“Choose your own adventure” Portfolios

Imagine a product designer portfolio that didn’t say “Hi! i’m <insert name>!” Imagine a portfolio that didn’t have long scrolling case studies and looked like everyone else’s. What if the Home Screen of the portfolio had two linked that said…

What do you want to see?

  • A minimalist site with just the facts or
  • A completely different approach to portfolios

Let’s assume you use Hotjar or equivalent and get screen recordings of every visitor. Now you will know, once and for all, what do hiring managers want to see. You will have real users voting in real use.

The minimalist site, do whatever you want. Keep it simple.

The new approach…do everything differently.

Why do this?

There is a glut of portfolios that are identically minimalist. All white, nothing special. Do you really believe that is the best way to get initial phone screens? Do you really believe there is not difference between the best portfolio and the worst?

Even if you do, maybe you should test it. Or are you so certain in the truth that testing isn’t worth it? Just don’t forget that your website is truly the only site in the world you can make 100% of the decisions.

Recently, I mentored a designer named Diego A. Miranda Santa Cruz. His portfolio is certainly different. Personally, I think it’s a breath of fresh air. What do you think?

Comments

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