I’m redoing my portfolio from scratch and I want to make sure it actually leads to interviews this time. What structure and approach has worked for people here? Specifically interested in how many projects to include and what format works best.
Three to five strong projects is the sweet spot. Any fewer and it looks like you don’t have enough experience, any more and you’re diluting your strongest work with filler. Every project you include should earn its place.
For structure, I recommend leading with a brief project summary that covers the problem, your role, and the outcome in two or three sentences. Then dive into the details for people who want to go deeper. Most reviewers will skim at first and only read the full case study if the summary hooks them. Think of it like a movie trailer followed by the full film. Give people a reason to stay.
What @OVRJohn said about three to five projects is right, but I’d add that variety within those projects matters a lot. Don’t show five logo designs or five app redesigns. Show range. Include projects that demonstrate different skills and different types of thinking.
For the format question, I’ve gone back and forth between custom coded portfolio sites and platforms like Squarespace or Webflow. My honest take is that the platform doesn’t matter nearly as much as the content and presentation. If you can code your own site and make it polished, great. If not, a clean template with strong case studies will outperform a fancy custom site with weak content every time.
One thing I wish someone had told me earlier: include a brief ‘about’ section that gives hiring managers a sense of who you are beyond your work. Not a life story, just enough to make you feel like a real person. A sentence about what draws you to design, what you’re currently exploring, maybe something about your working style. It sounds small but it makes a difference when someone is reviewing dozens of portfolios. People hire people, not just portfolios.
Also make sure your site loads fast and works on mobile. You’d be surprised how many designers overlook the basic usability of their own portfolio site.
Since you’re rebuilding from scratch, here’s the framework I use and recommend to every designer I mentor. It’s worked across brand design, UX, and visual design portfolios.
Start with your homepage. It should answer three questions within five seconds: what do you do, what kind of work do you produce, and how can someone contact you. A grid of project thumbnails with clear titles, a one-line bio, and visible contact info. That’s it. Don’t overthink the homepage.
For each case study, follow this structure. Open with context: who was the client, what was the challenge, and what constraints were you working within. Then show your process, but be selective. Don’t document every single step. Highlight the decisions that mattered most, especially the ones where you had to make tradeoffs. Show the thinking behind the design, not just the deliverables.
End each case study with outcomes. If you have metrics, use them. If you don’t, describe the qualitative feedback or the impact the work had. Even something like ‘the client used this brand system across 14 retail locations’ tells a story about the scope and success of the project.
Visuals are critical. Every mockup and screenshot should be high quality and well-presented. Use consistent framing, like device mockups or clean flat-lay compositions, so the portfolio feels cohesive. The presentation of your work is itself a demonstration of your design skills, so treat it with the same care you’d give a client project.
For navigation, keep it simple. A top menu with Portfolio, About, and Contact is enough. Some designers add a blog or a resume page, which is fine, but don’t let secondary pages compete with the main event. The work should always be front and center.
One more thing that often gets overlooked: add a clear call to action on every page. ‘Want to work together? Get in touch.’ or ‘Currently available for freelance projects.’ Don’t make someone hunt for how to reach you. If they like your work, the next step should be obvious and effortless.
solid framework from @Smoke_Canyon. The only thing I’d add is to test your portfolio with someone outside of design. If a non-designer can understand what you did and why it mattered after reading a case study, you’ve nailed the communication. We tend to write for other designers when the audience is often a hiring manager or founder.
Something that hasn’t been mentioned yet is the importance of a strong visual narrative within each case study. I don’t mean just putting pretty pictures on the page. I mean intentionally guiding the viewer’s eye through the story of the project.
When I redid my portfolio last year, I started using a before-and-after format for brand identity projects. Showing the previous state alongside the new work created an instant sense of contrast and improvement that was much more impactful than just showing the final deliverable on its own. It also demonstrated the strategic thinking behind design choices, which is what senior roles really care about.
Another tip: if you’re doing responsive web or app design, show your work in context. Screenshots inside device mockups, photography of printed pieces in real settings, brand elements applied across touchpoints. This helps non-designers visualize how the work actually functions in the real world, which connects back to what @sleek.Protocol said about making your portfolio accessible to people who aren’t in the design field.
Lastly, don’t forget about loading speed. Compress your images properly. Nothing kills the experience faster than a portfolio that takes 10 seconds per page to load.
Great advice across the board here. One more angle to consider: if you do motion or interactive work, include video walkthroughs in your case studies. Static screenshots don’t do justice to animations, transitions, or micro-interactions. Even a 30-second screen recording can communicate what 10 screenshots can’t.
I embed short Vimeo clips directly in my case studies for this reason. Keep them concise and looping, almost like a GIF but with better quality. And if you’re a print or brand designer, a video scrolling through a brand guidelines document or showing packaging from multiple angles adds a dynamic quality that makes your work feel more alive.