How to craft a memorable portfolio website - by Ben George https://designdiaries.substack.com/p/how-to-craft-a-memorable-portfoli...

How to craft a memorable portfolio website

Issue 5: Lessons from spending 1,000+ hours reviewing design portfolios in 3
countries hiring designers.
BEN GEORGE
01-NOV-2023

3 Share

On average, only ~7 designers get invited to an interview for every 100 that apply. For
larger companies, that number is even lower.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

It’s no secret the competition in the product design industry is very high, especially for
junior and mid-level roles. The majority of my mentorship conversations revolve around
portfolio feedback.

Here’s everything I learned distilled into 10 tips (that you can apply to your portfolio
today):

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1. Know your audience and goals

At its core, a product design portfolio is a tool to help you get the job you want.

Think about it from a product design perspective. If your portfolio is the product, then
hiring managers and recruiters are your primary target audience. As the designer, your
job is to convince them that your work brings value to their team or business.

For goals, I’d recommend having both qualitative and quantitative goals like:

1. Illustrate a distinct personal design style through narrative-driven case studies.

2. Elicit emotional engagement by incorporating storytelling in at least 3 projects.

3. Secure a minimum of 50 monthly portfolio views.

4. Generate feedback or inquiries on 5% of portfolio visits.

2. Don’t be boring
Your portfolio is an extension of your personal brand. Let it reVect who you are. In a sea
of generic portfolios, those with personality stand out.

Passion projects reveal more than skills; they display drive. Nothing makes a hiring

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manager close the browser window quicker than a boring portfolio lacking love.

Craft a unique style using typography, images, color schemes, writing style, and or a
memorable landing page. Remember, the idea is not to be di]erent for the sake of it but
to give an authentic taste of your approach and personality.

Unique visual aesthetic and personality on Atul Khola’s portfolio

3. Create “spiky” moments

These are standout moments in your design journey. It could be personal values that you
care about, a challenging project, a fascinating insight, a fun experiment, or an
innovative idea you brought to life.

Of course, your design work speaks volumes, but these nuances of who you are can be
the compelling di]erentiator.

4. Build a narrative arc

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Behind every design, there’s a story. It could have begun as a scribble on a napkin or an
idea that struck at 2 a.m. Take readers on the journey of challenges faced, solutions
crafted, and the results achieved.

Here’s how it works:

• Action: Drop the reader right into the action. Dive straight into the design
problem(s) you tackled.

• Background: Now, contextualize. Why did these problems matter? What’s the
product’s purpose? Who’s the audience?

• Development: Detail your design process. What did you consider? What hurdles
did you face? How did customer feedback shape your iterations?

• Climax: Showcase the pivotal design decision or turning point. Was there a game-
changing user insight? An innovative solution that made everything click?

• Ending: Explain what it was all for. ReVect on the results. How did your solutions
meet the business needs? What did you learn for future projects?

When crafting your story, remember you won’t be sitting next to reviewers, whispering
in their ears. Your work needs to be able to live and breathe without you. Sort through
the chaos, share only the most important milestones, and tell a simple but compelling
story.

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Josh Mateo’s case study with an excellent narrative

5. Center around human stories

Journalists often incorporate human stories to make articles relatable. In your portfolio,
share personal anecdotes or customer stories to create an emotional connection.

Perhaps a travel experience inVuenced a particular project or feedback from an end-user

made all the di]erence. These stories make your portfolio relatable and memorable.

Zoey Nguyen’s case study centered around customers

6. Prioritize for skimming

Assume hiring managers are dealing with limited time and numerous portfolios and
won’t be able to dig through pages of content (we’re talking minutes or even seconds).

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They’re trying to parse a lot of information in that short period quickly:

• What is your design niche

• Where your talents and passions lie

• Whether you have the right experience for this particular role

• How you tackle design challenges

• Your overall design abilities

7. Make it mobile responsive

It’s unrealistic to assume potential hiring managers are sitting at their desks while
reviewing your online portfolio. Many are accessing content on the go, so ensure your
portfolio shines on all devices.

Fun fact: I was surprised to see that 67% of my portfolio visitors were viewing it on
mobile devices.

Mobile responsive portfolio of Perry Wang

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8. Leverage analytics
Knowledge is power. By understanding how visitors interact with your site, you can
continually rejne their experience. Find out where they’re coming from, which pages
they are visiting, or even how much time they are spending reading a case study.

Fun fact: My ‘About page’ is the second most visited page on my portfolio after the
landing page.

I’ve connected Google Analytics to my portfolio website.

9. Embed testimonials
Word of mouth isn’t just powerful; it’s golden. If your collaborators celebrate your work,
don’t hide those praises. Let them be your silent advocates. Pro tip: Place testimonials
within projects for higher impact and credibility.

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Testimonials from ex-colleagues from my portfolio case study

10. End with a clear call to action

After immersing visitors in your world, please don’t leave them hanging. Guide them to
the next step. Whether it’s initiating a collaboration, a co]ee chat, or just connecting on
LinkedIn, make the pathway clear.

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Clear call to action from Elly Hsieh’s portfolio

Recently bookmarked portfolios

1. Abdus Salam

2. Amanda Pinsker

3. Chris Welch

4. Connell Mccarthy

5. Darrin Henein

6. Duaa Zaheer

7. E]y Zhang

8. Emiliano Carrillo

9. Gabriel Valdivia

10. Jonathan Patterson

11. Karolina Szczur

12. Kevyn Arnott

13. Matt Baird

14. Rishikesh Nighot

15. Siddhant Mehta

Here’s a fantastic list that Brian Lovin has curated, so check that out if you’re looking
for inspiration.

Thank you for reading Design Diaries. This

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post is public, so feel free to share it.

That’s it!

I’ve shared practical tips for recurring themes for some of the non-obvious things I’ve
learned building and reviewing portfolios in my 15 years as a product designer and
manager.

Let me know which one of these ideas you found most helpful in the comments.

I’m happy to do another post going into more depth on whichever one you jnd most
interesting.

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