ux design portfolio case study

11 Inspiring UX Case Studies That Every Designer Should Study

A UX case study is a sort of detailed overview of a designer's work. They are often part of a UX designer's portfolio and showcase the designer's skill in managing tasks and problems. From a recruiter's perspective, such a UX portfolio shows the skill, insights, knowledge, and talent of the designer.

Therefore, UX case studies play an important role in the recruitment and demand for designers.

What Makes a Powerful Case Study

Building a UX case study includes showing the design process through compelling stories. They will use plain language to demonstrate how they handled key design issues, offering a comprehensive view of their process. Well done case studies often include:

• A  problem statement and solutions with real applications.
• Relevant numbers, data, or testimonials to demonstrate the work and efforts.
• A story that directly connects the problem to the solution.

Any competent UX professional will know that creating a stunning UX case study is about the little details.

11 Best UX Case Studies for Designers

The best way to understand what a good case study looks like is to go over other examples. Each of these UX case study examples shows a designer's insights, basic skills, and other designers' lessons learned through their experience.

1. Promo.com web editor

For this video-creation platform , UX designer Sascha was brought on to revamp v2.0, adding new features that could work alongside the existing UX design. The point was to work on interface details that would help create a user friendly platform, and that users could find simple enough to use.

User personas mapped by the UX designer revealed the most common confusion to be the process of inserting particular features into the video, such as subtitles. The designer's goal, therefore, was to create a platform with improved editor controls.

The designer then used a common text-editor layout to include top and side navigation bars that made it easy to access and implement text editing.

Key Learnings from Promo.com

This case study focuses on addressing a particular problem that customers were currently facing. Its main theme is to show a problem, and how the product designer addressed this problem. Its strength points include:

• clearly highlighting the problem (i.e. inaccessible and limited video-text editor options)
• conduction research to understand the nature of the problem and the kind of solutions customers want
• implementing research insights into the redesign to create a platform that actively served customer needs

2. Productivity tracker app

The main concept behind this UX case study is to address a pre-existing problem through the design of the app. Immediately from the start, the study highlights a common pain point among users: that of a lack of productivity due to device usage.

This UX case study example addressed some of the main problems within existing productivity apps included:a poor UI and UX that made navigation difficult

• a poorly-built information architecture
• limited functions on the mobile application

Key Learnings from the Productivity app case study

The case study highlights the simple design process that was then used to build the app. Wireframes were created, a moldboard developed, and finally, individual pages of the app were designed in line with the initial goals.

3. Postmates Unlimited

This case study clearly identifies the improvements made to the Postmates app in a simple overview before jumping into greater detail. The redesign goal, which it achieved, was to improve the experience and other interface details of the app.

The problems identified included:

• usability that led to high support ticket volume.
• technical app infrastructure issues that prevented scalability.
• lack of efficient product management, such as batching orders.

A UX research course can help understand the kind of research needed for a case study. The app redesign involved bringing couriers in and running usability testing on improvements. The final model, therefore, had input from real users on what worked and what caused issues.

Key Learnings from Postmates

The Postmates redesign works as a great UX case study for the simple way it approaches problem-solving. Following an overview of the work, it addresses the problems faced by users of the app. It then establishes research processes and highlights how changes were made to reduce these issues.

4. TV Guide

Addressing the fragmentation of content across channels, this case study sought to redesign how people consume media. The key problems identified included:

• the overabundance of content across various TV and streaming platforms
• the difficulty in discovering and managing content across all platforms

To deliver on the key goals of content personalization, smart recommendations, and offering cross-platform content search, the design process included conducting interviews, surveys, and checking customer reviews.

The design of TV Guide enables users to get custom recommendations sourced from friends' and family's watchlists.

Key Learnings from TV Guide

Like previous UX design case studies, this one tackled the issue head-on. Describing the research process, it goes into detail regarding the approach used by the UX designers to create the app. It takes readers on a journey, from identifying pain points, to testing solutions, and implementing the final version.

5. The FlexBox Inspector

Designer Victoria discusses how she developed the investigator tool for the Mozilla Firefox browser. Surveys into understanding the problems with the existing CSS Flexbox tool revealed a need for a user-friendly design. Interviews with a senior designer and other designers helped developers understand the features design-focused tools ought to have. A feature analysis revealed what most users look for in such tools.

The final result of the development process was a design that incorporated several new features, including:

• a new layout
• color-coded design
• multiple entry points to make workflow management efficient

Key Learnings from the Flexbox

This UX design case study starts with a clear goal, then addresses multiple user needs. It clearly defines the design process behind each feature developed by the time, and the reasoning for including that feature. To give a complete picture, it also discusses why certain features or processes were excluded.

6. The Current State of Checkouts

This Baymard UX design case study looks into the checkout process in over 70 e-commerce websites. Through competitive analysis, it isolates problem points in the UX design, which, if addressed, could improve the customer's checkout process.

The study found at least 31 common issues that were easily preventable. The study was designed and conducted on a large scale, over 12 years, to incorporate changing design patterns into the review.

Recommendations based on findings include:

• prominent guest checkout option
• simple password requirements
• specific delivery period
• price comparison tool for shipping vs store pickup

Key Learnings from Checkout Case Study

Each identified issue is backed up by data and research to highlight its importance. Further research backs up each recommendation made within the case study, with usability testing to support the idea. As far as UX case studies go, this one provides practical insight into an existing, widely used e-commerce feature, and offers practical solutions.

7. New York Times App

Using a creative illustration website, the designers proposed a landing page feature "Timely" that could counter the problems faced by the NYT app . Its major issues included too much irrelevant content, low usage, and undesirable coverage of content.

The goal behind Timely was to improve user incentives, build long-term loyalty, and encourage reading. Design mapping for the app covered:

• identifying the problem
• understanding audience needs
• creating wireframes
• designing and prototyping

The end result was an app that could help readers get notifications regarding news of interest at convenient moments (at breakfast, before bed). This encouraged interaction and improved readability with short-form articles.

Key Learnings from NYT App

The UX case study proposes a problem solution that works with an existing information architecture, instead adding custom graphics to the mobile app. It leads from a simple problem statement to discuss the project that could address these issues without changing was customers already loved.

UX case studies focused on redesign include the FitBit redesign, which started off by understanding personas and what users expect from a fitness tracker. Developing use cases and personas, Guerilla usability testing was employed to assess pain points.

These pain points were then ranked based on their importance to users and to app performance. They were addressed through:

• Highlighting essential parts and features of the app
• Changing easily missed icons to more recognizable icons
• relabelling tracking options to guide users better to its usage

Key Learnings from Fitbit

While the case study maps user experiences and offers solutions, it does not begin with an intensive research-based approach. The prototype is successful in testing, but problem factors are not identified with research-based statistics, meaning key factors could have been ignored.

9. Rating System UX

The designer behind the rating system UX redesign sought to solve issues with the 5-star rating system. Highlighted issues included:

• the lack of subjective accuracy of a 5-point rating system
• the issue of calculating the average of a zero-star rating
• average ratings are misleading

Better alternatives include:

• 5-star emoticon rating that relates the user experience
• Like/dislike buttons that make approval/disapproval simple

The final design incorporated both these styles to make full use of the rating system.

Key Learnings from Rating System UX

The UX case study stemmed from insight into the limitations of the existing rating system. The new design addressed old issues and incorporated better efficiencies.

The Intuit redesign was focused on making content readable, more engaging, and accessible. Looking into product personalization, the content was found to be lacking aesthetic value, as well as being hard to find. The goal was to create content that was easy to find, clear, and consistent.

The implemented solutions included:

• increased readability with increased body text and header spacing
• table of contents on the sidebar for easier navigation
• visible and prominent search bar
• illustrations and designs for pretty visuals

Key Learnings from Intuit

The Intuit case study approaches the problem from a practical point of view. It begins with isolating problems with the interface, in particular with the content. This is an example of a case study that breaks down problems into broader categories, and solves each problem with a practical solution.

This UX case study about a social platform tackles a commonly-faced problem from existing platforms. It addresses the issue of recognizing non-monetary user engagement, to help creators identify their user base.

The case study addresses the problem statement and establishes the design process (building wireframes and prototypes) as well as conducting user testing. The final result is to develop "Discover" pages, engaging layouts, and animated interactions to increase usability.

Key Learnings from Jambb

The study goes into detail regarding problem identification, then moves on to propose solutions that take into account the perspective of all stakeholders involved. It then explains why each design decision was made, and proves its efficacy through testing and prototyping.

Key Takeaways

Developing good UX case studies examples is as much about the details you include as the ones you leave out. Going over UX courses can give you a better understanding of what your case study should look like. A good case study should provide an overview of the problem, include numbers and statistics, and offer practical solutions that directly address the problem. The above-discussed UX case studies provide a good example of the dos and don'ts of a well-structured UX design case study that should be part of every UX portfolio .

Additional Resources

Check out these resources to learn more about UX case studies:

8 UX Case Studies to Read

UX Design Case Study

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23 Succesful UX Portfolio Examples and a Guide for Creating Yours

Klaudia Simon

Design leads always start with portfolios when reviewing candidates. That’s why all UX designers – juniors and seniors alike – need an impressive  UX portfolio . Though putting one together might seem daunting, once you get an idea of what it takes, the rest comes quickly. So, let’s get started by checking out some awesome UX portfolio examples:

Kyle Kovacs

This example shows: consistency is the key to creating a stunning UX portfolio on a tight schedule. Kyle uses the same font throughout the portfolio, adjusting only its size or weight. This results in a sleek look. Also, he’s frugal with words on his portfolio’s landing page. This is in line with the newest UX portfolio trend: minimalist writing. Many designers add long sentences of eloquent introduction to their home page, and in most cases, it reads awkward or even forced. Don’t be afraid to keep it brief on your landing page! Design leads and recruiters care about design skills first. And your personality can shine on your About page, like Kyle’s.

Maxwell Marra

Maxwell’s UX portfolio website is an impressive showcase of his skills as a UI/UX designer & creative lead. The site’s design is pristine and intuitive, reflecting Marra’s commitment to user-centric design principles alongside his understanding of the latest UX portfolio trends. His projects – which range from the redesign of a budgeting app to a winter sports app – highlight his ability to translate innovative ideas into delightful digital experiences.

Max’s is the perfect example of what a UX portfolio should look like. Here’s why: it’s light and airy, with satisfying, pastel colors and soft, rounded corners. The UX of Max’s portfolio is also on point since the case studies are easy to reach, and the content is concise. And by making the case studies’ titles appear on hover, he didn’t compromise on the UI either. So, Max’s is a solid UX portfolio in all aspects.

Adrian Weber

Look no further for a portfolio to use as a basis for yours. Roland’s portfolio conforms to all UX portfolio best practices: only the basics in his hero section, 3 of the most important pages in the navigation, and 2 case studies presented matching thumbnails. It’s effortless, usable, and elegant.

Karl Ligeti

If you take a look at the best UX design portfolio examples, you’ll soon realize that the liberal use of whitespace is fundamental to all of them. Yet still, many designers – especially juniors – are frugal with it because they fear that their portfolio will look empty. If you’re unsure about whitespace, check out Karl’s portfolio: it has a minimalist design with plenty of whitespace, yet the portfolio doesn’t look empty.

The right template with the right typography is all you need for a stunning UX design portfolio. The cream background of Jessica’s portfolio is in perfect harmony with the elegant, thin Raleway font she chose. Scrolling down, you’ll see harmonized case study thumbnails that she created with UXfolio’s Thumbnail designer. The outcome is just amazing. As soon as you land on this portfolio, you know that you can relax because its creator knows what she’s doing. This sense of relief is very important when it comes to landing a job, and it’s best achieved by following 5 simple guidelines: soothing color palette, consistent typography, brief copy, abundant whitespace, and coordinated visuals.

Rebeca Gordo

Combining neon colors with dark shades results in a modern and stylish look. But only if you hit the right balance with the neon, as it can turn obnoxious very easily. The best way around this is to use the neon as an accent, instead of a primary color, like Rebeca did in her UX/UI portfolio. As you can see, she used it to highlight some of her text, while keeping the rest of her portfolio, including her UX/UI case study thumbnails, easy on the eye. Don’t forget, that a solid dark background color – like Rebeca’s – is just as universal as a simple white background, however, it lends an effortless edge to the portfolio’s vibe. If it fits your personality, give it a try!

Rachel Baek

Rachel B is a UX designer and researcher who translates academic research into user-friendly products. Rachel’s portfolio is easy on the eye with its refined design and a comforting color scheme that reflects her personality and style. She follows UX portfolio best practices by using a consistent layout and clear navigation through and through. Her UX case studies highlight her hard skills, such as UX research, wireframing, and prototyping, as well as her soft skills, such as communication and collaboration. Rachel’s portfolio is a great example of how to portray, promote, and showcase a wide range of design skills in a captivating manner.

Hana Nakano

Hana used UXfolio’s Norman template as her base, transforming it into something unique with the available customization options and features. The intense blue accent color creates an exciting contrast with the white background. Her thumbnails are in perfect harmony because she created them with UXfolio’s Thumbnail designer. This feature allows you to design professional thumbnails inside UXfolio: just bring your designs and the rest is on us! Hana’s portfolio is proof that you can create a memorable UX portfolio without overdesigning it.

David Bornfirend

David’s UX portfolio website is a masterclass in clean and modern design. The homepage is pure yet attention-grabbing thanks to the large headline that sets the tone for the rest of the website. This direction, combined with the black-white-gray color palette, underlines David’s professionalism also apparent from his well-structured and stunning case studies, in which he achieves the perfect balance between copy and visuals.

Krista Laiho

Krista is a senior UI/UX designer with nearly ten years of experience, which is clearly reflected in her portfolio. She uses a UX portfolio template with a sidebar, which calls for a specific approach to ensure that her visitors’ attention is on her projects. This involves keeping the intro on the right side brief and eliminating unnecessary design elements, so as to not steal the attention from the project grid on the other side of the screen. Krista included a portrait of herself right on the home page, which is usually advised against. However, in her case, it elevates the overall impression because it looks professionally done. Finally, she coordinated her project covers perfectly by using the same device mockup styles and colors, achieving an uber-polished effect.

Aniela Carolina

Aniela has been a designer for 10 years and her experience is obvious from the way she presents herself and her work. First of all, she chose a lovely accent color and applied it consistently throughout various elements of her pages. Furthermore, she uses icons and typography to create a sharp content hierarchy. The longer case study titles on her home page act as super-descriptive snippets into the projects. She included 3 projects in her portfolio, yet, as you scroll through her home page, it feels and looks more because of the project grid she chose in UXfolio’s editor.

Annie Nguyen

Annie’s portfolio stands out for its sharp design, fonts, and clean thumbnails. She keeps the copy minimal on her home page, which prompts us to jump right into one of her detailed UX case studies. We like the way she tagged each case study: her role, the field, and the design type. This way, if someone’s looking for a mobile designer, they can jump right into the mobile design case study. Saving time for your users is among the top 3 things you can do for them. This applies to all products, including your UX portfolio.

Kevin Hursey

An effortless and chic portfolio that’s proof: you can never go wrong by keeping your UX portfolio’s design lowkey. Here, the focus is on elegant typography and fantastic case studies. And the result is top-notch. It’s evident that Kevin’s confident in his skills and work. He doesn’t need to compensate with an overdesigned portfolio like so many designers. If you wonder why just check out the Brightminds case study. It has a solid structure, crisp visuals, and engaging storytelling that highlights UX. It’s one of the most popular UX case studies on UXfolio’s Showcase .

Robyn Hines

Here we have a fun yet still elegant portfolio. There are a few fantastic tricks up Robyn’s sleeves that we’d like to highlight. First, check out how she uses those diffused, colorful blobs in the background of her thumbnails to tie them together. The thumbnails link to very different projects, yet they are in perfect harmony on the home page. Second, Robyn uses a layout that fills up her portfolio. By making the thumbnails bigger and presenting them in a vertical list, the portfolio doesn’t look empty. If she’d use small thumbnails on a grid layout, the perception would be quite the opposite.

Alyssa Ignacio

If you’re looking for the perfect, non-cliché designer statement, check out Alyssa’s: “Making a positive impact on my communities through collaboration, empathy, and endless funfetti cookies.” As simple as it is, this intro – mixed with the warm tones of her portfolio – makes her instantly likable. She keeps to this much-welcome conciseness throughout the portfolio. Though the whole UX/UI portfolio looks amazing, we’d like to highlight the type she used for the descriptions on her thumbnails: it’s small, stylish, yet still readable. Many designers are afraid of small font sizes, but with the right type, going small can create a chic effect without affecting usability or accessibility.

Since minimalism is always in style, you can’t go wrong with a stripped-down UX/UI portfolio, like Tamera’s. She utilized her architectural design experience to build a highly effective portfolio home page, using UXfolio’s Nominee template. The plain white background leads our attention to the pops of colors in the designs on her case study thumbnails, which is always the goal in a UX portfolio. Under the thumbnails, she writes quickfire summaries of the projects, including her role and the product profile. Like a true professional, she keeps everything short and sweet, luring you into opening a project to see more.

Madison Green

Madison mixes various colors in her portfolio – green, blue, lilac, and red – yet it looks coherent. That’s because she uses similar, dusty shades of each color. And just like that, without even reading a word, we know she has an eye for design. She features four case studies on her home page, each represented by consistently designed thumbnails, a short title, and the right amount of description. Before even opening the project, we learn what her role was and what was the project scope. So, this is an excellent example of great UX meeting good taste.

Julia Lauren

The best word to describe Julia’s portfolio is “cozy”. There’s something about a beige color palette that’s immediately comforting. These vibes are further strengthened by her portrait, which shows her with a beautiful, welcoming style. The only time you should feature your portrait as prominently on your home page as Julia does, is if you have a professional portrait that matches the color palette of your portfolio. Otherwise, it results in a tacky, resume-ish look, that’s not ideal for a designer. The rest of Julia’s portfolio is also exemplary. Take for example, how she ties her case study thumbnails together by using matching, soft gradients for their backgrounds.

We hear many stories of researchers struggling with their UX research portfolio . Saba shows you how to tackle this challenge. Instead of going with the usual serious look, she created a playful portfolio, using bright colors and a handful of matching emojis. Emphasis on matching. This look works for Saba because the emojis on her project thumbnails are from the same source, and the colors she uses on her backgrounds are in perfect harmony.

Benny’s portfolio is clean and professional. He saves his introduction to his About page to pull our attention toward the projects. That’s how we know we’re looking at a senior UXer’s portfolio. Experienced designers know that in UX, case studies get you the job. The reason is simple: case studies showcase your UX skills and process in action, underpinned with examples. Therefore, as our research revealed, most design leads go for case studies right away when opening a portfolio. Benny understands this, and he crafted this stunning, consistent portfolio accordingly.

Otilia Pandelea

Otilia made her portfolio unique by using a stunning font pairing: Poppins with IBM Plex Mono. This pairing and the harmonious color story look wonderful throughout the entire portfolio. Her about page, with custom graphics, is another highlight. We love the two lists: one about her goals and another about her frustrations. It’s new. It’s fresh. Also, the two lists balance each other perfectly and make us feel in tune with her.

With positive emojis in her bio and colorful project thumbnails, Ellen brings warmness to this otherwise strict and minimal template. By using large typography under her thumbnails, she drives attention to the copy, which describes each project in a concise style. Ellen’s Neurotime case study is also featured on our showcase since it’s the textbook example of how it should be done: clear structure, plenty of visuals, and descriptive but not overlong. She uses UXfolio’s built-in device mockups to present her examples, ensuring that the case study looks visually consistent.

It’s rarer and rarer to find serif fonts in UX design portfolios. Amanda doesn’t feature them heavily either, but she found a way to include a stunning one – Cormorant – in her hero section in a very tasteful way: using it only for her name and matching it with a simple sans serif font. This creates a sleek, slightly serious, and very professional look that’s underpinned by the rest of her portfolio’s aesthetic choices, such as the solid-color thumbnail backgrounds. She did an excellent job with the case study titles as well, as they provide concise yet intriguing descriptions about the products in question.

Takeaways from the best UX portfolios

Now that you’ve seen some of the best UX/UI portfolios out there, you’ve probably realized that they share many similarities. That’s because they use a portfolio formula that works; a structure which the industry is familiar and comfortable with:

Your home page is your visitors’ first touchpoint with your portfolio. It’s the starting point and the first impression you make. Therefore, it has to

• look great -> so your visitors want to see more.
• help with orientation -> make it easy for them to see more.

Content on your home page:

• Occupation/title,
• Designer statement,
• Links/thumbnails to case studies,
• Navigation (to various pages, like About me, Resume, and Contact).

Case study thumbnails

All things considered, your thumbnails are the most important part of your portfolio’s home page. Even more important than your navigation, for example. If you think about it, the point of a portfolio is to showcase your skills and process through case studies. Therefore, you need to get your visitors to open your case studies. The best way to do this is by creating enticing case study thumbnails and featuring them right on your home page.

The 4 golden rules of case study thumbnails:

• Your thumbnails must look good individually and together since they’ll be laid out close to each other.
• Use the same device mockup style for every thumbnail.
• Make sure that the thumbnails’ backgrounds are identical or harmonizing.
• The thumbnails have to match the home page, not the case study.

UX case studies

We all know that UX goes beyond pretty screens. Therefore it’s understandable that UX leads and recruiters want to see your approach and process. And through case studies, you can show it to them. Great case studies combine the following ingredients:

• Logical thought processes.
• Communication,
• Ability to work independently,
• Decision-making based on research and data,
• Ability to learn from mistakes, and
• Problem-solving.
• Design process.
• Knowledge of UX methods and their application.
• Openness to feedback.
• Desire to improve.

Nice-to-haves in a UX portfolio

While your home page and case studies are the most important elements of your portfolio, you should take it a step further. Adding pages like About/Bio, Contact, UX designer resumé , and social links can make your portfolio more usable, revealing, and personal.

How to showcase skills in your UX portfolio?

Our job at UXfolio includes talking to world-renowned design leaders to find out what they’re looking for in portfolios. We had to pleasure of talking to some of the most innovative and influential UX designers in the industry, such as

• Design Spring inventor Jake Knapp ,
• behavioral scientist Susan Weinschenk ,
• UX industry veteran Jared Spool , and
• InVision lead designer Pablo Stanley .

They all mentioned that the best UX portfolios show the design process and decisions. Of course the final design is important too, but they want to see how you’ve arrived there. They want you to explain your decisions and to tell why you decided to go with those specific solutions.You need to share design stories. Present your design process step-by-step, from the beginning to the end.

Tell your design story with UXfolio!

In case you need a tool to help build your portfolio quickly and easily, we made a great one: UXfolio . We created it specifically for UX professionals, so it’s packed with powerful features that’ll help you through the portfolio-building process. These features include text ideas and guiding questions for copywriting, prototype embedding, scrollable mockups, galleries, statistics section and many, many more. Give it a try!

How to Craft an Outstanding Case Study for Your UX Portfolio

Writing case studies for your UX portfolio can feel opaque and overwhelming. There are so many examples out there, and often the ones that make the rounds are the stunning portfolios of top visual designers. It can be inspiring to see the most beautiful work, but don’t let that distract you from the straightforward format of a good UX case study. 

At the core, a UX case study relies on excellent storytelling with a clear, understandable structure . This article breaks down the anatomy of a UX case study to help you tell a simple and effective story that shows off your skills. We’ll start with some general guidelines and structure, then break it down one piece at a time:

UX portfolio overview

What is a ux case study, general guidelines, how to structure a case study, how to fill in the details, defining the problem, understanding your users, early or alternate ideation, final design solution, next steps and learnings.

• Final thoughts

1. Before we get started

Before we dive into all the art and science of the case study, here’s a quick refresher on what a job-winning UX portfolio looks like. In this video, pro designer Dee analyses various design portfolios to pick out what works—and what doesn’t:

Simply put, a case study is the story of a design project you’ve worked on. The goal, of course, is to showcase the skills you used on the project and help potential employers envision how you’d use those skills if you worked for them.

A case study is typically written like a highly visual article, with text walking readers through a curated set of images. Curated is an important word here, because it should be short and sweet. It’s a chance to share what you want potential employers to know about your work on this project.

With that in mind, case studies are really a UX designer’s secret weapon in two ways. First, they get you in the door by showing more about your work than a resume and a top UX cover letter ever could. Another benefit is that they’re really handy in job interviews. If someone asks about a past project, you can walk them through the case study you’ve already created (this is sometimes a requirement anyway).

I mentioned that UX case studies are about storytelling. I’d actually say they’re about stories-telling, since they need to tell two intertwined stories .

The first is the story of your project. This answers questions like what problem you solved, who your users were, what solutions you explored, and what impact they had.

The second story is about you as a designer and your process. This is more about which methods you chose to use and why, how you worked within constraints, and how you worked as a member of a team (or without one).

So what are the steps for an effective case study? Well, like most things in design (and life), it depends. Every case study will be different, depending on what stories you’re telling. The six-part outline below, though, should guide you through an effective format for any UX project story. Here’s the outline (we’ll dive into each component in just a minute):

• Defining the Problem
• Understanding your Users
• Final solution

It’s worth it to add a few general notes before we dive into each of the list items above. For each section, include 1-2 short paragraphs and an image of a deliverable that visually tells the story your paragraphs explain. A reader should be able to either just read or just look at the images and roughly get what this moment in the story is communicating.

When choosing images to include, focus on quality over quantity.  Choose your best deliverables for each stage and briefly relate them back to the larger narrative. It can be tempting to overload the page with everything you created along the way, but these extra details should stay in your back pocket for interviews.

Lastly, make sure your case study is scannable . In the best of circumstances, people don’t read word for word on the web. Make sure your text is reasonably concise, use headers and strong visual hierarchy, and use bullet points and lists when possible. If you need a refresher on how to achieve this, check out our guide to the principles of visual hierarchy .

Ok, let’s take a look at each step in a bit more detail.

2. Anatomy of a UX case study

Like any story, the introduction sets the stage and gives much of the necessary context readers will need to understand your project. This is one section where people actually might take some extra time to read carefully as they try to discern what this case study is about. Make sure they have all the details they need.

Some key questions to answer are:

• What is your company and/or product?
• What user problem did you try to solve?
• What was your role?
• What tools and methods did you use?
• What are the major insights, impacts, or metrics related to the project

After introducing the project, dive more deeply into the problem you tackled. You touched upon this in the introduction, but this section is an opportunity to make a strong case for why this project exists. Did a competitor analysis or market research demand a new product? Was there past user research in your company that suggests a needed redesign of the product?

Remember that you’ll want to create a through line in the narrative, so try to lay out the problem in a way that frames your design work as a solution.

Deliverables that work really well for this section would be:

• Analytics or usage data
• Market research of internal business metrics
• Survey results or interview highlights

After explaining the problem, show how it impacts your users and their interaction with your product. If you did original user research or you’re seeking user research-oriented jobs, sharing interview scripts, affinity maps , and spreadsheets can be useful in showing your process.

However, this section shouldn’t be only about your process. A key goal of this section is articulating who your users are and what their needs are. These findings should set up your design work that follows, so try to set up that connection.

A few types of the deliverables you might share here are:

• User personas
• Mental models
• Journey maps or customer experience maps

Keep in mind you want to communicate users’ key motivations and challenges, as well as any more specific user groups you identified.

This section can really scale up or down depending on what you have to show. Research shows that hiring managers  don’t just want the final product , so it’s clear that showing some of your process is helpful. Especially for students or designers without a fully built product to show, this can be a moment for you to shine.

Don’t worry about the low fidelity of these documents, but the rougher they are, the more you’ll need to guide readers through them. Everything you show here should teach the reader something new about your process and/or your users.

Artifacts you might include are:

• Pen and paper or low fidelity digital wireframes

If you did early testing or faced constraints that determined your future design work, be sure to include them here, too.

This section should include the most final work you did on the project (e.g. wireframe flows or color mockups) and any final product it led to (if you have it). Be clear, though, about which work is yours and which isn’t.

Explain any key decisions or constraints that changed the design from the earlier stages. If you incorporated findings from usability testing, that’s great. If not, try to call out some best practices to help you explain your decisions. Referring to Material Design, WCAG, or Human Interface Guidelines can show the why behind your design.

If you’re able to show the impact of your work, this can take a good case study and make it outstanding. If your project has already been built and made available to users, have a look at any analytics, satisfaction data, or other metrics. See what you could highlight  in your case study to show how your design improved the user experience or achieved business goals. Ideally, you can refer back to your original problem statement and business goals from the introduction.

If you don’t have any way of showing the impact of your project, lay out how you would measure the impact. Showing you know how to measure success demonstrates you could do this on future projects.

Lastly, conclude your case study by sharing either your next design steps and/or some key insights you learned from the project. This isn’t just fluff! No project is perfect or final. Showing next steps is a great way to demonstrate your thinking iterative approach (without having to do the work!).

Also, many companies do (or should do) retrospectives after each project to identify challenges and improve future processes. Use this process and the insights you gain from it to inform your case study. Letting employers know you’re capable of reflection shows humility, self-awareness, and the value you can bring to a team.

3. Final thoughts

Since each case study is a unique story you’re telling about your project, it’s a little art and a little science. But starting with the structure laid out in this article will show who you are as a designer and how you solved a problem. And those are two stories companies want to hear!

If you’d like to learn more about how to craft a great UX portfolio, check out these articles:

• 5 Golden rules to build a job-winning UX portfolio
• The best UX design portfolio examples from around the web
• The best free UX/UI portfolio websites to use
• Salary negotiation for UX designers

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16 Inspiring Examples of UX Design Portfolios That You Just Must See

A UX design portfolio is a collection of work samples, case studies, projects, and relevant artifacts that showcase a UX designer’s skills, expertise, and experience in designing digital products or services with a focus on enhancing user satisfaction and usability.

Creating a portfolio is a crucial first step for any UX designer. It’s where you showcase your best work and let your skills, as well as your personality, shine through. Recruiters and potential clients will all want to see your portfolio website before hiring you. This is true whether you’re new to the field, or a senior looking for your next step.

When it comes to UX design, it’s not just about what you present, but how. Your website is, in fact, a part of your work.

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Alex Lakas is a UX designer with over a decade of experience working on products everyone uses. He took part in rejuvenating LinkedIn’s feed and gave Google Maps search pages the modern look they have today.

Lakas makes his caliber clear the moment you arrive, with a one-line bio that presents his experience.

A short scroll-down and you’ll find a short but precise list of clients, most of whom are major household names. This isn’t just name-dropping, it’s an important part of any experienced designer’s portfolio. Piquing your visitors’ interest right away with something familiar is the best way to motivate them to check out your work. 

While boasting impressive credentials, the website doesn’t rely on that alone. After a few short lines, you’re met with the most important part of any UX portfolio – case studies. Lakas’ case studies present the thought process behind some of his most well-known work, in a clear-cut, easily digestible fashion.

Complete with a slick design that mirrors his UX work, Alex Lakas’ portfolio website is a great example of what any designer should strive for.

Olivia Truong

Olivia Truong is a product designer. She makes that clear the moment you enter her portfolio, in a simplistic fashion that runs through her website, as well as her work. 

Truong’s UX portfolio doesn’t offer quotes or credentials. It simply displays four of her projects, in a beautifully designed, minimalistic presentation. The way she presents them, by raising questions such as “how do I manage my events onsite?”, is exactly the thought process a UX designer should have. She asks a question, referring to a common problem, and offers a solution in her case study. In this case, she presents Ticket Manager, an app developed to manage event ticket sales.

The case study is a perfect example of how UX case studies should be. She walks us through the problem she set out to solve, presents her research, and details her design process with a lot of imagery.

Olivia Truong’s portfolio pinpoints what a UX designer should present. It’s a great inspiration for designers just starting out, as it does nothing but highlight her process. If you have even one complete project, this is how to present it.

Ed Chao is most well-known for his work with Dropbox. He’s designed their web interface, followed by their mobile app, and finally their desktop app UI.

What works best about Chao’s portfolio is the minimalizm. There are very few images and even less text. The few case studies he offers are short and don’t go into too much detail. However, what they do present is the key features and ideas behind his Dropbox UX design. This shows that Chao understands what’s important, and what can be cut out, a great trait for a UX designer.

One small, but important aspect that Ed Chao nails is the contact information. The first thing you’ll see when you arrive at his portfolio is links to his email, LinkedIn and Twitter. This is arguably one of the most important functions of a portfolio website , ensuring potential customers and recruiters can get in touch as easily as possible.

Jung Hoe is a UX/UI designer at Wix.com’s Playground. His portfolio website catches your attention immediately with a greeting that rapidly switches languages. 

But what keeps visitors interested is the humor. With a backdrop of beautifully animated yellow blobs bouncing around, he presents himself as a “genius baby” transformed into a “fully grown design nerd”. The personality in these lines creates an immediate connection and willingness to discover more.

Scrolling down, it’s clear that this portfolio belongs to a talented and playful UX designer. As a visitor, you can flip a switch between UI/UX work and “Fun Work”. Both of which present a wide range of apps and products he’s designed. Clicking on any project will lead to a detailed case study that includes his research, thought process, and final, as well as scrapped designs. 

Whether you choose to browse UX projects, or simply look at Hoe’s “Fun Work”, you’ll eventually reach an eye-catching call-to-action to “Make somethin’ fun together!” with a playful “Hit Me Up!” button leading to his email.

Jung Hoe’s portfolio is an example of how designers can showcase their personalities, as much as their work. But still, maintain a perfectly professional UX portfolio website.

Jamie Choi’s website is another example of a great UX portfolio that does exactly what it sets out to achieve, and nothing more.

The simple illustration of Jamie herself, the autumn color palette, and the simplicity in which her projects are presented make scrolling down her website a soothing experience. 

The case studies she offers, such as her work designing an online platform for a local bakery, are perfectly precise and detailed. She walks the reader through the challenge, research, analysis, work process, and ultimately design ideas. These case studies go into extreme detail, which is what any recruiter or client would want to see.

What completes Choi’s portfolio website is her about page. Like her case studies, this section includes all the detail it needs to keep you interested, while never being too overbearing.

Jamie Choi’s UX portfolio perfectly balances two of the most important things a portfolio website needs. It provides an in-depth look into her professional work process, while simultaneously creating a feeling of personal familiarity.

Liz Wells is a Brooklyn-based designer and senior product designer at Squarespace. Her UX portfolio site is stunningly trippy.

The homepage displays five case studies, with nothing but unique typography. You’re only met with an image when you hover over a project, an image which is then smeared across the page as you move your cursor.

What makes Wells’ portfolio truly impressive is her case studies. Her “Sidewalk Toronto” case study, for example, is summed up into a short video. If you wish to know more, you can scroll down to find a hand-drawn sketch of the site map, followed by a project description, as well as the UX challenges and solutions. The case study is accompanied by visuals that give life to her process.

Liz Wells’ UX portfolio leaves nothing to be desired, while perfectly presenting her personality as a designer.

Jeremy Stokes

Jeremy Stokes is a product designer at Duolingo and a former UX design intern at Google. But what’s most special about his work is his passion project – Cultivate. 

With Cultivate, Stokes sets out to design a new way of understanding mental health, specifically in the African American community. The project is laid out like any other case study, providing some background into the issue and detailing the process behind building and designing the platform’s concepts.

Another aspect that shines through Stokes’ portfolio is his ability to present himself. His About page is full of imagery and references to his favorite things – video games and cartoons. But he doesn’t settle for just a bio. His portfolio includes his stunning resume, which is as much a part of the portfolio as his case studies.

Jeremy Stokes’ UX portfolio walks a thin line between professional portfolio, and personal website, and does it excellently. Showing visitors your personality can make the difference between being considered for a job, or being forgotten among dozens of other UX designers.

Siriveena Nandam

Siriveena Nandam is a UX designer with an analytical twist. With a background in psychology, Siriveena creates “data-driven solutions that elevate human experiences”, as her website states.

Her portfolio makes it clear that data is the key parameter that runs through her work. The design has a much more technical feel than many other UX portfolios.

As expected, scrolling down her site reveals several case studies. These are the highlights of Nandam’s portfolio, and they’re incredibly detailed. 

“Our National Conversation”, a non-partisan news aggregator, is a perfect example of the type of issues Nandam tackles, and the case study includes everything a case study should. It provides a short summary, before diving into her research, analysis, wireframes, and UI designs, all with great detail, as expected from such a technical product designer.

Siriveena’s UX portfolio is an inspiring demonstration of how designers can take serious subjects and technical information and present them in an interesting way. The lack of playfulness doesn’t hinder the visitor’s experience at all and does a great job at differentiating her from the competition.

Eugenie Lee

Eugenie Lee is a UX designer from California, USA. Her portfolio starts off with a short, to-the-point bio about herself. Notice how the above-the-fold section mentions that she is an inquisitive, problem-solving individual, i.e., has two essential UX designer skills. Right under her profile photo, she shares her philosophy. Namely, that there is a solution to every problem if you know how to ask the right questions. 

In terms of the color palette, Eugenie chose bold colors like black and orange. These two, paired with various hues of grey, are used throughout the entire portfolio.

Right under the above-the-fold, Eugenie added tags for her skills. Among others, they feature popular prototyping and animation tools.

Scrolling down, there’s a lengthy section on the projects she has worked on. Each sheds light on the entire product design process. Eugenie mentions how she collected briefs , ran preliminary research, and engaged in prototyping . If you head over to her portfolio, you’ll see that she has worked on major projects like the Griffith Observatory and MSN News apps. 

Without a doubt, Eugenie Lee’s UX design portfolio is a delight to go through both from an aesthetic and informational perspective. It’s a great example of how you can market yourself in front of prospective clients. 

Zhenya Nagornaya

Zhenya Nagornaya is a junior UX/UI designer from Wellington, New Zealand. She recently completed her studies at Uprock Design School. Her portfolio showcases all of her freelance work taken up while studying. 

Zhenya has worked on different types of projects, including online magazines, landing pages, and various corporate marketing collateral. These have been selected to show her versatility. 

After sharing a few examples of her work, Zhenya moves on to a brief section about herself. Here, she mentions how she pivoted from being a front-end developer to a web designer. Her bio can be read as a cover letter to a potential employer – she’s aware that she doesn’t have much commercial experience, but is willing to learn.

Further down, there’s a section on skills that – on top of proficiency in UX design tools – include HTML, CSS, and Javascript . 

If you’re fairly new to the UX design scene, then this portfolio will be a great source of inspiration.

Yael Levey is a UX design leader based in London, UK. She has been in the design industry since 2009. Throughout the years, she’s climbed the UX career ladder from an intern role all the way through to becoming a Creative Director at BBC Weather and, currently, Product Design Manager at WhatsApp. 

Yael Levey is a prime example of how UX designer portfolios evolve as you proceed to a leadership role. While her LinkedIn profile is filled with endorsements of her hands-on wireframing, user research, and information architecture skills, her online portfolio features leadership content. She synthesizes her past experiences and shares advice with those who want to progress in the UX design field.

That being said, unlike Yael’s website, her Dribble profile focuses on her work. So, you can see some of the projects she’s taken on throughout her career.

This profile is a perfect example of how you can become a thought leader in the industry. Not to mention, it goes to show that some UX design portfolios can also take on a written form.

Jared Bartman

Jared Bartman is a designer, writer, and artist based in the USA. His website serves as a portfolio of the projects he’s worked on since 2021. These, among others, include designs for small businesses and globally-recognized enterprise companies like Nestle and the New York Times. 

The website features an ‘About Me’ section where Jared talks about his hard skills and his approach to design. It also has a downloadable CV for those who prefer a formal, traditional work experience overview.

In each of the projects descriptions, Jared sheds light on:

• The project objectives, user challenges, and market opportunities
• The tools used throughout the project
• All the stages of the design process – from research to prototyping and user testing.

If you’re a multidisciplinary designer like Jared, then this portfolio is certainly worth inspiring yourself with.

Henry Dan is a freelance UI/UX designer with more than seven years of experience in mobile, desktop, and web design. 

Henry’s website is a well-rounded portfolio where he shares a short bio, a list of completed projects, and his design philosophy. What’s particularly noticeable is how bold and transparent Henry is about what it’s like working with him. On top of explaining the main stages of the design process (Understand, Explore, Prototype, and Deliver), he clearly mentions that UX design is a collaborative process . Meaning, that he requires the client’s honest input and ongoing communication to ensure successful delivery.

As you scroll down, right after an overview of completed projects, you’ll see a few testimonials from satisfied customers. This is a great way of telling potential clients that not only is he an experienced designer, but also a reliable, trustworthy partner. 

Whether you’re a freelance UX designer like Henry or looking to find full-time work, this website portfolio is a perfect source of inspiration .

Stef Ivanov

Stef Ivanov is a London-based UX and UI designer who has fifteen years of experience in design and branding. While he started off as a freelancer, he now works as the Founder of a design studio called Pony (a fact he makes blatantly clear on his personal site, as seen above).

His work has been nominated to Awwwards and featured on outlets like The Next Web and Tech Crunch. 

Throughout his site, Stef uses a mix of blue and yellow, complemented with black font and white spacing . Right under the fold, he mentions his extensive UX leadership and design experience to legitimize himself in front of potential clients. He underlines that he’s as focused on design deliverables as he is on helping businesses reach their business goals. 

What’s particularly great about this senior UX designer portfolio is that he helps potential clients quickly assess if he’s the right fit. How so? In the ‘Work’ section, on top of short project descriptions, he mentions that his “sweet spot” is taking on both UX and UI work for the same client. He’s also clear that he loves “tricky UX challenges” and enjoys every minute of helping businesses identify and fix what’s blocking their growth.

This is one of the most compelling work descriptions we’ve seen. If you’re clear on the types of projects and/or industries you’d like to work in, then this should be your number-one source of inspiration.

Kimberly Kim

Kimberly Kim is a freelance UX designer and a full-time UX writer at Google. Her portfolio is a simple, yet highly-informative account of her work in both of these roles. 

What made us choose it for this round-up is that it’s one of the best examples of a designer showing off their personality. Kimberly’s work colleagues say that she’s “somehow, both super chill & super passionate”. She explains that it’s because she takes work seriously, but not herself. This shines through each of the case studies and sections on her site.

Kimberly’s portfolio is divided into three sections – UX writing, UX design, and an ‘About Me’. When it comes to the first two, what’s great is that each project description starts with a bulleted list of problems she helped solve. This makes it easy for potential clients and employers to see if they’re facing a similar challenge.

The bio page, meanwhile, is the rare kind – equally entertaining, laid-back, and professional. Kimberly mentions the types of projects she can help with and that she prefers informal communication with clients. This helps pre-qualify any potential future customer and boosts the chances of fruitful cooperation.

Fabricio Teixeira

Fabricio Teixeira is a design partner at Work & Co. In the UX community, he’s known as the founder of the UX Collective , the largest design publication on Medium. Fabricio’s UX career spans more than two decades. During this time, he’s worked with multiple tech companies, including Google, Samsung, and Mailchimp. 

For his website, Fabricio bet on a one-pager, which starts off with a short bio written by none else (or, rather, nothing else) but ChatGPT. What follows is a list of recent engagements, where he appeared as a lecturer, jury member, or speaker. 

As you scroll further down, you’ll see an overview of the awards he received, companies he worked at full-time, and articles he wrote. What separates this UX design portfolio from most is that there aren’t any lengthy project descriptions or mission statements. Instead, Fabricio links to external sites and his social media accounts, treating his site as more of a content hub.

If you, just like Fabricio, would like to link to examples of your work spread across multiple outlets, then this portfolio might just be the perfect example. 

What is a UX portfolio?

A UX (User Experience) portfolio serves as a comprehensive compilation of a UX designer’s professional journey, presenting an array of work samples, case studies, projects, and pertinent artifacts.

This collection is meticulously crafted to highlight the designer’s multifaceted skills, deep expertise, and extensive experience in the realm of digital product and service design, all with a central emphasis on elevating user satisfaction and usability.

The designer showcases their proficiency in various facets of UX design, including but not limited to user research, information architecture, interaction design, and visual aesthetics. Each component within the portfolio provides a nuanced narrative, offering insights into the designer’s creative process, strategic methodologies, and problem-solving prowess.

This curated collection serves as a powerful testament to the designer’s capabilities, positioning them as a great candidate for employment opportunities or collaborative ventures within the landscape of user-centered design.

What can you include in a UX portfolio?

A typical UX portfolio may include seven components listed below.

• Case Studies: Detailed descriptions of projects the designer has worked on, including the problem they were solving, their process, methodologies used (such as user research, wireframing, prototyping, etc.), and the outcomes achieved.
• Visual Design Samples: Examples of visual design elements created by the designer, such as wireframes, mockups, prototypes, user interface (UI) designs, etc.
• User Research: Insights gained from user research activities, such as interviews, surveys, usability testing, etc., along with how these insights influenced design decisions.
• Process and Methodologies: Description of the designer’s approach to UX design, including methodologies, frameworks, tools, and techniques used in their work.
• Skills and Expertise: Highlighting specific skills and expertise relevant to UX design, such as information architecture, interaction design, usability principles, accessibility, etc.
• Client or Employer Testimonials: Recommendations or testimonials from clients or employers that validate the designer’s skills and professionalism.
• Personal Branding: Personal touches that reflect the designer’s personality, style, and unique perspective on UX design.

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If you want to design your UX portfolio, why not sign up for a 14-day free trial ? By the end, you’ll have another design tool to add to your portfolio!

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WEBSITE ESSENTIALS

15 best UX portfolios and what we can learn from them

• Talia Cohen
• 7 hours ago
• 13 min read

Get st arted by: Creating a portfolio → | Getting a domain →

An online portfolio is a must for designers at all career stages, from entry-level freelancers to senior staff designers. Potential clients or employers expect to see a portfolio showcasing your design skills before they make a hire. As a designer it's a type of website to make to showcase your work.

Has your curiosity piqued? Continue scrolling to view 15 of our favorite UX design portfolio examples: Feast your eyes on their impeccable design, learn from best practices and get inspired to create a website of your own.

What is a UX design portfolio and why do you need one?

Any designer working in their respective industry must have a professional portfolio . For UX designers, a portfolio is a chance to present your best work, creative process and personality. You can also provide in-depth case studies that communicate how you facilitate a user experience. However, all UX design portfolios need to balance an engaging visual experience with one that enhances usability.

15 UX portfolio website examples

This curated list of best portfolio websites highlights some of the best practices these pro UX designers have implemented on their Wix sites. Take these into account when creating your own UX design portfolio.

Sophie Brittain

Diana Tatarenko

Run Wild Studio

Saloni Joshi

Dalya Green

Lital Karni

Sophie Westfall

Michaella Twersky

Gautham Mukesh

Zebi Williams

Jennifer Etsuko Higa

Tania Soraya

Sophie Chen

01. Sophie Brittain

Digital and branding designer Sophie Brittain has crafted an inviting, spacious design on her UX portfolio. A visual of brightly colored abstract shapes appears at the top of her homepage. The motif repeats throughout her portfolio, helping to define a distinct personal brand.

Key design takeaways from Sophie Brittain’s UX portfolio

Sophie utilizes the website's top fold to introduce herself and briefly clarify her areas of expertise. Stating her name and creative discipline within the field of design in large typography, site visitors won’t miss this essential information. She’s also added a friendly “hello!” and a personal touch in the form of custom icons.

When you put your own portfolio together, make your personality and expertise clear. Prospective employers and clients will likely look through dozens of UX portfolios in addition to your own, so add personable touches to make yours stand out.

02. Diana Tatarenko

This 2021 Wix Playground Academy participant created a mesmerizing UX portfolio using clean lines and simple colors. The addition of a whimsical, lime green font gives off a playful vibe.

Key designtakeaways from Diana Tatarenko’s UX portfolio

The highlight of Diana’s website is its “Work” section, which not only displays her recent projects, but also explains her process. Each project outlines the problem the client faced and explains how Diana solved it through design. She shows visitors her vision, thought process and images to support each step—offering a comprehensive overview of her creative workflow.

Your portfolio is a chance to be transparent with your clients before you even meet them. By showing how you overcome challenges and solve problems when creating your final product, clients will have more confidence in your approach.

03. Run Wild

Run Wild’s UX portfolio offers an almost interactive experience, using a video background to serve as the site’s welcome screen. A tagline is written in block white letters with a button that begins the user journey placed below, starting with the designer’s bio. The entire site is whimsical and informative, plus it's a breeze to navigate through. Run Wild allows his artistic talent to shine through the use of a hamburger menu, large typography, scrolling effects and images of his design projects.

Key design takeaways from Run Wild’s UX portfolio

Run Wild uses two forms of navigation. The first is a hamburger menu, placed in the upper left corner. There is also a horizontal navigation menu in the website footer, with each menu item written across the bottom of the page.

Take Run Wild’s lead and make all the information visitors need accessible through simple and clear navigation. If someone has to hunt for your resume or contact information, they may give up and leave your site.

04. Saloni Joshi

This straightforward UX portfolio contains a spacious top fold dedicated to a short, introductory paragraph and links for getting in touch with Saloni . Further down, you’ll find her showcased projects.

Key design takeaways from Saloni Joshi’s UX portfolio

Saloni includes quality written content on her UX portfolio, presenting all the most crucial information in an easy-to-read and familiar (yet professional) tone.

Similarly, you should use written content to clarify your information (like your name and current employment status), as well as highlight opportunities of interest and project details. Like Saloni, strategically place these essential details on your portfolio using a readable font and minimal amounts of text. Visitors will want to find the details they need quickly without having to search. Additionally, we suggest adding your CV directly to the website’s menu.

05. Dalya Green

Dalya Green’s one-page UX portfolio certaisonly packs a punch, leaving visitors with a well-rounded impression of her work and vision. The site is full of fun, engaging elements like the gradient background, whose color scheme visitors can change on their own.

Key design takeaways from Dalya Green’s UX portfolio

Dalia includes a white button with the words “Click to see some fun facts” on the top fold of her site. Upon clicking, five more colorful circles open up, overlapping her intro with fun facts including her morning routine and her Netflix vibe. She even has another pink button at the bottom of her page in the “Info” section that says, “Missed the fun facts?” When visitors click, the same facts appear overlaid across the screen. This creatively grabs visitors attention and entices them to continue exploring.

As a UX designer, your job entails creating smooth and effortless digital interaction, so make your portfolio an engaging experience. When you allow visitors to not simply observe your portfolio, but interact with it in unusual ways, it shows off your creativity and design skills—offering a sneak peek at what they can expect from your work. In addition, it makes your portfolio unique and memorable.

06. Lital Karni

The energetic combination of colors stands out on Lital Karni’s professional portfolio, making the top fold appear both sophisticated and playful. The layout on the homepage is simple with an organized fullscreen grid. Lital has carefully matched a different background to each project, while also creating a cohesive homepage aesthetic.

She has also created a custom logo design that stays fixed to the screen and acts as a convenient link to her homepage. Thanks to its subtle glow, the letterform logo remains visible against any background color.

Key design takeaways from Lital Karni’s UX portfolio

Lital has used a combination of techniques for displaying contact details and allowing visitors to contact her. For example, a “Let’s Talk” button is fixed to the screen as you browse through her portfolio, tempting site visitors to reach out. Clicking it will take you to a contact form at the bottom of the page. On top of this, she’s added her email, phone number and social links on her About page, ensuring that visitors have no problem getting in touch.

When you make your own UX portfolio, make sure your contact details are visible. After all, the goal of your personal website is to draw attention to your works and ultimately get hired. Make it easy for employers or clients to get in touch by including all the necessary information in an easy-to-spot location—either on a dedicated contact page or via your website footer or About page. You may also consider adding your email address, phone number and links to your social channels.

07. Jung Hoe

UI/UX designer Jung has created three simple pages on his UX portfolio (Work, About, and CV) which visitors can easily navigate through in the upper right corner menu. When landing on this site, viewers are initially taken to Jung’s Work page, which also acts as the site’s homepage.

Key design takeaways from Jung Hoe’s UX portfolio

Jung's bright yellow portfolio not only grabs your attention, but gives you a glimpse into his upbeat personality. In addition, an animated background of yellow spheres falling from the top of the screen introduce Jung along with rotating greetings in 13 different languages. English greetings include “Hi there!” and “Howdy partner!” and instantly allow visitors to emotionally connect with this designer.

Jung Hoe’s website exemplifies how a UX portfolio can extend your design brand. The look, colors and tone of voice remain consistent on each page and even extend to his CV. Jung's unified brand identity creates a memorable impression that helps visitors understand what to expect from him and his work.

08. Sophie Westfall

A primary tenet of Sophie Westfall’s work relates to dealing with mental health and supporting nonprofit agencies. Following this principle, she incorporates calming color tones and soothing imagery so that visitors “feel calm and safe” while looking through her work. An old black and white photo of her family sits next to a brief introductory paragraph, and a small black and white butterfly flutters in the lower left hand corner.

Key design takeaways from Sophie Westfall’s UX portfolio

Clean, symmetrical lines outline Sophie’s projects on a beige background. Her digital projects appear on a desktop, tablet or cell phone screen, conveying her ability to tailor her work to any device. The three digital showcases Sophie has chosen to feature also include props that emphasize the final product design. The right-sized images don't overwhelm site visitors, but still show off the detail of her work as well as her obvious talent.

Display your work how you want viewers to see it. Sophie’s UX portfolio shows us how to beautifully showcase work on an intended platform. If a project has both a mobile and desktop design, feature both assets so potential clients can see your full range of talent.

09. Michaella Twersky

Product designer Michaella (Miki) Twersky’s portfolio has a classic look, but it simultaneously conveys her unique personality. Miki has added a hover effect on the images on her homepage. While the images first appear in black-and-white, they saturate with color when hovered over. This helps visitors focus on the specific project they’re viewing, improving their browsing experience.

Key design takeaways from Michaella Twersky’s UX portfolio

While it makes a big impression, Michaella’s portfolio only highlights six of her best projects. Since your UX portfolio show off your best skills, you don’t need to include everything you’ve worked on throughout your career. When choosing which of your own projects to display on your portfolio, include only your favorites or those that reflect the type of work you'd like to do in the future.

10. Gautham Mukesh

This UX portfolio example perfectly reflects Gautham Mukesh’s sleek and modern design style. The dark mode-inspired color scheme is paired with clean fonts and perfectly implemented animated trigger effects to convey that this UX, product and web designer cares creating a user-friendly browsing experience.

Key design takeaways from Gautham Mukesh’s UX portfolio

Less is more. Your portfolio should highlight both your design personality as well as your work. But don’t forget the importance of white space—that is, empty space that will help draw peoples’ eyes to your strategic content.

Gautham's clean and simple website emphasizes only vital components of his work. And although it’s easy on the eyes, Gautham’s web design is still rich with sophisticated design features like customized imagery, parallax scrolling and a convenient QR code for getting in touch.

11. Zebi Williams

Starting with a striking hero image, Zebi's UX portfolio takes visitors through a seamless journey to discover the designer's work, experience and processes. Overall, Zebi's site supports important written information with visual details, like color, animation and imagery.

Key design takeaways from Zebi's UX portfolio

Zebi's engaging portfolio delights first-time visitors. A map tracks a user's location as they scroll through the site’s homepage, encouraging continued exploration. Each section of the UX portfolio has value—whether it's detailed case studies, testimonials, supportive imagery or contact details.

12. Jennifer Etsuko Higa

Jennifer's UX portfolio has a trendy 90s vibe thanks to unfiltered imagery, use of a serif font and the vintage feel of her warm color scheme. While it's clean and easy to read, Jennifer's homepage proves that you can make a bold statement with minimalistic elements.

Key design takeaways from Jennifer’s UX design portfolio

Use your knowledge of design principles to fine tune your layout. Jennifer uses her understanding of complementary colors and their effect on the visitor to create a seamless user experience that engages without overwhelming or distracting.

13. Tania Soraya

Tania uses a combination of earthy, neon and neutral colors on her website to foster a more attractive experience. Tania showcases just three core projects she's worked on recently to give visitors a focused overview of her work. Using a friendly written tone and emojis throughout, Tania seems approachable, encouraging visitors to reach out for more details.

Key design takeaways from Tania’s UX design portfolio

Tania’s site uses minimal visual and written content, but communicates a clear vision of her modern style. The simple, clean layout paired with a mesh gradient background emphasizes her personal style.

Sometimes, a good website background is all you need to let your personality shine. In Tania's case, the sophisticated gradient proves two things: First, Tania definitely has her finger on the pulse of web design trends. Second, she's not afraid to jump outside of the box.

14. Madison Yn

It’s the little things that make a site more attractive for visitors. Here, Madison implements strategic design elements that please the eye—like animation to grab attention and white space to create visual balance. Additionally, the use of large typography enhances the level of readability, making the site a breeze to scroll and read through.

Key design takeaways from Madison's UX portfolio

The top fold of your homepage is visible as soon as visitors reach your site. Since it takes only seconds to make an impression on a user, treat it as valuable web design real estate.

Madison takes full advantage of this concept. The top fold of her home page is rich with color. It includes a short professional bio, CTAs and a succinct navigation menu. On top, Madison's animated logo makes a striking impact to the overall design.

15. Sophie Chen

We appreciate how Sophie Chen’s UX portfolio gets straight to the point. The timeless web design dives right into a display of work experience examples, starting at the top fold of her homepage.

Each piece of her portfolio examples includes a title, short summary and a button that leads to the “case study.” Visitors have the option of learning more about Sophie’s process and the specific tools she used for each project.

Key design takeaways from Sophie Chen’s UX design portfolio

The straightforward layout used on Sophie's portfolio translates well on mobile devices. The same information viewed on the desktop version can be comfortably accessed from a smaller screen. The content fits perfectly into the user interface, especially thanks to the hamburger menu which allows more room to display each page's content.

When creating a UX portfolio of your own, make sure you use either adaptive or responsive design methods to perfect the mobile version. And with almost 60% of online traffic coming from mobile devices , you'll avoid missing out on customers who discover your portfolio on-the-go.

What makes a good UX portfolio?

A strong UX portfolio not only demonstrates your expertise but also tells a compelling story that resonates with potential employers or clients. To achieve this, each project should include a comprehensive case study outlining the design process from research and ideation to prototyping and testing. Highlight your results and impact metrics to showcase the effectiveness of the designs in improving user experiences. Make sure to use personal branding and storytelling to really showcase your work.

To stand out, you should regularly update and refine your portfolios, incorporating new projects and skills while seeking feedback for continuous improvement. By showcasing a diverse range of projects, emphasizing user-centered approaches and infusing personal branding, you can effectively communicate your expertise and passion for creating exceptional user experiences, ultimately attracting opportunities for career advancement.

10 best practices for your UX portfolio

After drawing inspiration from fellow creators and other UX research websites , gather your takeaways and craft your own online presence. Here are the essential design portfolio tips to learn how to make a portfolio from the selection of UX industry examples above:

Make it instantly clear who you are and what you do.

Be easy to contact.

Present your portfolio with high quality imagery.

Describe your work using succinct copy.

Present your process, and not just your final product.

Use your website to establish your brand.

Add an updated copy of your CV.

Mention the basic details of each project.

Only include your best work.

Make sure your site looks good on mobile.

How to make a UX portfolio website on Wix

Ready to start a portfolio of your own? Take these steps to learn how to make a website . You can start with portfolio templates to speed up the process or hone your design skills and make one from scratch. Once you've laid a foundation, customize your UX portfolio keeping best practices in mind.

Choose a portfolio website template

Personalize your site with website design features

Dive into the Wix Editor to drag and drop your elements into place

Upload your media

Add an About page

Add a Contact Form

Publish and promote your site

"You can use the template as a starting point in different levels of design - from using it as a layout base or as a wireframe; taking design language and colors as inspiration; using the site structure and content offering; or taking it as it is and just replacing your content. You can get very creative and different results from using a template and it can save a lot of time and effort."

Dafna Rabin, Template Design Team Lead at Wix

UX portfolio FAQ

What does a ux portfolio consist of.

A UX portfolio should showcase your best work through carefully selected projects with comprehensive case studies. It should include the following elements:

An About Me page that introduces you and your work.

Case studies that detail your design process, problem-solving abilities, and outcomes.

Visual examples of your work, such as screenshots or videos.

Design artifacts such as personas, user journey maps, and information architecture diagrams.

Your skills and tools relevant to UX design.

Contact information so potential employers can reach you.

How do I start a UX portfolio for beginners?

How do you make a killer ux portfolio, do ux designers need a portfolio, what's the best format for a ux portfolio, related posts.

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• Product Management
• UX Research

12 Inspiring UX Portfolio Examples

We’ve seen it all. As an international UX design agency , our design leads review hundreds of UX portfolios every time we have an opening in our team. What’s interesting is that there appears to be a recipe for successful portfolios.

In this article

• you’ll find 12 inspiring portfolio examples that utilize this recipe, and
• a rundown on the characteristics of a great UX portfolio .

12 Inspiring UX portfolio examples

1. danielle.

6. Sang Jun Lee

7. Victoria

9. Max Berger

10. Melysia

What is a UX portfolio?

A UX portfolio is a collection of case studies that reveal your design process and skills through the story of design projects you’ve been part of.

The difference between UX portfolios and UX case studies

Many designers use the word ‘portfolio’ to refer to their case studies. But they’re not the same thing. The difference is technical:

• Your case studies use a mix of text and visuals to present your design process in the context of previous design projects.
• The word portfolio refers to the entire file – website or document – that binds your case studies, portfolio cover page, bio, resumé, and contact page together.

What are recruiters and design leads looking for?

When you are building your UX portfolio and case studies, you have to keep thinking like a UX designer. Most importantly, you should consider your target audience: HR managers and UX leads.

They have to review hundreds of portfolios in a limited amount of time. What’s more, there’s probably a set date by which they need to find the right person for the role. This leaves only a few minutes to review a portfolio.

With that in mind, here’s some practical advice:

• Why do so many portfolios follow the same structure and look? Because that structure and look works. Your target audience is comfortable with it, which means that they’ll have a pleasant experience using it. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel: find a stunning, tried-and-true template and customize it to your taste.
• People gravitate towards pretty things, whether we like to admit it or not. Therefore, your portfolio needs to look sleek. What’s more, it’ll need to pass through a few people with varying tastes. So, it’s better to play it safe: go for the minimalistic look, as most people find it pleasing to the eye.
• Due to time restrictions, most design leads will check 1-2 case studies when reviewing your portfolio. So, don’t stress about the number of case studies in your portfolio. “Quality over quantity” should be your mantra. As the seniority level of the role raises, so does the number of projects they’ll check. But there’s absolutely no reason to have more than 5 case studies in your portfolio.
• In this context, ‘best’ doesn’t necessarily mean the most beautiful or smoothest projects. Instead, it means the projects that called for hard decisions, new skills, and lots of cooperation. The rule of thumb is to choose projects that show the most of your soft and hard skills.
• If you’ve worked on something that’s thematically relevant to the niche or product they’re hiring for, give that project the special treatment. This will immediately put you at an advantage.
• Give a good read to the job description and identify the buzzwords regarding skills, methods, and tools. If you have experience with them, highlight that experience in your case studies, just as you would in your resumé .

Now that you have an idea of what makes an exceptional UX portfolio in general, it’s time to move on to your case studies.

How to write UX case studies like a pro?

UX case studies are about storytelling. Yes, it’s an overused word, but bear with us! Storytelling in this context means that you’ll write about the project as you’d talk about it with a colleague over lunch or coffee. Just put it to words, add some visuals and you have a UX case study. Here’s an easy-to-follow structure:

Title and subtitle

Drop the name of the product or feature in your title and give a little description of the process in your subtitle. Keep both short and sweet but intriguing. Overlong titles are unnecessary and they tend to look bad too. Here are some guiding questions:

• What was the product’s name?
• What type of a project was this? (redesign, UI design, UX research)

Context with visuals

Begin your case study by setting the scene. This part is very important, because it’d be hard to understand your decisions and process without knowing the circumstances. This can be done by answering the 5 Ws:

• When? (The date and duration of the project.)
• Who? (Your role, and the team you’ve worked with.)
• Where? (Extremely relevant in the COVID era – remote or in-person setup.)
• What? (The product, feature, and business goal.)
• Why? (The problem.)

Once you’ve set the scene, it’s a great idea to inject something visual into the case study. Use a photo of the team or a teaser screenshot from the finished product. This’ll increase the curiosity of your readers.

Your process, step-by-step

At this point, the spotlight is on your skills. This is where the action begins. When we’re telling stories in a natural setting – like a conversation with a friend – we usually proceed in chronological order. You should do the same in your case study:

• Begin with the discovery : reveal how you’ve familiarized yourself with the product and problem, what were your initial observations and theories, and how you’ve planned to proceed.
• Move on to problem-research-solution trios . While describing them, show as much of your skillset as possible: what methods did you use, what did you find out, how did you organize the data, what tools did you use, how did you come up with the solution, how did you validate the solution. Don’t forget to present your sketches, personas, wireframes, prototypes, and other relevant visuals too!

Show the finished product or feature

The high point of the case study should be the reveal of the final product . The best way to do this is to embed an interactive prototype into your case study. This’ll allow your reader to use the product without having to download it or navigate to another page.

In our UX portfolio-building tool, UXfolio, you can embed your Figma, Axure, Sketch, and other prototypes in just a few clicks. Alternatively, you could also show screenshots of the product, presented in neat device mockups, which are also part of UXfolio.

Underline your impact

The conclusion of your case study is just as important as the introduction. In this part get to show the impact of your design through analytics and data . Your task is to use numbers to answer the following question: what changed after implementing your solutions? For the business-minded reader, this’ll be the sweetest part of the entire case study.

Finish with learnings & quotes

Sometimes a project doesn’t go as planned and initial assumptions get refuted, so we have to re-calibrate our process. The good thing is that we come out from such experiences with learnings that’ll benefit us throughout our careers. Share these insights with your readers at the end of your case study. It’ll show that you’re willing to learn and grow as a designer and a person.

If you have quotes about yourself or your team from the stakeholders, don’t be shy to share those too! Quotes will provide a glimpse into what it’s like to work with you. And that’s a great note to end on.

Start working on your UX portfolio!

That should do it for your UX portfolio! Remember, that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. It’s your storytelling skills, design process, and deliverables that’ll convince design leads to hire you. If you’re ready to work on your portfolio, try UXfolio !

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How to Make a UX Design Portfolio: Tips and Examples To Help You Stand Out

This comprehensive guide shows exactly what a UX design portfolio is, what you should include, and how you can use it to establish a new career as a UX designe…

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As a UX designer, your design portfolio is your best marketing tool. It's a visual resume that not only helps you land your first job in the field of UX/UI design, but also grow and uplevel your career trajectory.

Your UX portfolio can be used to demonstrate your UX and UI design skills, work experience, highlights from your various projects, as well as how you understand and apply design thinking throughout your process.

Whether you're sitting down to create your first UX design portfolio with no prior design experience, or are ready to uplevel your career, it's important to make sure that the UX design portfolio you present in interviews is tailored to fit the role you're applying for.

In this article, we'll not only talk about the basics of what a UX portfolio is and why it's important, but also some self-editing tips that will help your portfolio website stand out from the crowd and showcase your abilities to the highest extent, whether you're already an experienced, seasoned designer, or are just emerging into the field.

What is a UX Design Portfolio?

A UX design portfolio is a collection of design case studies that showcases your skillset and your approach to the design process as a whole.

Typically, most people choose to build their portfolio online, in the form of a website, as an additional layer of demonstration that they understand how to create effective digital interfaces and flows.

The online portfolio is then shared as part of the job interview process, so potential employers can see detailed examples of how you approach various challenges in UX design, problem solving, understanding users, research, storytelling, and perhaps most importantly, your ability to empathize with the user journey.

Why is a UX Design Portfolio Important?

Your portfolio plays a major role in the interview cadence for most UX/UI design positions. It's so important, in fact, that applications can be moved forward or ignored based on a quick glance through the portfolio.

Janelle Academia , a recent graduate of UX Academy, shared her experience of just how important a UX design portfolio website can be:

The CEO of Carry actually let me know that even though I didn't have previous design experience, he was so impressed by the work in my portfolio that he decided to learn more about me.

She was eventually offered the job.

What To Include In A UX Portfolio Website

There are two major components that should be included in any portfolio:

• An "About Me" section or page , where you share your own story to highlight the unique skills, personality, and perspectives that you bring to the table.
• Design Case Studies , that tell a comprehensive story of your design work, what problem you set out to solve, the process that you went through, as well as the actual designs that you created from wireframe to polished UI.

In addition to these two fundamental components, many UX design portfolios also include:

• A contact page
• Links to your LinkedIn, or other design-related profiles you have online
• An up-to-date, generalized version of your CV

[MID_ARTICLE_CTA]

How to Build Your First UX Portfolio

There are two categories of design case studies you can create and put into a portfolio:

• Original designs
• Redesigns of websites and apps

Original UX Design Work

If you have any experience working as a UX designer, the case studies you put into your portfolio will often showcase the work you've accomplished during your career journey as a paid designer—or pro bono work that you might have taken on for the purpose of adding to your portfolio.

Redesigns of Websites and Apps

If you haven't yet started working as a UX designer, you might reimagine new features or redesigns within an existing app.

In this case, you would conduct your research and design process as if you were truly a designer working on the existing product. As you present the story within your portfolio, you can showcase your research and design methodology, while making it clear that this was a reimagination, rather than a design that was requested by the company itself.

Redesigns can also be helpful to incorporate if you're hoping to move into a certain industry, since your prospective employers will be looking to see if you understand the particular requirements within their niche.

If you want to work on a redesign and make it worthy of a portfolio, you’ll need to work on it as if you were assigned it in a job. You should: 

• Solve a problem that’s affecting the user experience and hurting the business. 
• Interview users, perhaps getting your friends and family to test the website or app, asking them questions—and/or read comments about it online.
• Write out several concepts of how to improve it and explain the pros and cons of each.
• Mock up your best ideas into designs that look great.

Your portfolio is your very own little corner of the internet and, in our competitive UX/UI design industry, it’s crucial to make the most of this space. In this webinar and interview, Kelly shares her top tips for crafting an effective design portfolio.

11 Tips To Uplevel Your UX Portfolio

If you have several projects to show off—whether your own practice projects or some paid work—you should sit down and go through them all to decide what to put in your UX portfolio. Ask these questions:

• What parts of the UX design process do I enjoy the most?
• What makes me different from other UX designers?
• What types of projects do I appear best at? 
• Which projects taught me the most? 
• What projects did I add the most value to?
• Are there engaging stories behind any of these pieces?

Pick projects based on your answers, as well as the type of job you’re applying to. These answers might even help you decide on the direction you want your career to head in. 

Read more: 10 UX/UI Portfolio Examples To Inspire You

Additionally, here are eleven other elements that you will likely want to incorporate:

1. Include Your Elevator Pitch

The design of your portfolio itself is a prime opportunity for you, as a UX designer, to demonstrate that you know what good UX means. This is more than just having engaging visuals: it’s about organizing information in a way that accommodates the needs of your portfolio’s users (i.e. potential employers or clients). One of the first key tests of a portfolio is whether someone can look at your site for just 5 seconds and understand what it is that you do.

2. Showcase Your Best Work

Before including a project or case study in your UX design portfolio, ask yourself honestly: what score out of 10 would I give this project? If you’d give it an 8 or below, consider either leaving it out, or doing some more work to polish it up. Sometimes the extra work is purely presentational, and can be done quickly. Other times, you might want to spend more time digging back into the project, for example, to tighten up your screen designs.

It’s always better to show a few excellent projects (aim for 3-6), rather than many case studies of variable quality.

Remember: a hiring manager might come to your site, click a random case study, and form their opinion based on that project alone. For each one, ask yourself: would I be happy for my work to be judged on the basis of this case study alone?

Don’t forget that your portfolio website is only one place to showcase your work. You can also share other projects that don’t make the cut on other platforms. Try Dribbble, Instagram, or your blog to showcase other work that you’d like to have people see, but isn’t necessarily a priority.

3. Demonstrate How You Solve Problems

Everyone loves beautiful visuals and stunning mockups—but hiring managers need to see more than just the end result from a case study. They’re looking for evidence of your abilities to analyze and define a problem, follow a logical process of research and ideation, and develop a solution that is realistic and meets both business and user needs. 

You can demonstrate these skills by including images or videos of your process, and by including a carefully written narrative with each project that explains how the project progressed. This can mean quite a lot of extra effort, but doing so means that potential employers can see your ability to handle projects end-to-end.

4. Your Personal Bio

Hiring managers want to rapidly find out about two things: your work, and your skills background. So make sure that your personal bio is easy to find. It could be on the homepage, or on a clearly-labeled “About me” page that can be accessed from the main navigation. The best personal bios are short and focused—a single brief paragraph is enough. Aim to include something about your skills, your values, and your vision as a designer.

5. Contact Info

Once you’ve successfully piqued the interest of a hiring manager, recruiter, or potential client, they’ll probably want to get in touch. Make this step as easy as possible!

You could have a “contact me” button in the main navigation, a simple contact form, or you could even just include your email address on each page.

6. Other Links to Include

Although a UX designer’s portfolio is still their most important asset, it's a good decision to also include links to your resume, LinkedIn profile, and even social media, if applicable.

Many UX designers use Instagram or Dribbble as an extension of their portfolio, often using the platform to show work-in-progress, notes, sketches, and experiments.

Including links to your LinkedIn profile, and a downloadable PDF resume, can also help to remove barriers that might prevent people from following up or contacting you further down the line.

7. Usability

It’s tempting to make a strong statement through the visual design of your portfolio website pages. There’s nothing wrong with that, but remember that the primary purpose of the portfolio is to present the story behind your case studies and allow people to find the information they need quickly and efficiently.

So, for example, avoid experimental navigation that might frustrate the user in reaching those goals, and don’t create a portfolio design that’s so elaborate that it outshines the work you’re presenting. 

8. How To Include Bonus Projects (If You Have Them)

UX designers are often highly creative people, and the chances are you have a lot more awesome projects going on than the few you are professionally showcasing in your official portfolio. It’s great to include “bonus” projects that help people to connect with your passion and with who you are as a designer. 

This could simply be other self-started UX design projects, or it could be complementary skills like writing, photography, illustration—you name it! The key is for any extra content you include to be something you’re proud of and enthusiastic about. 

If you have training in both print and digital design, but only want to work on websites, don’t highlight your print work.  Avoid including work that misleads a viewer to what type of projects you’d like to work on in the future.

9. Incorporate Visual Design and Brand Style

Whether or not you create a logo or use unique typography for yourself, you should always have a brand and personal style. Your brand is the sum total of the presentational choices you make—so make those choices mindfully, and make them meaningful. Even just setting your name in simple text, rather than creating a monogram, can say something about your approach to design solutions: perhaps you favor simplicity and clarity over decoration. 

Whatever decisions you make here (including fonts, colors, images, and tone of voice), remember that they represent you both as a designer and as a person. You need to be comfortable with the messages your branding conveys, and that those messages are in tune with the work you present.

10. Tell a Story with Your Portfolio Website

If you’re applying to lots of junior positions in big organizations, hiring managers probably have to get through hundreds of applications on a regular basis. Be thoughtful about their needs—and how you can stand out to that person by making their job easier and more delightful.

Show how you are thoughtful as a designer: you can do this by transforming each of your portfolio pieces into a compelling story, rather than just a collection of images. Your portfolio is your best marketing tool. It’s your visual resume. When someone looks at a resume, they typically only glance it over, and the same is true for a portfolio. You only have so much time to convey who you are and what you do, so get specific. 

11. Be Specific About Your Role in Each Project

If the project was part of a collaboration, it’s a huge red flag if other project contributors aren’t mentioned. Clearly describe your role and properly credit and link to other people on the project team.

Key Takeaways

• Your UX design portfolio website is the #1 tool that you'll use when applying for jobs
• Make sure to expand on the design process you used for each case study, in addition to the design work itself
• If you don't have enough on-the-job design work to include in your portfolio, you can write full case studies for redesigns that you've worked on personally or as part of UX coursework
• Ready to go all-in and learn the skills that will help you make a portfolio that stands out? Our next cohort of UX Academy Foundations is starting soon.

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Get UI/UX designer portfolio tips from industry experts. Create a UI/UX portfolio that attracts new design opportunities.

Renee Fleck

Written by Renee Fleck

Published on Dec 10, 2021

Last updated Mar 11, 2024

If you have a love of design and an interest in getting hired in UI/UX design, you’ll need an attention-grabbing design portfolio that shows hiring managers and recruiters exactly what you can do.

A good design portfolio is more than just a list of previous clients or design projects. Your UI/UX designer portfolio should include wireframes, photos, mockups, and other supporting content to demonstrate that you have what it takes to solve real-world design problems.

At Dribbble, we’re committed to helping you land a rewarding UI/UX design job that aligns with your professional goals. Use this guide to put together an interview-ready UI/UX designer portfolio that helps you get noticed.

The purpose of your UI/UX design portfolio

A UI/UX design portfolio showcases your best work, making it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to verify that you have the design skills listed on your resume or job application. The main purpose of a portfolio website is to get some type of design job, whether it’s a full-time role or a short-term freelance design project.

“A portfolio is not an art piece. A design portfolio exists to help you get a job.” — Jessica Ko, CEO of Playbook

What makes a great UI/UX portfolio

Design Recruiter at Figma, Korin Harris, advises UI and UX designers to “start by putting yourself in the shoes of your target audience .” That means a great UI/UX design portfolio should meet the needs of hiring managers and potential clients. Anyone who views your portfolio site should be able to determine whether you have the graphic design and UX research skills needed to excel in the position they’re looking to fill.

A great UI/UX design portfolio makes it easy for the reviewer to answer the following questions:

• What kind of UI/UX work do you do?
• Do you create user-friendly designs?
• What is your design process like?
• Do you have excellent problem-solving skills?
• What are you passionate about?
• Do you have the years of experience needed for the role?
• Have you completed a variety of design projects?

To create a UX design portfolio that helps you win roles, you need to think like a lawyer. You need evidence of your skills and you need to tell compelling stories about the projects you’ve worked on. — Sarah Doody, UX Career Coach

3 things your UI/UX portfolio should include

Your portfolio should include examples of your best UX work or UI work, along with an overview of your work history and a landing page that makes it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to find what they need.

Here’s what each section of your portfolio should include to make a great first impression.

✔️ An attractive landing page

Your portfolio landing page should have thumbnail previews of each case study, making it easy for the reviewer to find relevant information. Use the same formatting conventions for every project preview to show the reviewer that you understand how to create a great user experience.

Including a short description of each UI/UX project makes it easier for recruiters to determine if any of your previous projects are relevant to their needs. For example, if a recruiter is looking to fill a UX design role in the restaurant industry, they can navigate right to the project you did for a local restaurant instead of clicking through several projects.

Recruiters have to skim hundreds of portfolios for hours at a time. We’re a lot more likely to go through every project in a portfolio if the landing page has an aesthetically pleasing system to it. — Korin Harris, Former Design Recruiter @Figma

✔️ A few case studies

A UI/UX case study dives deep into your design process, giving readers insight into how you approach design problems. Each case study typically describes your role in the project, explains each step of the design process, and includes screenshots or other relevant graphics.

When possible, include at least three or four design case studies in your UI/UX designer portfolio. These case studies should highlight some of your best work, and reflect the type of design work you want to get hired to do.

✔️ Your work history

It’s also good practice to include an “About Me” section on your portfolio website. Recruiters can check this page if they want to know more about your work history and education. If you don’t want to set up a separate page for your bio, add an “About Me” section to the homepage of your site. You may also want to include testimonials from satisfied clients or links to your social media profiles.

Skills to showcase in your portfolio

Once you narrow down your career goals, it’s time to show off your UI or UX design skills in your portfolio. Depending on your level of experience, you may not have every one of these skills, but do your best to include as many as possible.

🔍 User Research

Before you can solve problems by designing user-friendly products, you need to understand the target user’s pain points. User research involves using A/B testing, focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, and other research methods to understand a user’s motivations, needs, and behaviors.

Once you understand what users want and need, you can start looking for a solution to their most pressing problems. Hiring managers want to see that UI and UX design professionals understand how to identify user pain points before they begin designing new products.

➡️ User Flows

When you’re designing a digital product, you need to know the process a user typically follows to complete each task. For example, if you’re working on a new website, a visitor might land on the homepage first, click the play button on an embedded video, and then scroll to the bottom of the page to click one of the links in the footer.

User flows document this path, making it easier for design teams to develop new products or redesign existing ones. Consider including screenshots of user flows from past projects to show hiring managers that you understand this concept and know how to create user flows from scratch.

✏️ Wireframing

Wireframing helps establish the basic structure of a potential design, making it easier for the design team to solve the target user’s problem. Hiring managers are typically looking for UI and UX designers who have experience with wireframing and know how to use Figma and other wireframing tools.

If possible, include screenshots of wireframes from past projects to demonstrate that you have these skills. Still sharpening your Figma skills? Check out our list of the best Figma courses for new designers.

Mockups are an important part of the design process, as they provide more detail than wireframes and user flows. Recruiters and potential clients want to know that you can use Figma and other popular tools to create mockups and share them with other stakeholders.

Your portfolio should include examples of mockups you’ve created for previous clients; if you’re just starting out, try creating mockups for one of your passion projects instead.

👤 Persona development

Experience developing user personas may give you an edge over other applicants. Personas represent the motivations and characteristics of a larger group of users, making them essential for product design and other UI/UX careers. For best results, include screenshots of some of your best user personas, along with details about what each persona represents.

🎨 Visual design

Even if you’re not applying for web design roles, it can be beneficial to show off your visual design skills as part of your UI/UX design portfolio. Consider including mockups or screenshots from previous web design projects to show recruiters that you can take an idea and turn it into a fully functioning website. If you include screenshots, make sure they aren’t blurry and show enough detail for the recruiter to understand what you were trying to accomplish with the design project.

👁️ Information architecture

If you plan to focus on information architecture, you’ll need to show hiring managers that you know how to use a variety of design tools, identify market trends, and understand consumer behavior. You should also be proficient in working with sitemaps, wireframes, and user flows. Make sure your portfolio includes at least one design case study that highlights these skills.

‍💫 Agile design

Many companies use the Agile approach to product design, which breaks larger projects into “sprints” that must be completed quickly. If you’re applying for a job with one of these companies, be sure your portfolio includes evidence of your ability to work in this type of environment. One way to do this is to include photographs or screenshots of multiple prototypes from a single project. Including multiple prototypes in your portfolio shows recruiters that you can make significant design improvements in short periods of time.

🤝 Collaboration

Like most other jobs, UI and UX design require excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with other people. Make sure your portfolio demonstrates your ability to communicate with others regarding design projects. One way to do this is to explain how you gathered user requirements or worked with a representative group of users to test one of your prototypes.

What if I don’t have any UI/UX design experience?

If you don’t have any formal UI/UX design experience, don’t despair. Senior Product Designer Steven Paul Winkelstein explains, “The difference between someone coming from a graphic design or marketing background versus someone coming from the food industry is merely the small, teachable barrier of learning a handful of tools like design software.”

In other words, it doesn’t usually matter if you have a ton of formal experience as a UI/UX designer if you’re willing to learn basic design tools and principles.

One way to gain experience is by enrolling in a UI/UX design course .

Dribbble’s Product Design Academy covers everything from design thinking fundamentals, UX research, using Figma to create wireframes, and other industry-relevant skills to help prepare you for your dream UI/UX design role. Students are matched with an expert design mentor for weekly support on course projects and career guidance. In just four months, you’ll graduate with an interview-ready product design portfolio , a Dribbble Certification, and access to an active network of hiring managers looking for their next design hire.

“Just because you are starting out, doesn’t mean the content you showcase is not valuable. Be confident in your work so far.” — Alex Muench, Product Designer @Doist

How to create a UI/UX portfolio from scratch

Before you create your design portfolio, you need to find a portfolio website builder to host it.

Dribbble is where recruiters and hiring managers come to find skilled UI/UX designers for hire , making it a great place to share your work and connect with other creative professionals. With Dribbble Pro , you can set up a beautiful, client-facing portfolio in minutes and update your portfolio automatically every time you share a new project.

Once you choose a platform to host your portfolio, here’s how to create your UI/UX design portfolio from scratch.

✔️ Know your career goals

Before you create a portfolio and start applying for design jobs, you need to get clear on your career goals. Although UI design and UX design are closely related, they have a few key differences in their goals.

• User interface design (UI) is the process of designing the way a digital product looks and feels. UI designers also determine how users interact with digital products. For example, a UI designer may be responsible for grouping product elements into containers or determining what happens when a user clicks on a button.
• User experience design (UX) is a bit different. While UI design focuses exclusively on digital products, UX design principles can be applied to anything, from a mobile banking application to the experience a customer has when they order something online. UX design refers to the development of practical products that are accessible and enjoyable to use. A UX designer also deals with information architecture, or how information is organized within a digital product.

✔️ Review your past projects

You’ll need at least three or four past projects to feature in your design case studies, so take some time to review your previous work and decide which projects do the best job of highlighting your UI/UX design skills. If you don’t already have screenshots of your wireframes or photographs of product prototypes, create some now, so you don’t have to stop what you’re doing to make them later.

✔️ Provide a good UX

It’s okay to have your own UX approach when working on passion projects, but your portfolio should deliver a positive user experience for hiring managers and recruiters. Think carefully about your color palette, typography selections, and other design elements. Good information architecture is also essential for showing potential employers that you have the skills needed to excel in this type of role. Recruiters shouldn’t have to click through multiple pages to find what they need, so take a little extra time to make the experience as seamless as possible.

“The portfolio is not just about showing your work, it’s also about how you present that work—the actual UX of your UX portfolio” — Sarah Doody, UX Career Coach

✔️ Write detailed case studies

If you’re not a fan of writing, you may be tempted to skip the detailed case studies. This is a mistake. A good case study shows potential clients or employers that you have a variety of UI/UX design skills. Case studies also help recruiters determine if your UI/UX design experience is relevant to their needs. The next section of this article explains exactly what to include in each case study to help hiring managers and recruiters understand what you bring to the table.

✔️ Ask for feedback

Before you publish your portfolio, ask for feedback from trusted friends, colleagues, or design mentors . Ask them to go through each page of the site and look for typos, grammar errors, blurry screenshots, and other problems that could make hiring managers doubt your abilities. Implement that feedback before sharing your portfolio with the world.

Writing a strong UI/UX Case Study

Your UI/UX resume and cover letter tell potential clients that you have valuable UI/UX design skills, but detailed case studies show them exactly what you can do. That makes UX case studies an essential component of an attention-getting portfolio. An effective case study should include the following:

• Project title:  Make sure each project has a title that’s relevant to the reviewer’s needs. “Mobile App” isn’t descriptive enough. “Mobile Application to Increase Sales Conversions for a Meal Delivery Company” is better because it mentions the purpose of the project and the industry.
• Description of your role:  There’s a difference between creating a few wireframes for a project and completing the entire project by yourself. Including a description of your role helps portfolio reviewers understand your level of involvement.
• Problem statement: Summarize the target user’s pain points to help the reader understand why you undertook the project.
• Project goal:  Be specific about what you were trying to accomplish. “Reduce bounce rate by 25%” and “Increase user registrations by 20% within three months” are examples of concise goal statements.
• Explanation of your approach:  A case study should help the reader understand your thought process. It should also demonstrate that you have excellent problem-solving skills and an ability to use graphic design and UX research to achieve project goals.
• Performance indicators:  Explain the performance indicators used to determine if the project was successful. Task success rate, user error rate, and customer satisfaction score are some of the most common metrics used in UI/UX design.
• Solution:  Explain how you solved the client’s problem. Include screenshots of user flows and images from the final product to show hiring managers what you can do for their companies.
• Key takeaways: Wrap up with a description of how the finished product helped your client achieve their goals. If possible, include a short statement about how the project helped you refine your approach to UI/UX design.

Student Brittany.mp4

Great UI/UX Designer Portfolio Examples

It’s easier to create a portfolio if you have a sample to follow. Check out these UX design portfolio samples for inspiration and ideas for your own.

Tiffany Mackay

Tiffany Mackay , a Seattle-based product designer and recent Dribbble Graduate has 11 case studies available for potential clients to view. These case studies show off her UX design skills and implement several of the best practices for writing UI/UX design case studies, such as including wireframes and explaining the design challenge at hand. Mackay also summarizes what she learned from each project, demonstrating that she’s dedicated to growing as a design professional.

Brittney Singleton

Designer Brittney Singleton only has five full case studies on her portfolio, but each carefully selected case study shows off a wide range of design skills. Singleton also provides plenty of detail to help potential clients determine whether her skills and experience are relevant to their needs. For example, she includes colorful screenshots of the Goodreads app to demonstrate that she’s capable of producing user-friendly interfaces. Read Brittney’s career story.

“If want to land a job, you’ll need more than one project in your portfolio, even if it’s fake. Projects don’t have to be large and overwhelming. Make a new sign-up screen for an app you love, or tackle a new module animation for something that already exists.” — Brittney Singleton

Wilco van Meppelen

Designer Wilco van Meppelen’s portfolio is a visually appealing collection of past design projects. First-time visitors are immediately drawn to the colorful images on the main pages, highlighting van Meppelen’s ability to create user-friendly designs. His dog walking app case study offers a detailed description of the project’s purpose, plenty of images, and an excellent summary of how the design team tested its proposed solution.

Your UI/UX design portfolio is an ongoing project

Remember that a design portfolio should be a dynamic asset that changes every time you complete a new project. Update your portfolio regularly to demonstrate new skills and show potential employers or clients that you’re dedicated to continuous improvement.

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The 9 best UX portfolio examples from around the world (and what we can learn from them)

Are you building your UX portfolio from scratch, or revamping your existing website? Then you’ll want to get some inspiration first.

Free course: Introduction to UX Design

What is UX? Why has it become so important? Could it be a career for you? Learn the answers, and more, with a free 7-lesson video course.

Whether you’re a budding UX designer or a seasoned professional, there’s lots you can learn from others in the field. 

Are you building your UX portfolio from scratch, or revamping your existing website? Then you’ll want to get some inspiration first. 

Here is our hand-picked selection of the best UX portfolio examples from around the world —and what you can learn from them.

1. Niya Watkins

Niya Watkins is a UX designer based in Washington, DC. Her UX portfolio example ticks many of the obvious boxes—clean design, user-friendly navigation and well-structured case studies.

However, what really stands out in Niya’s UX portfolio is her “About” section . 

Now, your “About me” page is not necessarily the first thing someone will look at when they’re viewing your UX portfolio. But if they do navigate that far, it’s an important opportunity to tell your story and say something memorable.

Niya does exactly that in just four short paragraphs. 

First, she states exactly who she is and what she does. 

[GET CERTIFIED IN UX]

Then (and this is the best part) she tells the story of what she was doing prior to UX—and how it steered her towards a career in design. 

Niya describes how, while working in the civil service, she learned “what a hindrance inefficient, poorly-designed websites could be to productivity” and how she often found herself “using creative solutions to save time, energy and money” . 

She goes on to share her beliefs about what it takes to be a good designer: An understanding of the human experience. Last but not least, Niya tells us about her interests outside of design—a personal touch that helps to connect with the reader. 

Niya’s “About” section is powerful, personal, and memorable. It’s not just an afterthought; it’s a crucial part of her portfolio and her personal brand.

Key takeaway from Niya’s UX portfolio examples:

Your “About me” page matters more than you might think. Follow in Niya’s footsteps and craft an “About” section that:

• Tells a personal, meaningful story about why you’re passionate about UX
• Fits into four short paragraphs (or less)
• Gives the reader a glimpse of the human behind the portfolio

2. Olivia Truong

Olivia Truong is a New York-based product designer with one of the most beautiful UX portfolios on the web. 

But we’re not here to simply admire her delightful homepage. The real star of the show in Olivia’s portfolio is her richly embellished UX case studies .

Case studies are the centrepiece of your UX portfolio. They don’t just showcase your best work; they demonstrate your understanding of the UX process and your approach to problem-solving. 

The best UX case studies are enriched with supporting materials beyond just the finished product. And, if you ever need inspiration for what that could look like, turn straight to Olivia Truong’s UX portfolio . 

Olivia doesn’t just include app screens and wireframes. She goes above and beyond to include data, photos, quotes, and interactive prototypes. 

Here’s a photo of a card-sorting exercise Olivia completed as part of her Universe Dashboard case study :

Here are some data visualisations and a quote gathered as part of her user research for a dating activity app :

In the same dating app case study , Olivia includes this interactive prototype. If you view it on Olivia’s website, you can click around it to see how the app works:

And here are some nicely captioned photos of ethnographic field studies Olivia conducted as part of her Ticket Manager case study :

Olivia’s case studies are rich with a variety of artefacts. This allows us to get right up close to her process and to see how she works—and that’s exactly what hiring managers want when they look at your UX portfolio.

Key takeaway from Olivia’s UX portfolio examples:

Your portfolio should demonstrate how you work as a designer. Take inspiration from Olivia and bring your case studies to life with a variety of images and media. Beyond the usual wireframes and final screens, consider including:

• Photos or videos of you in action (e.g. conducting user interviews, card sorting or affinity mapping)
• Quotes and data visualizations from your user research
• Interactive prototypes

3. Pendar Yousefi

Pendar Yousefi is currently Head of UX for Google Translate & Languages, and his UX portfolio is a lesson in the power of storytelling .

Navigate to any one of Pendar’s UX case studies and you’ll find not just a clearly explained process, but a captivating, fully immersive narration of his UX work. 

Pendar is clearly a natural storyteller, and he presents his UX case studies like epic adventures. He starts by setting the scene, providing relevant (and riveting) context before leading up to the problem statement. 

For example, his Google Translate case study opens with:

“Humans have been fascinated with magical devices that break language barriers for as long as languages have existed. At Google Translate, I had the opportunity to work on a product that helps us get one step closer to realizing the magic.”

He then narrows the focus towards the product and the people he’s designing for: 

“Google Translate apps have a few features that never cease to amaze people: instant camera translations, and real-time voice interpretation. Beyond their wow-inducing nature, they are extremely useful as well, helping language learners, students, tourists, and all sorts of people who need to break through language barriers.”

Having well and truly captured the reader’s attention, he sets out a clear problem statement followed by a detailed account of his journey towards the solution. 

Throughout his case studies, Pendar shares insights into his thought process, using phrases such as “So we went back to the drawing board and asked ourselves… ” and “So what was going on? When we dug in, we found that…”

Pendar takes the reader on a journey, writing in a way that almost makes you feel like you’re working alongside him—or at least witnessing him at work. An extremely powerful technique for demonstrating your approach to UX. 

Key takeaway from Pendar’s UX portfolio examples:

Pendar uses storytelling to share his design process and his approach to problem-solving. When writing out case studies for your UX portfolio, take a leaf out of Pendar’s book. Aim to:

• Craft stories (i.e. case studies) that have a clear beginning, middle and end, with you as the protagonist
• Set the scene and capture the reader’s attention. Who are you designing for and why? What’s the context behind the design problem, and why should the reader care?
• Write in the first-person voice, inviting the reader into your thought process

4. Stephanie Lawrence

Stephanie Lawrence is a UX and product designer with a background in research, data analysis and psychology. 

There’s lots to love about Stephanie’s UX portfolio , starting with those delightful cartoonesque animations and the clean overall aesthetic. 

But, as you know, the best UX portfolios don’t simply look great. Above all else, they demonstrate what kind of designer you are.

Still, as you’re building out your UX case studies, you might be wondering: How can I stand out from other designers? Aren’t we all following the same formula?

Look no further than Stephanie’s portfolio. Stephanie adds a noteworthy twist to her UX case studies with a “Lessons Learned” section . 

Beneath the “Results”, Stephanie outlines her key learnings from each project. She shares things like “Work with copywriters early and often” , “Don’t make assumptions” and “What I will do differently next time” .  

This is powerful not only because it’s unique, but also because it sends a clear message about Stephanie: that she’s a reflective designer who continuously strives to learn and grow.

And that’s what great UX design is all about—constantly learning and iterating, refining your process, and understanding the impact of your work on both the end users and the business. 

Stephanie demonstrates that highly sought-after quality of self-awareness, all in the simplicity of a bullet-point list. 

Key takeaway from Stephanie’s UX portfolio examples:

Hiring managers don’t just want to see evidence of your hard skills through wireframes and prototypes; they want to know what it’s like to work with you. Follow Stephanie’s lead and infuse your UX case studies with reflections and learnings. You can do this by:

• Highlighting challenges you encountered during a particular design project, and how you overcame them
• Stating what you’d do better or differently if you were to start this project again
• Pulling out key takeaways in a bullet-point list at the end of each case study

[UX DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS COURSE]

5. Jeff Shibasaki

Jeff Shibasaki is an Atlanta-based UX designer and writer—and an esteemed connoisseur of the unsolicited redesign . 

Like a true UXer, Jeff sees opportunities everywhere to improve the products and services around him. And he turns them into case studies for his UX portfolio. In fact, about 90% of Jeff’s UX portfolio consists of unsolicited redesigns.

As you’ll see from Jeff’s portfolio, virtually anything can be redesigned—from websites and apps to processes and services. This is great news if you’re short on material for your UX portfolio. 

Jeff sets an excellent example of how you can take any UX problem you encounter, tackle it like a real design project, and feature it in your portfolio. 

Check out Jeff’s unsolicited redesign of the Colgate website for inspiration. It looks just like any other UX case study: it has a clear problem statement, it describes the process Jeff followed, and presents the final solution. 

The only clear (and critical) difference is that all of Jeff’s unsolicited redesigns are labelled as such. You must be transparent about the fact that it’s an unsolicited redesign rather than a paid or requested project—you don’t want to run into any issues with the company, or be making any false claims.

Key takeaway from Jeff’s UX portfolio examples:

You don’t need loads of real-world experience to demonstrate your UX skills. Jeff has created a professional and varied portfolio based largely on unsolicited redesigns—and you can, too. Here’s how to get started with unsolicited redesigns:

• Look for opportunities to apply your UX skills. Could your banking app benefit from a redesign? Is your favourite dating app lacking certain features?
• Apply the UX process and document it in the form of a UX case study
• Always state clearly and prominently that it’s an unsolicited redesign

6. Lola Jiang

Lola Jiang is a UX designer based in California, currently working at Google. 

Not only is Lola an excellent designer with a perfectly polished UX portfolio . She also knows exactly how to communicate the value of her work through measurable outcomes and metrics .

Take Lola’s AI training platform redesign for example. 

The very first thing she tells us, right at the top of the page, is that the new design she came up with “reduced task times by 68%” and “improved users’ subjective satisfaction by 139%” . 

We haven’t even seen how she did it yet, but we’re already impressed. 

Further down, she elaborates on these outcomes in a dedicated “Validation” section. 

Here, Lola shares the results of her usability tests, explaining how users were able to complete a given set of tasks in 6 minutes with the new design (compared to 19 minutes with the old design).

She also states that the new design increased user satisfaction by 139%—and explains how this figure was calculated. 

In just a few sentences, Lola has provided tangible, measurable proof of the value of her work. This is backed up by some short, personal quotes provided by real users. 

The effect is powerful. Before even reading the full case study, we believe that Lola is an impactful, results-driven designer. A compelling case for including data in your UX portfolio!

Key takeaway from Lola’s UX portfolio examples:

UX design isn’t just about finding solutions; it’s about improving people’s lives in some way. Likewise, your UX portfolio isn’t just about showcasing your work; it should also communicate real-world impact and value. 

Here are some ways you can add proof of impact to your portfolio:

• Write a clear statement of impact for each case study. For example: “I redesigned the Treatwell app to improve customer satisfaction ratings by 87%”. 
• Include quantitative data (e.g. a % boost in customer retention) and data visualizations (such as bar charts)
• Feature testimonials from users describing how your work has improved their life or work in some way

7. Jonathon Dakarai

Jonathon Dakarai is a product designer and visual architect whose UX portfolio is a true work of art.

And, when you leave the homepage to view Jonathon’s actual work, you won’t be disappointed. In fact, we think Jonathon deserves an award for most impressive UX case study . 

One of the biggest challenges you face when building your UX portfolio is organizing your work into coherent, insightful case studies. You want to include all different aspects of your process, but you don’t want to overwhelm the reader or lose them along the way. 

This is especially true of projects where you’re involved in not just one or two stages, but the entire process from conceptualization to final UI. 

So how can you condense a whole project’s worth of work into a single case study?

Take Jonathon’s believr case study for inspiration. 

Over the course of a 3-week design sprint, Jonathon was tasked with designing a dating app for LGBTQ+ Christians looking to connect with friends or dates. 

Jonathon’s portfolio pretty much ticks all the “good UX case study” boxes. Jonathon provides relevant context, defines the challenge, explains their role, and even outlines key constraints of the project. 

After extensive scene-setting, Jonathon documents the process they followed to reach the final solution—from survey design and user interviews, all the way through to storyboarding, prototyping and usability testing.

Jonathon’s believr case study is extremely long, but they’ve designed it like a true UXer. Right at the top of the case study, you’ll find a clickable table of contents, allowing you to jump to the sections you’re most interested in.

And, in amongst the sea of information, you’ll find these eye-catching pink boxes highlighting key design insights:

Jonathon has gone above and beyond to build the most comprehensive, insightful, easy-to-navigate UX case study we think we’ve ever seen. 

Key takeaway from Jonathon’s UX portfolio examples:

Not all UX case studies need to be as long as this one. But, if you are struggling to condense everything down, try Jonathon’s approach instead. Focus not on cutting information out, but on presenting it in the most logical, user-friendly way possible. 

Here are some tips:

• Include a clickable menu right at the top of your case study, allowing the user to jump to specific sections without scrolling
• Order your case study logically, mirroring the way you approached the design task itself
• Break it up with highlight boxes and key takeaways for each section

8. Elizé Todd

Eliz é Todd is a UX designer, speaker and influencer based in LA. 

Eliz é is pretty well-known in the industry, and her portfolio is a great example of how your website can be used to showcase your skills and expertise beyond the UX process itself .

In addition to the customary case studies, Eliz é’s portfolio also features events and workshops , educational content from her YouTube channel, and a blog full of tips and advice for early-career UX designers. 

As she’s progressed in her career and grown her following, Eliz é has adapted her portfolio website to stay in keeping with her personal brand. As such, her portfolio focuses on what she can offer as a teacher and mentor in the field. 

That’s what’s displayed most prominently on her homepage.

Elizé uses her portfolio not just to showcase her work, but as an all-encompassing marketing tool. It conveys her personal brand and reflects who she is —and the value she brings to the design industry. 

Key takeaway from Elizé’s UX portfolio examples:

Your portfolio can showcase much more than just your knowledge of the UX process. Take inspiration from Eliz é and treat your portfolio as a branding and marketing tool. In addition to your UX case studies, here are some ways to highlight your expertise: 

• Include a blog section where you write about your experiences as a UX designer, or share tips and advice
• Showcase any achievements you’re especially proud of —whether it’s hosting an online UX meetup or winning an award
• Share any other design-related work or passion projects, such as illustrations, animations, or coding work

9. Anca Dobrea

Anca Dobrea is a UX designer based in Dublin, Ireland. She’s a newcomer to the field, and her portfolio is proof that you don’t need a ton of experience to create a professional, attention-worthy UX portfolio .

Anca used to work in digital marketing. After completing her UX certification with the UX Design Institute in 2020, she landed her first job as a UX designer. 

She’s not been in UX for long, but her portfolio has every base covered: A meaningful “About Me” page, and 3 well-structured case studies to showcase her UX skills.

And, when you dig deeper into Anca’s case studies, you’ll find that she’s an extremely creative designer who never let her lack of on-the-job experience hold her back. 

In her Plan Shop Cook case study , Anca demonstrates how she applied her UX skills to a real user problem she was facing. As a user of the Joe Wicks Body Coach programme, she discovered its one major flaw: that it comes in the form of a PDF.

Anca notes how “It took me over four hours every week to plan and shop the recipes. An app urgently needed to happen”.

From there, Anca embarked on a full-blown UX project, using the Joe Wicks Facebook group to conduct user research via Zoom.

And, as all good designers do, she documented her process and her learnings for her UX portfolio.

Anca’s portfolio demonstrates exactly what hiring managers want to see: that she’s a solution-driven designer focused on solving real user problems. That’s what stands out above all else—not her newcomer status.

Key takeaway from Anca’s UX portfolio examples:

You don’t need on-the-job experience to create a professional UX portfolio. Apply your UX skills to real user problems and turn them into case studies, just like Anca did. Here are some tips for creating your first portfolio without any experience:

• Volunteer your UX skills to a non-profit organisation or local charity
• Design to solve a problem that you personally encounter
• Always follow the same process you would apply if you were hired by a client, and document it as though it’s a real project (it is!)

Feeling inspired? Learn more about what to include in your UX portfolio here , or get started with our step-by-step guide on how to build your UX portfolio from scratch .

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UX Portfolio Case Study template (plus examples from successful hires)

Your portfolio is the most critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to selling your design skills to recruiters and clients. It’s the single most vital component of any design career move you will ever make.

A UX case study is a detailed but summarized presentation of a design project, its goals and objectives, the research methods used, the process to find a solution and the results achieved.

I hope to share with you a UX portfolio Case Study template for making your portfolio simpler and less overwhelming with the aim of getting you a job interview and potentially a higher paying job. I happen to have stumbled upon it through trial and error but it has resulted in me being headhunted for my last three Senior roles in UX at two agencies and a product company.

But first let’s start at the beginning.   When I was trying to design my portfolio, I used to spend countless hours digging up relevant work from past projects, downloading a ton of device mockups, and implementing every tactic from articles on portfolios that you can find.

The problem with that was it had been months and I was still not done. Every little inspiration I found, seemed to demand a new version. I also was not getting any interviews for the job I had applied for.

How long should a portfolio case study be? What should I include? I felt stuck and overwhelmed by every single detail.

The worst part was, I was not even sure if what I had was good enough to get an interview, let alone a job.

That queasy, gut-twisting anxiety in the pit of your stomach won’t go away no matter how much you tweak your portfolio.

By spending time studying other design portfolios of not just every designer but successful hires, I was finally able to come up with a system that covered what recruiters actually wanted to see.

Why the structure of a case study is important

Recruiters spend a short amount of time on each candidate’s portfolio, scanning for information in the case studies that relates to the role’s skills and responsibilities.

To stress how each important your case study detail and layout is, let’s look at how two recruiter personas who have different business needs might look at the information provided in a designer’s case study.

Recruiter 1

CEO Works at small mobile app company, limited staff. Results orientated, only has 5 minutes to look through a portfolio. Looking for a freelancer/part-time designer.

A quick view of a candidate’s case study should answer: – Is their work relevant to what we do? – How much work did they do on a project – Can they work unsupervised?  – Have they seen a project through to launch?

Recruiter 2

Creative Director Looking for a full-time designer Works for a large agency.  Leads and supervises the design team. Process orientated, has time for a detailed case study.

A quick view of a candidate’s case study should answer   – Is their work relevant to what we do? – Is this their most recent work and skills level  – Do they understand what problem they were solving (big-picture thinking) -Did the solution solve the problem they sort out to address

These two recruiters require different forms of information and detail from your case study. It is up to you to make sure the case studies you create cover what they are looking for in order to land interviews.

Don’t just put a portfolio case study together and hope it will be good enough.

The secret to a portfolio case study that can get you an interview and explode your career opportunities lies in a creation process that is aligned with your audience’s needs.

That’s why I want to share with you this UX Portfolio Case Study template from UX Design Mastery . It is based on over 60 portfolios of successful design hires from Facebook, Amazon, Uber, Twitter, Apple, Google, LinkedIn, Dropbox and the insights of top design recruiters.

How do you write a UX case study

The core idea is to try to break down your case study creation process into a writing component and designing component so that you can tackle each one without getting stuck or overwhelmed.

This template is meant to help outline all the text that is going to be in your case study that recruiters/clients are looking for.

This ensures that your case study has a good narrative and understandable structure. This also allows you to plan more effectively what design artifacts you will need in your case study. It’s a system by which you can rapidly roll out multiple case studies without forgetting anything that’s relevant to a recruiter or client.

The UX Portfolio Case Study template has 8 critical sections that recruiters are looking for.

UX Portfolio Case Study template

• Project Title & Subtitle (A headline and subtitle that indicates the name and goal of the project)

Client/Company/Project type

• Project date (When did you work on the project)
• Your role (What you were responsible for on the project)
• Project Summary/About this Project (An overview that summarizes the project, goal and results)
• The challenge (What specific problem, user needs, business requirements and/or pain points that the project solves. Were there any technical constraints or business KPIs you had to keep in mind? Who are you users and what are their specific needs)
• Solution (What method/process were used to solve specific problem, user needs, business requirements and/or pain points? How did features address the objectives?)
• Results (Project success metrics, awards, reflections, project next steps and/or lessons learnt)

Let’s look at these sections in detail, roughly how long each one should be and share some real life examples from successful hires.

Project title & subtitle.

Length: Project Title (1 line) & Subtitle (1–2 lines)

A short concise headline that couples the name of the brand/application/client and goal of the project. A lot of designers tend to rush the naming of their project but it is crucial in capturing the attention of its reader. It is the first thing a recruiter is going to read to decide whether or not to carry on reading your UX case study. Make sure it is clear, understandable, and does not use technical jargon. The subtitle is optional but a great way to build more context around the Project title.

Length:1 line

Unless stated in the title, this helps build more background to who the project was for. If the project was not a commercial project for a client or brand, this is where you can state that it was a conceptual project, a design challenge, or a practice project.

Project date/duration

When or how long the project was helps the recruiter establish whether this is your most recent work and most importantly, to gauge where your skill level is. Always try to put up work that is recent because it’s an accurate reflection of your skills.

Length:1–2 lines

This is a section to state everything you did and were responsible for. Recruiters are looking to accurately assess your skills in the context of the entire project’s execution. Did you work with a team, did you work unsupervised to create the project deliverables. Recruiters can make an informed decision about whether you will need help on the job or hit the ground running.

Project Summary

Length: 1–2 paragraphs

This is a critical section for any reader who does not have a lot of time to read through the entire case study but wants a brief summary of the project, goals, and results. They may be going through a stack of applications and only have a few minutes to scan over one or two projects in your portfolio. Usually the first two. If nothing stands out or if the work is unclear then they will quickly move on.

That covers the introductory part of your case study. Now we get to the body of the case study.

The Challenge/Problem

Length: 2–3 paragraphs

This section specifically looks at the problems the project is trying to address. What are the business requirements, user needs, pain points that the project solves? Who are the end-users and core target market? What platforms was the project for and where there any technical constraints or business KPIs you had to keep in mind?

The Solution

Length: As long as needed

This section is going to be the longest as it showcases how the project goals where achieved. Firstly, outline the design process steps and methods followed during the project outlines the layout of this section. Show your overall project steps, why you chose the methods you used, Recruiters want to see all the relevant design artifacts that you produced from sketches to visual mockups to prototypes.

Here are some examples for showing the overall process:

Other deliverables that you can show:

• Interview notes
• Usability tests results
• Whiteboards

Length: 1 paragraph

The critical last section concludes the case study by outlining any project success metrics that were achieved, awards that were won. In the case of a project that is not live, reflections and the project’s next steps are sufficient to round up the case study. Try to share any lessons that you learned to demonstrate you are invested in both the project’s life cycle and your career development.

What you can do next

If you would like to get down to work, download my UX Portfolio Case Study template for free . Its included with the Design Portfolio Layout Guide , which including 20 online case studies and example scripts for each case study section.

Calvin Pedzai

Analytical problem solver who enjoys crafting experiences and currently is the Senior UX designer at an awarding winning agency.

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Creating a ux design portfolio case study.

Summary:  A 7-step process to creating a case study for your portfolio: how to describe your design, the UX process that led to this specific user interface, and the business impact of the design.

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Rachel Krause is a Senior User Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group. Her areas of expertise include storytelling, UX in agile, design thinking, scaling design, and UX leadership. She has also planned and conducted research on careers, UX maturity, and intranets for clients and practitioners in numerous industries.

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How to Create Case Studies for Your UX Design Portfolio When You Have No Past Projects and Experience

If you’re new to UX and want to get your first job, you might find yourself stuck in a paradox. You see, to apply for your first job, you’ll need to have a UX design portfolio which contains around 3 case studies. But without prior UX experience or projects, how could you create these case studies? You’re thus stuck in a loop: to get a job, you’ll need a portfolio; but to build a portfolio, you’ll need a job. How do you solve this paradox? Well, the good news is there is no paradox, not really. You see, even though you have no prior experience, you can still create case studies for your portfolio. We’ll show you how—in concrete, practical steps.

First, let’s start with what you’ll need to create your UX case studies . We’ll get into the details later; however, to start building your portfolio, you’ll need:

Some fundamental design knowledge and skills . This means you’ll need to know some design methodologies—for example, design thinking —as well as key UX deliverables such as personas , usability reports and prototypes.

A project to work on —don’t worry, this is simpler than it sounds.

Finally, you’ll have to apply your design knowledge and skills to a design project you choose.

To create your case study, you have to start with a solid understanding of UX, find a project to work on and then apply your design knowledge to the project. Author / copyright holder: Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

The good news? At the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF), we can help you in each and every step! That’s right, with our online courses, you can gain essential design knowledge and skills, get access to great design project briefs and apply your newfound skills to the projects. We think you’ll enjoy how efficient and effective we’ll make your portfolio-building process.

Here’s a quick summary of how we can help you (we’ll dive into more details later):

You can learn key design knowledge and skills in our popular beginner courses such as:

Design Thinking: The Beginner’s Guide , where you’ll learn how to apply the design thinking process to a project;

Become a UX Designer from Scratch , which gives you an overview of UX design and how to create key UX deliverables;

Mobile User Experience (UX) Design , where you’ll gain key knowledge and skills to design ideal solutions for mobile devices;

Conducting Usability Testing , which equips you with everything you need to know to start conducting usability tests.

You’ll find realistic UX project briefs in our courses which contain Build Your Portfolio projects, where you’ll be guided to create your UX case studies:

Design Thinking: The Beginner’s Guide , where you’ll help build a fitness app to encourage people to be active through applying the design thinking process;

Conducting Usability Testing , where you’ll plan and run your own usability test of an online shop;

User Research – Methods and Best Practices , where you’ll apply your skills to conduct user interviews , contextual inquiries and user observations.

As you take our courses, you’ll also work on our Build Your Portfolio exercises , which means by the end of your courses, you’ll not only have gained industry-recognized Course Certificates but also have UX case studies!

At the IxDF, you’ll get access to over 25 UX courses with a flat membership fee, and you’ll learn from courses taught by leading design experts.

Learn these courses and more at the Interaction Design Foundation for a flat fee. Author / copyright holder: Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Through these courses, we’ll guide you every step of the way , from acquiring knowledge to applying them in your own projects.

In all of our courses, we give you PDF templates which you can download and print to use in your projects. For example, if you’re going to do user interviews, we help you cover the basic questions and you just have to gear the questions towards your users.

In our online courses, you’ll find a wide collection of templates which will help you apply design methods. Author / copyright holder: Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Ready to dive into the details of how to build your UX case studies from scratch? Let’s go!

Step 1: Get Foundational Knowledge and Skills in UX Design

The most demanding part of creating your first case study is getting your design basics right. It can make or break your case studies. That’s because if your design knowledge and skills are inadequate, even the most interesting project will not lead to a great case study. After all, if you’re not qualified enough, you might apply the wrong design processes . Doing that will lead to, at best, mediocre results.

There are no shortcuts here: to create your case studies, you have to have a solid understanding of UX design. This means you should know how to execute some design methodologies and how to carry out design methods to produce UX deliverables . Let’s break down what these terms mean, and how you can master them to build your UX case studies.

Best Practice Design Methodologies to Help You Create Case Studies

Design methodologies are approaches towards how to solve a design problem. They consist of a design workflow that contains techniques, procedures and tools required to craft solutions that work.

Some popular design methodologies you should know include:

Design thinking . This popular methodology is about how you design solutions by first empathizing with people, defining their problems, then coming up with ideas, prototyping solutions and testing them with users. Our design thinking course is one of our most popular, and for good reason. If you’re new to UX design, we recommend that you start with design thinking for a holistic approach towards designing solutions.

Agile design , where you’ll design continuous, iterative improvements, while getting frequent feedback from users. As opposed to a traditional “waterfall” approach, where you hand over fixed designs to developers, in the agile method you’ll work closely with developers and evolve your designs constantly. Among other things, you can learn agile design in our course Interaction Design for Usability .

These methodologies are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they are different angles of looking at the same problem. You’re good to get started with just one methodology such as design thinking, but knowing more will help you think better as a designer

Design Methods You’ll Use to Create Your Case Studies

In contrast to design methodologies, design methods are techniques, procedures and activities that you’ll perform in order to solve the design problem. Design methods are used in isolation (i.e., they’re not necessarily part of a grand overall process). Thus, two design methodologies can share the same design method—for instance, the design method “user interview” is commonly used in design thinking as well as in agile design.

Some popular design methods are card sorting , field studies, usability testing and personas. All our courses include practical design methods, but you should take these courses in particular to learn more about design methods:

User Research – Methods and Best Practices will teach you how to plan and execute qualitative user research and present your findings. You’ll learn how to conduct design methods such as user interviews and usability tests.

Conducting Usability Testing , where you’ll learn about the techniques and procedures involved in planning and conducting usability tests, as well as analyzing your results.

UX Deliverables You’ll Create for Your Case Studies

UX deliverables are tangible records and results of the work you’ve done. They’re the natural end result of a design method. For example, after you’ve conducted a user interview, you’d produce the UX deliverable of a user interview report. Essential UX deliverables include storyboards , customer journey maps , user flow diagrams, prototypes and usability reports.

All our courses are practical-oriented and thus will equip you to create UX deliverables. These courses especially will help you:

Mobile User Experience (UX) Design will provide you with all the design knowledge and skills you need to create prototypes for mobile devices that work great.

Become a UX Designer from Scratch introduces you to UX design and practical exercises to create key deliverables. One of our most popular courses, it also guides you through common UX deliverables—journey maps, personas, paper prototypes and heuristic evaluation reports, just to name a few.

UI Design Patterns for Successful Software will provide you with knowledge and exercises on how to implement design patterns to support various user needs. You’ll be able to produce best-in-class prototypes that contain excellent UI components such as top navigation menus, site footers and input fields.

As you can see, you need to equip yourself with design knowledge and skills so you can begin creating your first case study. That’s why we said earlier that this is the most demanding part of the process.

Once you’ve learnt the basics of design, you’re ready to move to the next step of creating your case study.

Step 2: Find a Project to Work On

There are two ways you can find a project: you either work on a hypothetical project for a product or service that you know, or work for a real client on a real project.

Work on Hypothetical Projects to Create Your Case Studies

Hypothetical projects refer to unsolicited work for a product or service you know or use. This is common among people starting out in UX, and we recommend this approach because you can get started right away without having to find a real client.

You can go ahead and take some of our online courses which are tailor-made to give you both the knowledge and skills you need. They guide you through a design project where you apply UX design tools and methods, and you end up with a case study for your portfolio.

You can also do hypothetical projects on something you use daily: an app, your local government’s website, etc. For example, you can analyze the usability of your local cinema’s website and prototype an improved design. Or you can study the experience of commuting on your local subway system and make suggestions on how to make it more pleasant. Everything is designed, so you’ll never run out of things to analyze and improve.

As a rule of thumb, you should think twice before picking products or services by major companies like Apple or Google. You might think the big brand name will sound impressive on your portfolio. But because these companies have large design teams and well-established practices, you’ll be hard-pressed to find genuine, well-founded UX problems and create better solutions. If you’re up for it, you should definitely do it, but be warned that few people manage to pull it off.

Volunteer Your Services or Find Freelance Projects to Create Your Case Studies

You might have a hard time finding projects from real clients if you have no prior experience. You can volunteer your services for free to increase your chances. Whether or not you’re charging your client, you should tell them that you’re new to UX and that you’re taking on the project to grow your skills. To make your services more attractive, highlight to your client that you’re eager to learn and willing to spend lots of time and effort.

If you choose to charge your clients for your first few UX jobs , do make sure to set a reasonably low price so that both parties can calibrate expectations. You won’t undersell yourself if you remember that great feedback is essential for building up your reputation and that the day will come when you can charge more.

Step 3: Apply Your Design Methodology and Techniques to Your Project

Once you’ve learned one or two design methodologies and the related key UX deliverables, you’re ready to apply your knowledge to your first project. This is the final step to create your first case study. Exciting!

You should use the design methodology and techniques most relevant to the role you want to apply for. If you want to be a user researcher, you should apply user research techniques such as user interviews. If you’re looking for a general UX role, you might want to go through the design thinking process to identify flaws in the current design and create alternative solutions.

If you’re aiming for a general UX role, you can apply the design thinking process to your project to create your case study. Author / copyright holder: Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation. Copyright terms and license: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

At this step, the most important thing is to do, do, do ! Want to conduct user interviews? Get your friends’ help and ask them your questions. Need to do user testing of an app? Sit down with your friends or neighbors, or even with strangers at a cafe. Start sketching your ideas on paper. Create a journey map based on your friend’s day as a commuter on the subway. Start small, use what you have access to… and do .

How to Find Design Projects and Apply Your Design Skills and Knowledge

One of the best ways to create your case studies is to apply your newly learned knowledge to a project, just as you learn it . This way, you’ll not only create your portfolio faster but also reinforce and better remember what you’ve just learned.

The great news is we have courses specifically tailored to help you do just that. Think of these as supercharged portfolio-building courses : we’ve created a realistic project brief and added tailored exercises throughout these courses to guide you to build a case study. When you take these courses, you’ll not only have a perfect project to work on—you can also create your case studies as you learn. We think they’re perfect for you.

The supercharged portfolio-building courses are:

Design Thinking: The Beginner’s Guide , which will let you apply the entire design thinking process to a project.

Conducting Usability Testing , which will enable you to plan and run your own usability test, and then analyze your results.

User Research – Methods and Best Practices , which will guide you through the different user research methods to craft a solid case study.

These courses will guide you step by step to help you apply your knowledge within your own design projects in the easiest way possible. That means that once you’ve taken one of these courses, you’d also have a case study for your portfolio . Yes, it can be that simple!

For each course you complete with the Interaction Design Foundation you’ll also get a Course Certificate to prove that you’ve gained new skills and you can insert your Course Certificate(s) right into your portfolio. It’s essential that you also include the unique link you get for each Course Certificate so recruiters can verify each of them.

If you want to stand out from the crowd as a candidate with solid UX skills and knowledge you can also show and link to each Course Certificate on your resume, CV and LinkedIn profile.

Interaction Design Foundation Course Certificates are trusted by industry leaders such as Adobe, Accenture, Philips and IBM who’ve taken up company memberships with the IxDF.

We wish you all the best in your exciting journey of creating your case studies!

The Take Away

Creating your first case studies for your UX design portfolio can seem challenging, but that’s not the case. You can start creating case studies from scratch by following these steps:

Get foundational knowledge in UX : through learning (from books, the IxDF or elsewhere) design methodologies and common UX activities. This is the most demanding step.

Find a project to work on : either a real project for a client (which can be difficult to find) or a hypothetical project on a product you know (which you can find easily).

Apply your knowledge to the chosen project : when you’re starting out, doing is the best way of learning. In “real UX work” you might need well-selected samples for user research, but you can use whatever you have access to when you’re starting out. Do, do, do !

If you take one of our portfolio-building courses mentioned just above, you’ll have covered all three steps and be ready to start applying for your first job in UX—because you’ll have the fundamental knowledge, you’ll have a bit of experience with a project, and you’ll have a case study for your portfolio.

We’re here to guide you along the way. By taking one of these courses, you can find your feet on the right track and turbo-charge your progress as your knowledge base snowballs:

Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide

User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide

User Research – Methods and Best Practices

UI Design Patterns for Successful Software

Mobile User Experience (UX) Design

References and Where to Learn More

You can find our entire UX course catalog here .

You’ll also find Don Norman ’s seminal book The Design of Everyday Things useful for gaining design knowledge. You can find it on Amazon .

Hero image: Author / copyright holder: Thomas Quaritsch. Copyright terms and license: Unsplash License.

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