How to build a strong portfolio for graphic design? 9 Inspiring UI Design Portfolios in 2022
Updated: Jun 30
Mostly, graphic designers do not take time for case study writing. However, doing so will give you a leg up in the competition.
High-quality images and UI mockups portfolio consists of your portfolio homepage (which offers basic information about you) and your case studies. Your bio should be honest about your personality, and your case studies should demonstrate your visual design talents, thought processes, and design process.
Why do you need a UI Design Portfolio?
When do you think of a UI design portfolio? What comes to mind is picking your best projects and arranging them to visualize in the gallery. But building a strong portfolio for graphic design is much more than that.
Having a portfolio is a must for everyone in the creative industry. A UI design portfolio is a perfect methodology and opportunity to reflect your creativity to showcase your work to potential clients. Both online and offline (hardcopy) portfolios are important. When you have to meet your client physically or attend a meeting, you will carry a printed portfolio with you. Likewise, an online portfolio will serve your online brand image to clients through the web as we live in a digitally connected era.
Elements of a strong portfolio for graphic design
For transforming your portfolio from good to fantastic, the 4 elements mentioned below play a significant role in this regard.
Unique Style and Personal Branding
It would be best if you stood out from other designers for a different reason in your portfolio. For people in the creative industry, solid personal branding is critical to their success. You must showcase your unique style and talent in your portfolio.
For uniqueness in the portfolio, you must have:
Personal logo or name on the first page of the website
Your unique approach to design
Use theme colors
Illustrative style
Handwritten typography
HD quality professional mugshot of yourself
This, along with other portfolio designing elements, will foster trust with the viewer.
Simple layout
A creative but simple portfolio layout for a delightful user experience is far easier said than done. Make sure your portfolio layout only displays the most important stuff at once. For example, on the opening page of a case study, consider “What helps convey the story here?” and “What best showcases this work?”
As creatives, this may be extremely difficult to discern since we like to believe that all our photographs and work bring value. It is possible that cutting the case study description or eliminating an extra photo or two is required to maintain a precise yet simple layout with a single focus on each page or viewing area.
Descriptive case studies
The client will more likely want to work with you if you avoid typical descriptions and use a story-driven case study description for your portfolio. With this approach, you will add more depth to your words, and it feels like a one-to-one conversation with a client instead of a pitch.
So how do you add value to your case study? There are some core elements that a well-crafted case study must include:
Introduce the client.
Present the design problem.
Recap your role.
Share the solution you designed.
Go through the specific steps of your design process.
Describe the results.
Note any key learnings.
Summarize the project.
Share client feedback.
ups
Image quality is one of the important things for the usability and user experience of the portfolio. Also, you can rock with mockups in your portfolio as it will make your feed more polished. But try to be unique while using mockups as not every project needs it.
9 Inspiring UI Design Portfolios in 2022
Let’s have a look at 9 Inspiring UI designers who have nailed their portfolios:
Sam Small He is a Kansas City-based UI/UX designer whose passion for design is crystal clear from his portfolio homepage. Every UI design portfolio requires personality, and Sam’s portfolio is filled with it, providing a delightful user experience. After a concise yet appealing headline defining his offering in a single sentence, the portfolio is a visual feast with pure and brilliant colors. You can learn more about his work, but you do not have to work hard to locate the important facts about your role in your projects.
Peter Noah New York City-based UI/UX and visual designer Peter Noah use white space to its fullest. He has a minimalist and simplistic approach compared to traditional graphic design portfolios to build a strong portfolio for graphic design. The portfolio website of Peter stands out for many reasons. The page summarizes his years of experience, a variety of work published in great storytelling and robust UI manner. If you go through UI/UX designers’ portfolios, you will notice that they tend to overshare, but what stands out, Peter is his short, sweet, and to-the-point summary, which is appealing to others.
Aileen Shin Living in Seattle, digital product designer Aileen Shin’s portfolio website can make the most senior designer resentful. She has achieved so much in a short amount of time while working for Tumblr and Amazonas a product designer. Therefore, her UX skills demonstrate a strong sense of usability and user experience. She has showcased every project with an appealing case study that clarifies her role while giving strategic background. The write-up is so humble with clearly mentioned expertise, two traits clients yearn for.
Jeremiah Shaw Jeremiah Shaw is a 3D illustrator and animator working for Google. His portfolio is impressive since he used a right sidebar for navigation rather than a traditional left-hand sidebar. While challenging standard UI design patterns is always a risk, it has paid off handsomely. Showing how your work might appear in “real world” apps is a terrific method to hit the reader’s imagination while providing one of the best user experience websites. Jeremiah shows us exactly what his work would look like within the app “in-situ” in his “Nike Badges” project. Clients love to see a polished result, and this attention to detail will only reinforce the message you’re attempting to portray.
Josie Allison The innovative portfolio website design of Josie Allison will instantly grab your attention. With an extensive background in graphic design, Josie has illustrated her usability and user experience ability in her portfolio. She has gone over the top with visual elements that breathe fresh air. The unique navigation will force you to hire him. That is what a portfolio should look like. The case studies are described in a modern way but will all the details for someone who wants to take the time to learn more about her work.
Jesús Amador Costa Rica-based product designers, digital artists, and illustrators are passionate about developing a new creative and functional universe where people engage with product experiences. If you are seriously looking for how to build a strong portfolio for graphic design, then this portfolio will be drawn you to the world of design immediately. Amador has given the website an interactive feel with ambient sound and subtle hover animations. The impressive array of work and the about me page are just a click away. This is a fantastic example of making a creative approach in a portfolio instead of showing prototyping, wireframes, etc.
Gloria Ha Again, this is a New York-based product designer who is bold yet simple to showcase her work. The website is among the best user experience websites that add unexpected touches to the viewing experience as homepage elements animate if you bump into them. While looking for the first UX/UI design role, the versatility in work like Gloria is great to show.
Jason Mei Jason’s portfolio is clean, simple, and easy to explore, but its small details for usability and user experience set this portfolio apart from the competition. The logomark follows you down the homepage, and instead of just landing at the bottom, you receive a brief explanation of his background, links to other related sites, and work history. The scrolling “Always a work in progress” is also an excellent approach to acknowledge that design develops, and your portfolio will as well. You’ll find a concise manifesto of his design views.
Hiro Shibata Hiro Shibata’s graphic designer from Mexico highlights the portfolio with a hero picture of dotted lines arcing over a dark website backdrop. It’s an abstract image, yet it reminds me of mind maps and user journeys. The design that follows is organized logically. Large headings and brief wording describe what he does in an easy-to-understand manner. In terms of usability and user experience, everything on the website comes together with evident aesthetic harmony, demonstrating his visual and UX designer abilities.
Build a Strong Portfolio for Graphic Design Today!
Each UX designer portfolio in this list is distinct and stands out for different reasons. It’s worth emphasizing that for best user experience websites, each UI/UX portfolio site incorporates visual design and UX best practices to produce a compelling, engaging experience for both interested viewers and prospective employers. Remember that clients aren’t just looking at your UX case studies in a row to see if they meet all the criteria. If the UX work in the projects is excellent, but your portfolio site has poor UX, this might be a red signal.