So you’re looking for some UX design portfolio inspiration?
Maybe you’re a fresh-faced UX designer looking to land your first gig. Perhaps you’ve been in the industry for a while and it’s time to rethink your personal brand. Either way, you want to make your mark in the world of UX—and that means making sure you’ve got an impressive portfolio to your name.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or breathing new life into your existing portfolio, here are some strong UI/UX Design portfolios in various niches to inspire your next move.
What is a UX design portfolio and why do you need one?
A UX design portfolio is a collection of work that showcases a UX designer’s skills, experience, and design process. It is typically presented in the form of a website or online platform and may include information about the designer’s background, education, and professional experience, as well as a selection of UX design projects that demonstrate their design skills and problem-solving abilities.
When it comes to creating an impressive UX portfolio, it’s important to understand exactly what your portfolio should achieve. What information should your portfolio present? What do you want people to learn about you and your work when they land on your portfolio? How do you tackle different UX design challenges? What’s your approach to solving problems? Are you user-centric?
Your UX design portfolio is not just a virtual gallery of all your most beautiful work. It’s a carefully crafted story that offers a behind-the-scenes look at your methods and processes. It should introduce you as a designer and give the viewer an understanding of how you work. And, of course, all of these insights should come gift-wrapped in a visually engaging, user-friendly package.
Having a UX design portfolio is important for a number of reasons:
- It allows potential employers or clients to see the designer’s skills and capabilities, and to get a sense of their design style and approach.
- It can serve as a reference for the designer’s past work and accomplishments, which can be helpful in obtaining new job opportunities or contracts.
- It can help the designer to build credibility and establish themselves as a professional in the field.
- It can be a useful tool for self-promotion and networking, as it can be shared with potential employers or clients to demonstrate the designer’s expertise.
A strong UI/UX designer portfolio should showcase a diverse range of projects that demonstrate the designer’s skills and design philosophy. It should include case studies that explain the design process and the results of the work. The portfolio should be well-organized and easy to navigate, with clear descriptions of each project.
Overall, a UX design portfolio is an important tool for any UX designer looking to showcase their skills and build their professional reputation in the field. Some designers may choose to take a more visual approach and some may prefer to highlight their thought leadership.
Here are some examples of strong UI/UX designer portfolios that emphasise their experience and business:
1. Sarah Doody
Sarah Doody’s portfolio (https://sarahdoody.com/) showcases her work in user research, design strategy, and product design. She includes case studies for each project that explain the design process, user research, and results.
2. Khoi Vinh
Khoi Vinh’s portfolio (https://www.subtraction.com/) showcases his work in design, writing, and speaking. Khoi’s blog (Subtraction) is about design, technology and culture, and has been more or less continuously published since December 2000 in New York City.
Khoi is currently Principal Designer at Adobe. Previously, Khoi was co-founder and CEO of Mixel (acquired in 2013), Design Director of The New York Times Online, and co-founder of the design studio Behavior, LLC. He is the author of “How They Got There: Interviews with Digital Designers About Their Careers”and “Ordering Disorder: Grid Principles for Web Design,” and was named one of Fast Company’s “fifty most influential designers in America.”
3. Luke Wroblewski
Luke Wroblewski’s portfolio (https://www.lukew.com/) showcases his work in mobile design, user experience, and product strategy. He includes a variety of projects, from mobile apps to websites. Each project includes a detailed case study that explains the design process and the results.
4. Raluca Budiu
Before talking about Raluca Budiu’s portfolio (https://www.nngroup.com/people/raluca-budiu/) which showcases her work in user research and usability testing, it’s probably important to know who Raluca Budiu is.
Raluca Budiu is Director of Research at Nielsen Norman Group, where she oversees the group’s research-related activities and serves as editor for articles published on NNgroup.com. Raluca consults for clients from a variety of industries and presents tutorials on mobile usability, UX for responsive websites, quantitative usability methods, cognitive psychology for designers, principles of human-computer interaction, the design of desktop applications. Raluca coauthored the NN/g reports on tablet usability, mobile usability, iPad usability, and the usability of children’s websites, as well as the book Mobile Usability.
With her extensive experience and knowledge in UI/UX Design, her articles are a rich resource to learn the craft.
Here are some examples of strong UI/UX designer portfolios that focus on showcasing their work and design process:
5. Aleksi Tappura
Aleksi Tappura’s portfolio (https://aleksitappura.com/) is clean and minimal, allowing the work to take center stage. With 8+ years experience as a design professional, he has been working with companies from various industries and helping them build new services from the ground up, as well as improve existing ones. His core skills lie in the intersection of design and technology, which you can see in his portfolio and projects undertaken.
6. Tom Parkes
Tom Parkes’ portfolio (https://www.tparkes.com/) exudes artistic flair and makes you feel like you’re looking at a photography magazine. Presented beautifully, it keeps you scrolling to see the variety of projects he has embarked on.
7. Daniel Korpai
Daniel Korpai’ portfolio (https://danielkorpai.com/) is not only user-friendly, the visual style is also friendly and clean. Daniel Korpai works as a User Interface & User Experience designer traveling around Europe. Currently, he’s designing the next generation of note taking experience at Craft with an incredible team. Previously, he was a Product Designer at InVision.
8. Meagan Fisher Couldwell / Owltastic
Owltastic (https://owltastic.com/) is Megan Fisher Couldwell’s portfolio. She has been creating websites for over 15 years. The portfolio has a very different look compared to the usual light and simple portfolios.
Megan’s personal brand comes through with the brand identity that she has on the website. This makes the website a little more memorable – and it’ll be particularly attractive to those who are looking to create a brand or website with a similar style.
9. Jonathan Shariat
Jonathan Shariat’s portfolio (https://jonathanshariat.com/) includes a variety of projects, each with a detailed case study that explains the design process and the results.
He has been working in the design field for over 10 years and is currently at Google. He also co-hosts the Design Review Podcast and write about design, most notably a #1 most recommended article on Medium: “How bad UX Killed Jenny” which inspired him to write a book: “Tragic Design” to shed light on bad design that harms and how we can fix it.
10. Siriveena
Siriveena’s portfolio (https://www.sirirosa.co/) showcases projects that have a strong emphasis on user research and a product designer passionate about creating engaging, impactful product experiences. Interestingly, she has a degree in psychology. Her understanding of human behaviour shines through in her thought processes in her work. She’s currently completing my Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction at the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science.
In general, specialized UI/UX designer portfolios showcase the designer’s expertise and experience in a particular niche or industry. This allows potential clients to easily see the designer’s skills and capabilities in that area, and can help them decide if the designer is the right fit for their project. Specialized portfolios also demonstrate the designer’s passion and dedication to their niche, which can be a valuable quality in a designer.
Where else can I look for design inspiration?
Can’t get enough UI/UX portfolio content? Check out our portfolio where we dive deep into our UI/UX design thought processes and reflections.
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How to Find Your Niche as a Designer - NOMADEMY
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