Hello, it’s Aneta here 👋 This is issue #09 of UX Design Express and today we’re talking about

Telling your ideation story

Have you ever seen a design portfolio on Dribbble and compared it with a case study on Medium? One is very visual and full of images, whereas the other is filled with text and descriptions of research activities. It’s no surprise that we don’t know how to talk about our design work in our portfolios.

It's funny how both types of portfolios can work depending on the situation. Some companies look for designers on Dribbble and judge skills based on visuals, while others love detailed research. Visual portfolios often suit freelancers, while research-heavy ones might lead to less mature design organisations.

But you probably want a job in an organisation with a strong design culture, and for this, in my opinion, you need both.

Let’s dive in 🐬

01. 3 perspectives of design presentation

Start by changing your focus from just processes and research to highlighting what's most important in your work: design.

How might you present design work in your UX portfolio?

I think about it in 3 persepctives: flat, wide and deep.

1.1 - Flat presentation

When you list out the design challenges. It's just the easiest and quickest way to show off your design work.

How to present a list of your design challenges?

• Choose impactful, interesting, and job-relevant challenges

• Present each challenge sequentially

• Display 1-3 screens per challenge

• Explain your design decisions briefly

• Highlight key solutions

• Show before and after versions for contrasting changes

1.2 - Wide presentation

When you show challenges of different sizes or zoom levels. That's when things start getting really interesting in your design presentation.

Challenge sizes

Different challenge sizes mean working on different parts of a problem. Some designers create entire user flows, while others focus on single screens. This usually depends on how the company is set up. Typically, the more senior you are, the bigger (and often more ambiguous) challenges you can take on.

• Organism challenge: Big tasks, like entire user flows or complex solutions

• Molecule challenge: Medium tasks, like order forms or screens

• Atom challenge: Small tasks, like sidebar navigation or components

How to present different challenge sizes?

• Share case studies of various challenge sizes

• OR zoom in or out on specific problems in each study

• Highlight big challenges (organism), such as full user flows

• Display screens for medium challenges (molecule)

• Focus on details for small challenges (atom)

• Briefly explain your design choices in each case

Zoom in / out

Showing both the big picture and specific details makes your design presentation more engaging. Regardless of the challenge size, adjust your storytelling: zoom out for the overall flow or user journey, and zoom in for the nitty-gritty of your design work.

• Zoom out to show the big picture, like the whole user flow or journey

• Zoom in to highlight details, such as a specific screen section or component

How to zoom out and in?

• Zoom out with user journeys or flows to provide context

• Zoom in on specific parts like screen details, components, or interactions

• Add a few words about your design choices or context

1.3 - Deep presentation

When you show design versions or iterations. It's often hidden in designers' portfolios. Some save it for later (like a case study presentation), but it's great to include a bit in your portfolio. This is where you can really show your design mindset.

How to show design variants?

These are different concept versions you explored.

• Show various concepts

• Display different ideas

• Discuss the pros and cons

• Explain your design decisions and why

How to show design iterations?

These are about the changes you made as you learned

• Show changes you made over time

• Display the concept before and after the 'AHA' moment

• Discuss what you learned

• Explain your design decisions

02. How to add magic to your design work?

Share interesting stories:

• Why the project topic was personally meaningful

• What kept you excited throughout the project

• How animations from a motion designer enhanced your design concepts

Share a story about your collaboration with a developer:

• How you worked together through different challenges

• How you adapted to technical limits

• How a developer's early suggestion shaped your design process

That's it for today!

Get portfolio support from me ⭐️

There are 3 ways I can support you individually with your portfolio.

1. Let’s do it long-term! The biggest results come from this

2. Hop on a one-time call with me

3. Get the async portfolio review

Don’t have any UX projects yet? No worries, we can go through it together.

4. Work on a UX project with me

I’m back in two Fridays with another edition of UX Design Express 👋

Keep designing ✨
Aneta