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Get a seat at the table and build the design career you want. This podcast is for designers looking to break in, level up, and take control of their careers—whether you're freelancing, climbing the corporate ladder, or just trying to get noticed. Every two weeks, we dive into career fundamentals, design best practices, and the hottest topics in the design community.
I think the hero section might be the most important part when crafting your portfolio because it's the first thing that you see when you're the the hiring manager. Because, like, the flow goes from your submission, and then they see your resume, click the website link, and then they first land on your homepage. And that's the introduction to who you are as a designer. And I've seen so often people get the hero section wrong. I'm sure you've seen it where it's, hi.
Tyler:I'm so and so. I'm a UX designer. I love I love I love challenging projects, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, which maybe 60% of designers do that same line. So it's it doesn't differentiate doesn't from the pack. And it also doesn't speak to my earlier point is We
Nick:are kind of live now. This is what I always wanted to say. We are live. And we're officially live. We are officially live.
Nick:Exactly. I mean, this is just an experiment. Alright. Making a portfolio that gets you hired. I mean, isn't that the goal of the portfolio?
Tyler:I mean, that's the only goal.
Nick:I don't
Tyler:know what else I'll be doing, but that should be that should be the portfolio gets you a job or gets you hired Yeah. Or gets you a contract.
Nick:Yes. Yes. I mean, how how many portfolios have you reviewed as a UX coach for almost decades, I guess?
Tyler:More than yeah. Close to a 100 maybe
Nick:Mhmm.
Tyler:From that range, like a bunch. And they've evolved over the years of what they look like. I feel
Nick:like Really? Oh.
Tyler:What a portfolio is has changed a bit over in terms of what to include and what not to include.
Nick:Right. Right. So I don't I don't know about you, but I note I I've also reviewed dozens of of portfolios throughout the years, including my own endlessly. You know, it's never finished, as you know. And I'm starting to see a pattern, I guess, of the things I almost mention for every review.
Nick:You know, let's say, top three or top five. And then also with AI and all the changes happening to the job market, I also changed my view on how the portfolio should be slightly. I think
Tyler:it's a good idea
Nick:to to talk about that today.
Tyler:I'm curious what are the top three things that you're noticing as you're roofing portfolios that are that keep coming up as, like, they're missing the mark.
Nick:I think most portfolios are too long content wise. And I I think the reason being, for for me at least, when I was a an entry level designer, was that you're not very confident yet, a bit insecure about all the the ghosting and not getting to an interview stage. So you try to compensate by sharing as much as you can, you know, just to appear knowledgeable and like an expert.
Tyler:Mhmm.
Nick:That's why I did it, at least. And I think it's really a case of less is more. Found out the hard way myself. So that's one in my top three for sure. And we can talk a bit more about it, you know, during this episode about what to keep and what to toss away, basically.
Nick:Yeah. But I think that's one of the main ones I always mention. You know, you can remove almost half of everything.
Tyler:Yeah. I think that's fair. I think I've noticed that as well. I think people are there's two parts. It's like they're insecure, and, also, they just wanna make sure that they're punching or, like, including as much value as possible.
Tyler:We're not being aware that this is not the interview stage. Like, there I feel there's a difference between what you should be including in your portfolio, which should be, like, maybe a high level. What are the what are the wins? What what's how was this project a success versus delving into the granular details during the interview process? So that's like sitting with the hiring manager doing a portfolio review, which you'll get into more in-depth versus what someone's scanning during the recruitment phase.
Nick:Yeah. I I think that that makes that's exactly what it is. Something related to it in terms of what to share and what not to share is if you imagine you know 100 of everything that's happened around your case study, and if you write down, in theory, the exact 100% of the things you know, and you assume that someone will ask you a question, something that you didn't mention on your your case study, that means because you've shared everything, that they will ask you something you don't know. So I think it's good or a better strategy to mention maybe maybe 30% of what you know from your case study on your website, you know, the the highlights and the outcomes as you as you said. Because then their odds are much more in your favor of the hiring manager or designer or recruiter asking you something of that 70% that you didn't mention where you have a very strong answer ready to give instead of you stumbling and not really knowing what to say.
Nick:You know? So it's the art of leaving things out and only mentioning the the foundation on your, you know, the strong foundation on your website at first, of course.
Tyler:That's fair. And then I think that ties into like, let's be realistic. Like, what what does it look like from the other side? So, like, the person that's reviewing your portfolio, they're realistically spending maybe tops five minutes reviewing your portfolio. So you have, like to your your portfolio is too long point.
Tyler:If you're if you haven't caught their attention, then it's all that content is for naught. And so you have, like, two to five minutes to get their attention from landing page to case study, maybe max two or three. Just the person's probably just getting a sense of who you are, if they're if they're ticking the boxes in terms of what they're looking for, who they wanna what what type of designer they're trying to onboard to their team. If that looks like you, then you'll get the call. They're not gonna be spending an entire hour reviewing your portfolio, reading every every single word that you have in your case study, the about section, homepage, etcetera.
Nick:Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. That being said, you know, a few things you mentioned around you have a a short period of time to convince a reader that you have potential for the thing they're looking for. That makes me think about the hero section right away.
Nick:The first thing every visitor will see, and I'm sure you have some strong opinions there, like common mistakes, something you should include or absolutely shouldn't include in your hero section. Any any cool thoughts or insights there?
Tyler:I think the hero section might be the most important part of your or at least top important thing to to get right, when crafting your portfolio because it's the first thing that you see when you're the the hiring manager. Because, like, the flow goes from your submission, and then they see your resume, click the website link, and then they first land on your home page. And that's the introduction to who you are as a designer. And I've seen so often people get the hero section wrong. I'm sure you've seen it where it's, hi.
Tyler:I'm so and so. I'm a UX designer. I love I love I love challenging projects, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, which maybe 60% of designers do that same line. So it's it doesn't differentiate, doesn't from the pack. And it also doesn't speak to, my earlier point is, like, the designer that they're willing they're wanting to hire.
Tyler:So I think you have to get very purposeful in, like, how you craft that h one and and subtitle there.
Nick:Mhmm. Do you have an example? Maybe of like, what would be a better thing than the than the generic, I like, insightful user experiences type headline?
Tyler:Yeah. Well, it's like who you are as a designer, what type of designer are you, what type of industry do you work in, or are you a specialty or a specialist in, and also what type of business pack business impact you have. So I think crafting that sentence together is crucial. So it's it's something like, I'm a SaaS startup designer in fintech, for example, who's who likes taking complex complex analytics and then coming up with growth hacks, like, something very specific that makes you seem like you're not just a generic UX designer that can do it all, but it's more like a curated specific line that speaks to to your strengths as a designer. So it's like thinking about, like, what do I do very well?
Tyler:When I work at a company, what business metric do I kinda push in in the upwards direction? And then that's your who I am. Right.
Nick:So if you have the anatomy of of that h one, you basically say are saying include the company type. So I'm a designer for startups, for example, or SaaS or corporations or government, and then also an industry, fintech, education, health care, just to make it more specific.
Tyler:Yeah. Exactly. Like, I'll give you example of what I have for mine. It's probably and then it encapsulates it all. So I I have for mine, I help b to b SaaS startups turn complex UX into features that users adopt and keep paying for, which is like a it's the hook of what what gets you.
Tyler:Yeah. So it speaks to, like, b two b SaaS specifically. I'm not narrowing down to the specific industry types like fintech per se, but it it's niched down enough where it it it kind of it's clear what I do.
Nick:Yeah. And then you also you're you're really speaking a business person language with that final bit of your headline.
Tyler:Yeah. Exactly. So it's like users adoption, like, yes, that's a generic, but then and keep paying for it, which is, like, the hook which gets your attention, which is like, oh, cool. Once this once I'm painting the picture in someone's head. Like, once we release a feature with this designer, this is gonna increase retention or, like, the the LTV of of our users over time.
Nick:Yeah. Lifetime value for those of you who
Tyler:don't know. Yes. Lifetime value.
Nick:And the h one being the the main heading on your website, important for SEO purposes also. No. For just to help a beginner who's listening to this, but I feel like your headline is even a level beyond the the the advice of include a company type and include an industry because you also mentioned an outcome, you know, help helping a business get paying customers and keep them. You know, that's more of a business goal beyond I mean, that could work for any industry because every business founder wants Mhmm. Returning paying customers.
Tyler:Exactly.
Nick:Yeah.
Tyler:And then yeah. Exactly. So it's it's just about painting that picture of, like, what ROI you have a designer. And then it gets into, like, the subheader underneath, which complements, like, that bold statement. And then you can get into maybe who you are, but maybe there you can add just more some more adjectives like what like, who you are.
Tyler:So, like, for my I'll go back to my example. So I go from, fintech to AI. I design core upsell features that increase retention and drive expansion to make your road map pay for itself. So it's just doubling down on that last hook of the title. So it's just like and keep paying for, and then I expand upon that point.
Tyler:Just doubling down that, like, that's the value that I will bring to the business. So it's Yeah. Again, there's a theme here. It's like, what when I hire this person that has this I don't know what if this this salary, this $100,100,000 around is our generic is, like, what designers pay for, like, how am I gonna get my return on investment and even more?
Nick:Yeah. I mean, that's I mean, your your headline sounds very good, I think. So you have the headline. You have the sub you know, the subtitle. And then the next thing to add is one or two buttons.
Nick:What do you think?
Tyler:Yeah. I think one button. Well, it could be two. I'm curious your thought. It could be one or two.
Tyler:Like, the one the main CTA should be view my work, which is get into the meat of the potatoes or maybe learn more about me or looking to an about page. Curious what your thoughts are.
Nick:I wanted to say some sort of reach out slash contact button, but maybe that's too soon. The relationship is still very young. Someone just landed on your website. Give them a bit of time to browse around. So, yeah, more a few work is what I would do as long as you have some sort of contact button somewhere else.
Nick:For example, in the top right corner of your nav nav bar.
Tyler:Yes.
Nick:And when that's perhaps sticky, when you scroll, on my Dutch website, I have once you start scrolling so not by default, but once you start scrolling, you have three circles that come up from the bottom of the screen. And then once you hit the bottom of the screen, they disappear again. So one is find me on LinkedIn. One is send me a WhatsApp message, and one is book a meeting through kell.com.
Tyler:I'm curious
Nick:always
Tyler:I'm curious. Like, the WhatsApp, like, what is the in terms of, like, those two avenues, what is the volume or split percentage between, like, someone reaching out towards WhatsApp? Because I'm curious. I've never heard of that that strategy before versus, like, the Cal, like, the the calendar link.
Nick:I most people email or WhatsApp. Like, they they are quite evenly split, and nobody so far on the Dutch website has has booked a meeting, like, without any type of communication before booking something. Okay. They they always they send me a message, you know, WhatsApp or email, it's just, hey, Nick. I found your website through this and this way, like, in an article or on social media or someone told me, curious if you have a bit of time perhaps to work together.
Nick:You know, it's just a cautious opening message. And then I'm like, yeah. Of course. Here's my cal.com link. You know?
Nick:And then they end up there anyway. But maybe that's a cultural thing. You know? I I imagine that it depends really on on how, you know, down to earth and direct someone is. I mean, it it is a bit scary, isn't it, just to book a spot in someone's calendar, like, out of the blue.
Nick:You know?
Tyler:But I think WhatsApp helps, though.
Nick:The WhatsApp helps. Yeah. Yeah. I've had people reach out to me. They had just a quick question about design.
Nick:And then they I at the end, I always ask, you know, portfolio strategy. I always ask, you know, why did you why me? Why now? And then they always mention, like, well, the the the bar is just very low. It's very easy, very accessible just to send you a message because the the WhatsApp button was there.
Nick:And then, you know, you keep the conversation going and you go from WhatsApp to a meeting, either in person or, you know, to Google Meet or Zoom or Teams or whatever. You know? So it it really helps people who aren't sure yet to allow them to to give it a try and just see what happens. You know? It's very low effort to send a message like, hey, Nick.
Nick:I have a question. Yeah. So it's it's it's been very helpful for me. Then again, with every bit of research, like, you don't know if they would have also sent an email if there was no WhatsApp option. You know?
Nick:Or better said, you don't know if they wouldn't have reached out at all if there was no WhatsApp. But point of it all is make sure that there's some way to contact you, always visible wherever you are on your portfolio website.
Tyler:Absolutely. I'm I'm impressed with that one. That one's a interesting one because, like, it speaks to, like, a founder who maybe it's urgent for them to find a designer. Yeah. And oftentimes, booking a call results in, obviously, not book a call for this afternoon.
Tyler:It's usually a couple days from now. So that's a an interesting and actually a very impressive strategy to get on a chat right away.
Nick:Yeah. Well, ballsy move also is once they send you a message to call them back instead of sending a message back.
Tyler:A little sales technique.
Nick:Yeah. Well, they they've always been, so far, pleasantly surprised like, oh, oh, that's fast. Well, that's nice. Well, I have a question, and then you have a talk, and then, you know, it's it's they hear a voice. They know you're a real person.
Nick:You know? In today's AI age, very important for many people just to have the human to human connection. So, yeah, it's a small thing just to have the green circle with the WhatsApp icon on your website, but it has a big impact, I think. And then the zoomed out rule there for your portfolio is just you being easily accessible and approachable and and open for people to reach out to you. I think that's very helpful.
Tyler:Yeah. Plus one to that one. I might do that.
Nick:You should. But don't don't go overboard. Like, you can have WhatsApp and Telegram, and there's so many ways to reach out. I would say pick one. Keep it simple.
Nick:Don't have choice paralysis or what's the UX term for it? You know, having too many options. Yeah. So that's another big one. Do you I have another one in mind, but I don't want to make this a Nick show.
Nick:Do you being talking the whole time? Like, do do you have any any clear winners? Any quick wins?
Tyler:I think I think if we continue on the theme of, like, the hero. So, like, once, like, that is once that is set, so you have your h one, your subtitle, your your button or buttons. I think the home page itself should read or should be laid out like a sales page. So oftentimes, what I see often is, which is actually great, which is just hero and then straight into your work, little little sections highlighting your first piece of work, second, third, obviously laid out strategically, so your most impressive works at the top and then, like, the the ones that are less impactful at the bottom. That's a good strategy, but I feel like there's a better way to, like, lay out the homepage, but more like selling yourself.
Tyler:So the same way you would set up, like, a landing page to sell, like, a SaaS product or any physical product, you would set it up the same way. So it's the it's like the three stage approach. So it's like the emotional one, which is, like, your hero, which is, like, it it grabs you. Yeah. And then the main body is the logical part.
Tyler:So it's, like, what this person does. So that could be like, hey. This is who I am, and then I have this great impact. Here's case study one, case study two, but kind of sell yourself in a bit. So, like, craft the the copy around each case study to speak to the the different values or, like, the different like, how you bring impact to the business.
Tyler:And then you can include things like testimonials, social proof, the same way you would do in, like, on on a on a SaaS landing page, Maybe even video testimonials, are even more impactful.
Nick:Mhmm.
Tyler:And then teasing teasing, like, an about me page and just crafting in a way to kind of sell yourself versus simply just hero, here's my work, and then click to my specific case studies crafted in a way to sell you versus selling your product this in the same way.
Nick:I I I think that's way better than the more passive alternative, you know, where you just mention who you are and this is my work, and then you sit back and you hope someone gets it and and reaches out to you. So it really has to be focused on people clicking the reach out button, you know, whether it's email or phone or whatever. Does it matter if you want to work somewhere in house versus you looking for contracts slash freelancing work? How you structure your your homepage?
Tyler:Yes. Yeah. Exactly. I think you have to make it you don't have to make a decision, but I think it ideally, you'd make a decision. Like, are you a freelance designer, or are you like, is that your target, or are you willing to work or you want to work in house?
Tyler:I think that helps as well. So it all ties back up to, like, that initial h one. It's like who you are, what you do, and that is the theme that trickles throughout your entire portfolio website. So it's like what you do, and then you back it up below the fold on the home page, and it also trickles into the individual case study. So, like, if your line is I help b to b SaaS startups, that should be clear in the work that you're including in your portfolio as well.
Tyler:And, also, that business impact metric in that h one has to be apparent in those case studies as well. Right. So as you craft, like, below the fold, I think that should be clear.
Nick:I think what you're mentioning now, I think perhaps without really saying it specifically, is perhaps the the most important thing to keep in mind for everything you do with your portfolio, and that is that you should be aware of the bigger picture. You should know what your goal is. And if you mention something in one place, make sure that it comes back in all the different places. So with you saying, okay. I mentioned I'm this type of designer in my hero section.
Nick:Your case study should show you the or should show the reader that you can do what you just claimed in the hero section. But, also, if you go to the about page, if you go to LinkedIn, you know, or Dribbble or Contra or any of the professional social media platforms that you can use for your work, that you have that same headline everywhere. Because otherwise, people get confused. Like, hey. This guy mentions he's a freelancer for health care in one place, and then he mentions he's looking for in house work in fintech over there.
Nick:Like, you know, that confusion is more than enough to, you know, make you lose out on a job opening because the recruiter is looking at someone more focused in or more unified in their in their copy and in their messaging. I think I think that's that's super important. Be consistent everywhere.
Tyler:Yeah. I think there even though I I I really love the term or, like, being a generalist, so, like, ambiguous to the type of industry. So what I think I like working in in everything. I think the the principles in UX remain the same. It's just what you need to do in terms of the research to get your knowledge to a certain level.
Tyler:It is true that you have to pick your niche and make sure that you're, to your point, like, crafting everything in a cohesive way. I see so often, like, looking at, people's portfolios that it just mashes is it's mashing up different types of projects that don't feel like they work together. So, like, there's, like, a a social media app here. There's a a fintech thing here. There's an ecommerce.
Tyler:So there's no and that's fine. But if they're not, promoted or crafted, like, in a specific way, it could look like you're mangling everything together. And it it's like they're not sure what to make of it. I think there's a specific way, regardless of the type of work you do, you can craft it back to who you're trying to put forward. So if it's a ecommerce thing, if it's a fintechs thing, and your your superpower as a designer is, funnels, portray that in the case study.
Tyler:So it's like, regardless if there are different types of industries, how you're crafting your h one for those specific case studies speak to the cohesion of, like, who you are as a designer.
Nick:Most I fully agree with what you're saying. I have a question about it in just a bit, but the thing as a little bit of a side note that really grabbed my attention is you mentioning being a generalist industry wise. While I've always or only have ever considered being a generalist versus a specialist on the role type or skill type. Like, I can do the whole UX thing or I'm a researcher. I'm a pixel perfect designer.
Nick:So that really makes me think, like, you can be a generalist for every industry versus only ever doing work in in finance, for example. Just a random thing that caught my attention from what you said. But my question is, how does your niching down, becoming a specialist apply, or what should someone do without experience? They do not know what type of industry they like or are proficient in because they haven't had enough time to try out different things, or they do not have projects to show or to convince someone that they are indeed an expert in, let's say, fintech. What should they do?
Tyler:This has come up often. So it's I'm a new designer. I'm a junior. I just graduated my boot camp or or my course or I graduate graduated university. I haven't tasted the different industries yet.
Tyler:I'm not sure. But what what is always often always the case is where they'd a vision of where they'd like to be. So I always ask, if you had a magic wand and you would work at at a at a dream place, where would that be? And that often could be like, oh, I would love to work at Facebook. I would love to work at Amazon, like like the big FANG names.
Tyler:And I think that's a really good starting point. And so I think it's about painting the picture in your head. Like, if you had a magic wand again and then you in five years, you wanna end up at this place and in the specific role, what does that look like? I think that's what you should be painting in terms of, like, your niche and your portfolio. You can always pivot later.
Tyler:It's again, it was going back to that generalist thing, like, pick something. And if you don't like it, change it after.
Nick:Yeah. I mean, your portfolio is not going to be finished. Like, you can change it. Yeah. You will probably change it.
Nick:Someone else, they saw or post something recently that you know, because there was a discussion among some of the bigger designer accounts about free work or doing free work.
Tyler:Mhmm.
Nick:Lots of people against it. Some people are for it. But what really caught my attention was that a few of the bigger names are in favor of doing free work because it has helped them very often get to, you know, bigger payouts later. Mhmm. Curious what you think there because it that might help someone without experience, without case studies.
Nick:It might help them build one or two case studies to more showcase, you know, better what they claim in their hero section. You know? So looking at something within their niche, redesigning something, sending it over to the company, see what happens. You know? But then again, it's free work, and some people don't like it.
Nick:What what do you think? Like, should a designer do free work as a you know, had to get a head start, or isn't that Yeah. A good thing to do?
Tyler:Yeah. Building portfolio gets really complex when you're first starting out. Often people do fake projects, so they'll create fake custodies. They'll come up with a problem and try to solve it. But that one is okay depending how you craft it, but doing free work is a step above because you're dealing directly with the client.
Tyler:There's there's there's something tangible regardless if it's free or not, and then the free aspect is sellable to who you're doing the work for. It's like, there's no there's no loss in their eyes. There's only upside on both parties.
Nick:I mean, it it it's more risky. Like, maybe the person you're doing this free design work for doesn't like it or doesn't even reply to you, but I've also seen it succeed in my own situation where someone posted something online like, hey. This is my this is my product a or b. I'm not sure. What do you think?
Nick:And then all these people were replying, well, I like a. I like b. But then I send them a message like, hey. How about c? You know?
Nick:And then I made my own thing that was better than a and b. He's like, oh, that's interesting. And then a few days later, you know, quiet silence for a while, but then he came back like, hey, Nick. Can you help me out? We need to, you know, make to see your example a little bit bigger and better.
Nick:And, you know, a small project came from it and a happy customer and a testimonial. You know, nothing life changing, nothing sustainable, but it did result it it is a good example of how doing free work can bring can open the door for you, bring in some money and, you know, building a network. So I'm in favor of it as well.
Tyler:Yeah. Same. I think regardless if it doesn't work out, if you get ghosted in the program in in process, you can always turn that into fictitious well, like, case study as well. Like, regardless if you're you are able to finish the project based on the brief that it was initially kind of discussed. Yeah.
Tyler:That part is real. The results proportion is is like how it affects business is something that's you you don't have obviously, but regardless, I think the free work route, if it were pans out, I think it's solid. And if it doesn't, I think you still have a solid backup. That was a great episode. So if you like this content and wanna hear more, please like and subscribe.
Nick:Yeah. And if you want to see more, please go to designtablepodcast.com, Spotify, Apple Music, all the big players, and more.