4-Step Product Design Portfolio Framework

Treat your portfolio like a design project because it is

After building at least eight versions of my portfolio over the years, I have now realized that there is no one solution fits all scenario here. Just like every company is different in its way of working and finding the optimal solution, so are the recruiters and hiring managers at those companies. The same applies to the designers. Each designer is different from the others, regardless of their accomplishment, every designer has a different way of working and judging designs based on their past experiences and insights. Hence, saying that one particular portfolio system works for everyone probably would be incorrect and short-sighted.

Also, it is fact that whenever designers jump into the hiring process, they are bound to get bored because more and more designers are following the same BootCamp advice for designing portfolios using a template system. It is quite natural to get bored looking at the same structure over and over again. The last time I looked at 35 BootCamp student portfolios, within the first few portfolio reviews I came up with a set of statements that could be applied and cherry-picked for all the portfolios that followed ahead.

I have found that rather than obsessing over a set-in-stone portfolio structure, it is best to focus on this four pillars framework for approaching a design portfolio as a project —

1. Problem framing
2. Solution defining
3. Thought process highlighting
4. Results sharing

Any framework like this one is optimal to solve a challenging problem because following it would give different results. If we are following a pre-defined structure then the end solution will start looking the same for all. Let’s dig deeper into what we can cover under each of the four pillars that I mentioned above.

#1 Problem framing

• Use words and visuals to describe the pain point that the product is facing. Try to paint a picture explaining why it is a pain point for the company to prioritize solving, how will it benefit the user, how will it benefit the business, and what goals will the company achieve.
• Try to look at the problem…