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How to create an attractive portfolio as a UI/UX designer?

I'm thinking of pursuing a career in UI/UX designing and right now I am finding an internship. But I have no idea how to start with my portfolio.
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Brandi’s Answer

My journey in UX design and creating my UX design portfolio was self-driven which got me to intern at 2 government departments, a game startup, and a Fortune 500 company, so I fee like I can definitely answer this question! Firstly my very first UX design portfolio (back in Summer 2020) wasn't the best looking back on it. I went through 3-4 different portfolio iterations before I came to the portfolio I currently have: https://www.brandicnichols.com/. So if your first UI/UX portfolio isn't the greatest or you feel it could be better, don't be hard on yourself. But anyways to start I would say if you don't already have case studies/projects to show, I would say focus on that first. To get this take a free course on Coursera or another MOOC in UI/UX design (which is where I got my first design project), go to a design workshop, go to a design competition or hackathon where you can design and show off your teamwork skills, or look for a problem in your daily life and try to solve it with UI/UX! Then, after you have a couple projects I would open a document where you can write down step-by-step what you did while including your role, project timeline, constraints, business goals, and skills used in the very beginning, and at the very end, the results of the project, what you learned, and what you would do differently. In the middle you should be talking about your design thinking process and why you made the decisions that you did. Also, if you can or have time for it during the project include the research at the beginning as well to show you made data/research-based decisions and you're listening to the user's needs. Then gather different media too make your case more effective and engaging, so if you're confident in your UI make some mockups to show your design in action, or if you want to show a quick demo of your final design do that! Now gather your information and assets and go make your portfolio! It's preferred to make a website portfolio because you can 100% control your overall brand and the detail of your projects. Using platforms like Dribble is good for if you want to engage in the community aspect where you can gain some recognition for being a designer. Although if you're just focusing on your portfolio, then do a website portfolio. I personally use Wix, specifically Editor X where I have complete control over the look and feel of my website, but be mindful that you probably don't have a domain name and not on a plan so some CMS platforms may have banner ads which could interfere with the effectiveness of your site. I had my Wix banner ad for the longest and just recently went on the plan because I'm a college senior and so I thought I needed to portray myself professionally. But keep in mind even when I interviewed for the Fortune 500 company I still had the Wix banner ad showing so don't worry too too much about, because you need to be more worried about the content and quality of your portfolio. Next, you need to 1) start inserting your projects onto your website portfolio, 2) decide whether you want a "Play" section for miscellaneous work, and 3) add an "About" section with your contact information so recruiters can reach you. Finally after all of this I would say go to portfolio review events where judges critique various (UI/UX) portfolios so you can learn what you need to improve upon/be inspired as well as possibly getting them to critique your portfolio as well! I hope this helps!

Brandi recommends the following next steps:

Have 3-4 projects/ case studies to show (MOOC, design workshop, design competition/hackathon, or DIY)
Write down step-by-step what you did in each project in a document
Gather different media to make your projects more dynamic (mockups, videos, etc.)
Choose a CMS platform to make your website portfolio (don't worry about the ads or going on a special plan)
Insert projects into website and add "Play" and "About" sections + Go to portfolio review events where you can get inspiration and get your portfolio reviewed!
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Lisa’s Answer

I know of a wonderful nonprofit that has design internships and programs for developing a portfolio: bridgegood.com.

Hope this helps and sending you best wishes on your exciting career path!
Thank you comment icon thank you very much. Ranjit
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Alejandra’s Answer

Hi Ranjit!

Very exciting this is going to be awesome for you! This is what I did when I was building my UX website

1. Make a digital resume, so a website about you, your passion, that also displays your resume

2. Make a "business" from the ground up. I created a clothing brand using shopify. When you make your "brand" plan out branding, plan out the user experience, what your brand stands for, and all of that and put that on your website. Potentially call it brainstorming or brand strategy and put in all the info and inspiration that got you to your brand. Add in personas of the type of person your brand is looking to target. Personas are very important in UX, I suggest looking up what personas are and investing before building them, but put all of this on your website

3. Create a wireframe. A wireframe is the "bones" of a website and it can be done on paper or on a online illustrator. The wireframe will show you where buttons go, what happens when you click them, and what you image the website will look like. Research online to learn more, but this will be another thing you put on your website! And make sure to explain why you decided to put buttons in certain places, what certain colors mean, everything related to how the user will experience your website.

4. Make your website and have it go live and link to it on your personal website resume.

After completing all these steps, not only will you have made two websites.. but you'll also have shown you know what UX is, you know how to make a website, and you know what goes into building a brand.

Lastly, find a UX mentor!!! My mentor worked in UX and taught me everything I listed above. It's so much easier to figure all of this out with a mentor and you'd be surprised how many people want to help others (:

Hope that helped and good luck!
Thank you comment icon Thanks a lot. This was really helpful. Ranjit
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Miranda’s Answer

Hi Ranjit, to add to the great answers already here, I would suggest that your resume, business card, profile pics, website layout, personality—basically, everything that a hiring entity might see—is part of your portfolio. I once got a job offer where they created a position for me because they loved my personal logo from my leave-behind business card. UI/UX design is all about the finer details, so the more attention to detail you show in both your portfolio items AND your resume/card/general persona, the more you'll stand out against the rest of the applicants.
Another tip: Look into recruiters near you. If you sit down with them and they get a good understanding of the kind of work you're looking for, they'll often have agencies/businesses coming to you instead of the other way around. Works like a charm :)
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