How to Set up Your Product Design Portfolio?

A product design portfolio is one of the most valuable assets for you as a UX designer since it can benefit you in a lot of ways. First of all, it can support you in the process of getting an interview, it can assist you in finding clients for freelancing projects; and, on top of that, it can also help you remain concentrated on your UX career in general. A portfolio is unquestionably a must-have for every designer; think of it as a visual résumé and an illustrated memoir, exhibiting your ability and conveying the story of your development.

Creating and maintaining your UX design portfolio is a massive challenge. The hard thing to do is to make it so appealing that a recruiter would want to set up an interview with you right away. This implies that the case studies in the product design portfolio need to be properly crafted in order to demonstrate your talents, thought patterns, as well as your accomplishments.

If you want to develop your career as a designer and demonstrate your new talents, you are recommended to add a few of your case studies to your product design portfolio. If you have a large number of case studies to pick from, be careful to include those that represent the abilities required for the specific position you are applying for. The major purpose of such case studies is to demonstrate what is your approach while working and who you are as a designer in general, rather than to display the most remarkable achievements.

In this article, we are going to explain how to set up your product design portfolio, we will discuss what should be included in it and how to structure it in general. So if you want to find out some important considerations about creating your product portfolio, read the guide down below.

Structuring a Design Portfolio- Things to Consider

While structuring a product design portfolio there are four major sections that need to be set up.

Home section- The first one is the Home section where you welcome your readers and extend a pleasant greeting on your main page. It is an excellent opportunity to highlight some fantastic designs or the latest recent work.

About myself - this is the section where you can display your individuality and go into more depth about your path as a designer, how was your career, and where you are today.

Contact - This is the step at which you are recommended to submit links to your LinkedIn, Dribbble, Behance, or Instagram accounts if desired.

Projects - This is the most essential section of your portfolio. This is where you can place information about your case studies and projects. This page is the most crucial one where you will present all of your designs.
When building up the portfolio, begin at the early stages of a project and move on to the finished product. This allows your potential customer to view your innovative side for product design.

Furthermore, bear in mind that you should always build a portfolio in the same way that you would with a product. One of the major things to take into account is who you are building the portfolio for. Do you have any idea what they're searching for? Generally, you should also remember that p Portfolios aren't merely for designers to evaluate. A lot of additional individuals in your potential organization may wind up judging your work.

Among the most essential decisions, you are going to make while structuring the design portfolio is which projects to place out there. Therefore, if you're searching for a job in product design, all of your work should be targeted towards that goal. Choose your greatest ones, those that emphasize your best talents as a designer and are one of the most context-sensitive. You are also recommended to address the questions such as: What does this project reveal about me? Is it useful in determining how I would perform in the job?
Creating a product design portfolio is more than simply drawing attractive websites; it also involves having the tools and techniques in place to make sure ease of use and the capacity to think in regard to business objectives.

Selecting a Format for Design Portfolio

Selecting the right formatting while creating a product design portfolio is also very essential. You may not only persuade potential clients or companies to recruit you with the assistance of harmonizing colors, tasteful font, clean layout, witty writing, and high-quality photographs, but you can also develop your own unique brand that sets your work apart from thousands of others.
Choosing the ideal formatting for displaying your original content might be difficult. Whether you get a print or a PDF portfolio or create a website version, it all depends on what type of your business you are going to engage in. Whereas a web-based portfolio is always preferable, the other types of design portfolio formats are often dependent on the sector you are in. If you just work with web, product, or UX design, creating a web portfolio as well as a PDF one would be a great option for you.

Generally, finding two forms and maintaining them is considered to be the correct approach. A digital portfolio is ideal for visibility and interaction, while a design portfolio PDF showcases the design, compositional side of it, and your typography abilities.
The reality is that there is no correct or wrong formatting, and you will most likely not be dismissed only because of this reason.

However, your decision reveals a great deal about you as a designer and your personality as well. The design portfolio ought to be self-explanatory and simple to use. A few more conventional formats may work, however typically, the website’s version is going to provide a better user experience design.

Structuring a Case Study in Portfolio

Case studies are one of the most important parts of your design portfolio. Every case study should convey an engaging story about how you addressed a specific design difficulty. How did you fix a problem for a client or a company? Structuring your case studies is critical, so here are several things that you need to take into account while structuring a case study in the product design portfolio.

Short outline – describe the project's background, how the problem occurred, and what you were expected to achieve. This will be a general introduction to your case study.

Problem Assertion – Then you will have to explain the challenges that users are experiencing, how you plan to fix them, and what are your goals. Define the design issue and why it is critical to be solved.
Your Position - Make it clear what your role and position were in the project. Explain your efforts concisely and explain some of the materials you had to work with.

Solution - This is, the most significant part of your design case study portfolio. Explain exactly how the problem was resolved, what was your role, and what was the efforts taken to resolve it. Above all, describe the effect of your design. Statistics or feedback are excellent ways to demonstrate your influence on business, consumers, or organizational efforts.

Designing Process - This is the point at which you begin explaining your design process. The difficulty is articulating properly and rationally how you arrived at your answer. What were the pivotal events, discoveries, and choices that shaped your final version? You don't have to discuss every detail of a project, however, you should definitely include some significant triumphs, mistakes, as well as iterations.

Insights and results - use an evaluative approach such as usability testing to examine the solution and examine whether it is a legitimate solution to a specific problem. Also Analyze what worked well, what you might have done better, and any comments you got during the project.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Product Design Portfolio?

A product design portfolio is one of the most significant tools you can have as a UX designer because it may help you in a variety of ways. It can help you get an interview, it can help you discover clients for freelance jobs, and it can also help you stay focused on your UX career in general. A portfolio is undeniably essential for every designer; think of it as a visual résumé showcasing your talent and telling the story of your career growth.

What should be included in a product design portfolio?

First of all, there should be a Home section, then you should write about yourself where you can display your individuality and go into more depth about your path as a designer. You should also talk about your role, explain your efforts briefly, and talk about some of the materials you had to work with.

What should a design case study include?

Every case study should convey an engaging story about how you addressed a specific design difficulty. How did you fix a problem for a client or a company? The case study in your product design portfolio should include the following sections: Short outline, Problem statement, Your Position, Solution, Designing Process, and Insights and results.

 

Written by Keti Getiashvili

Based on an interview with Giorgi Sosebashvili