my link in the comments. 3️⃣ Not thinking about the overall flow I’ve seen so many case studies where I end up at the bottom with no navigation showing so my only option to see more work is to scroll back up to the top and figure out my next step from there. In reality, I know that only takes about a second or two, but if we remember that our reader only spends 60 seconds max, losing 1-2 on scrolling is a lot. One way to fix this “mistake” is to add a button at the bottom of the case study that takes you directly to the next project. This way, you are creating a flow for your reader so they don’t have to think, while engaging with a number of different projects. 4️⃣ Not showing your personality I understand that using a template is an easier route, but by doing this it makes it harder for your case study to standout. The reason being is that it tends to look like all the others. Think about ways in which you can bring in pieces of who you are. This can be done through graphics, illustrations, or even fonts and colors. I have seen some that have gone as extreme as making their site look like a video game but it also doesn’t need to be that intense. Do what feels right for you. These are just four of the most common “mistakes” I have noticed. There are several other ones since everyone is going to have an opinion. These insights are from years and hundreds of portfolio reviews (Maybe even in the thousands now!) These 4 tips are a great starting point to try and elevate your portfolio. But if you want more personalized feedback, take a look at the link in the comments to understand how I can help you more.

I record videos for each of my portfolio projects. It’s an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while, and I’m excited to finally be able to implement it. Right below the hero image on my project pages, you can watch a walkthrough of the project, rather than just reading it yourself. In my videos, I include: 🗺️ Overviews - a summary of what I did on the project. 🔍 Highlights - in-depth walkthroughs of my favorite, most challenging, and most growing efforts that I encountered during the project. 🎓 Takeaways - what I learned, what I’d do differently, and what I’d do next. Additionally, these videos are a chance for me to share aspects of myself that can’t be communicated well through the written word, such as: 🙋🏻♂️ My personality - Text and images on a page can only do so much in sharing who you are with your viewers. A video lets you share real emotion, passion, and authenticity with those watching. 🎙️ Presentation skills - We present all the time as designers - to team members, stakeholders, and clients. This demonstrates my comfort level in front of the camera and my ability to clearly communicate with those on the other side of the screen. 🕔 Asynchronous skills - I filmed all of these videos using Loom, and if you work with me, these types of walkthroughs are my go-to method of streamlining communication and reducing meetings. Finally, I recognize that many recruiters and hiring managers may not have the time to watch the videos, so all the information in the videos is also shared in the text displayed on the page. Viewers can still understand my skills and experiences as a designer without watching the videos, but if they choose to watch the videos, they can understand me more as a person and dive deeper into the details of the projects with me. Would you use videos in your portfolio pieces? #UX #UI #Design #Portfolio #PortfolioTips #OpenToWork