This document provides tips for building an effective portfolio to help win a job. It emphasizes demonstrating thinking, skills and quality of work through the portfolio. The key tips discussed are to consider the audience, order work samples to engage and impress the reviewer, frame problems to showcase analytical skills, show the design process and value of artifacts, provide behind-the-scenes context, specify your role and contributions, focus on high quality over quantity, demonstrate design systems, and use a polished walkthrough to showcase skills through storytelling. The overall message is that the portfolio should tell the story of who you are as a professional and convince the reviewer of your fit and qualifications for the role.

1. PORTFOLIOS MATTER
BUILDING the PORTFOLIO TO WIN the JOB
LYNN TEO
Chief Experience Officer
McCann Erickson | @Lynn_Teo

2. ABOUT ME
15+ years in Experience Design

3. Hybrid Thinking Product & Process
• User centered design (UCD) • Engineering-led
• Technology • Cross-disciplinary team
• Communications design • Rapid Prototyping &
• Information design Usability
Transform Business Creative Excellence
• Technology-enabled innovation • Emotion + Function
• Global/large scale solutions • UX in Ideation
• Collaborative & process-driven • Experiences: Ecommerce
• Transformation of company from + Content + Communities
consulting to agency
Brand Stewardship Design Education
• Legacy of storytelling • College of Creative
• Creating consumer value in Studies (Detroit)
brand relationships • MFA Thesis Advisor
• Integrated marketing • Research-based product
development
3

4. 1000+
Number of Resumes and Portfolios Reviewed

5. Portfolios
Why do they matter?

6. Demonstrate THINKING
Showcase SKILLS
Convey benchmark QUALITY OF WORK
Reveal your WORK STYLE
6

7. Tells me what makes you, YOU
Credits:
uxstorytellers.blogspot.com/2009/01/ux-storytellers- 7
connecting-dots.html

8. 10 THINGS
to remember when building your portfolio

9. 1 Audience 6 Behind-The-Scenes
2 Order of Work 7 What You Did
3 Frame the Problem 8 Quality not Quantity
4 Process/Steps 9 Design System vs. Instance
5 Value of Artifact/Activity 10 Walkthrough Showmanship
9

10. 1
Audience
Audience

11. “I never design a building before I’ve
seen the site and met the people who will
be using it.”
− Frank Lloyd Wright
11

12. Who are you presenting t?
A
Who are you presenting to?
Audience
What are they looking for?
What type of company is it?
Assess their UX footprint & project types
12

13. Who are you presenting t?
A
Who are you presenting to?
Audience
Who are you presenting to?
UX Lead Project Front-end Creative
Manager Developer Director
13

14. Who are you presenting t?
A
What are they looking for?
Audience
Who are you presenting to?
• UX Methods
• Process • Prototyping skills • Conceptual Thought
• Independence • On-time? • Iterative design • Problem statement
• Team player • On-budget? • Agile • Effectiveness of
• Work quality • Communication solution
skills
UX Lead Project Front-end Creative
Manager Developer Director
14

15. Who are you presenting t?
A
What type of company is it?
Audience
Who are you presenting to?
15

16. Who are you presenting t?
A
Assess their UX Footprint
Audience
CS UR UX IxD VD
Content Strategy User Research User Experience Interaction Visual Design
Design
16

17. Who are you presenting t?
A
Assess their UX Footprint
Audience
CS UR UX IxD VD
Content Strategy User Research User Experience Interaction Visual Design
Design
THE REALITY: Sub-disciplines aren’t always defined the same way in
different organizations/agencies. How does the interviewer view your
role? What is considered “the norm” in their organization?
17

18. Who are you presenting t?
A
Assess their UX Footprint
Audience
CS UR UX IxD VD
Content Strategy User Research User Experience Interaction Visual Design
Design
THE REALITY: Roles are rarely so clearly segmented. Hybrid roles are
the norm. What hybrid combination exists in the organization?
18

19. Who are you presenting t?
A
Assess their UX Footprint
Audience
CS UR UX IxD VD
Content Strategy User Research User Experience Interaction Visual Design
Design
MY RECOMMENDATION: Best way to understand what your
reviewer is looking for is to clarify skills/activities for the discipline
expertise you bring to the table
19

20. Who are you presenting t?
A
Sub-disciplines by skillsets & activities
Audience
CS UR UX IxD VD
Content Strategy User Research User Experience Interaction Visual Design
Design
• Taxonomy • Ethnography • Customer Journey • Prototyping • Digital design
• CMS Systems • Findings Analysis Mapping • Mobile and Web • Storyboards &
• IA • Personas • Task Flows & Specializations narratives
• Content • Trends Needs Analysis • Emerging • Visual concepting
Governance • Opportunity • Feature and technologies
Landscape functionality • Touchscreen/
• Usability Testing • Interface Design kiosks/augmented
reality/NUI

21. Who are you presenting t?
A
Assess Types of Projects
Audience
21

22. Who are you presenting t?
A
Assess Types of Projects
Audience
22

23. 2 Order of Work
Order of Work

24. “The proper order of things is often a
mystery to me. You, too?”
− Cheshire Cat

25. Who are you presenting t?
A
Impress then win over
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
Vary the pace and complexity
Leave a lasting parting impression
25

26. Who are you presenting t?
A
Impress then win over
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
• Start with your strongest work
• Pick 2-3 anchor visuals
• Walk through “lifecycle” of the
project w/ supporting artifacts
• Spend ¼ of your time on first piece
26

27. Who are you presenting t?
A
Engage and sell, sell, sell
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
W|B|W|W|W|P|W|R
27

28. Who are you presenting t?
A
Engage and sell, sell, sell
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
W|B|W|W|W|P|W|R
Work Background Work Process Work + Result
(Best) (Lifecycle) (Variety, Breadth, (Artifacts) (Success Metrics,
Challenges) Recent Work)
28

29. Who are you presenting t?
A
Engage and sell, sell, sell
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
W|B|W|W|W|P|W|R
Sandwich Effect
29

30. Who are you presenting t?
A
Engage and sell, sell, sell
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
W|B|W|W|W|P|W|R
Flexible Middle
30

31. Who are you presenting t?
A
Vary the pace and complexity
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
• In the “flexible middle”, aim for
breadth to convey your versatility
• Use this section to encourage
dialogue with the reviewer
• Deep dive selectively
31

32. 32

33. Who are you presenting t?
33

34. Who are you presenting t?
A
Leave a lasting parting impression
Audience
Engage and sell, sell, sell
• Seal the deal with your most recent
work that best aligns with your role
at the organization
• Underscore why the project was a
success (stats, business metrics,
client / industry reviews)
• Reinforce your role in achieving it
34

35. http://
www.repeattimerapp.
com/how/

36. http://
www.repeattimerapp.
com/how/

37. http://www.repeattimerapp.com/how/

38. 3 Frame the
Problem
Frame Problem

39. “He who asks a question may be a fool
for five minutes, but he who never asks a
question remains a fool forever.”
− Tim Connelly
39

40. Who are you presenting t?
A
Demonstrate your “special powers”
Audience
Who are you presenting to?
Analytical Business User Results
Skills Savvy Advocate Oriented
40

41. http://www.nathanbilbao.com/
41

42. Who are you presentinghttp://dicksonfong.com/portfolio.html
t?
42

43. Who are you presenting t?
User Modes as Basis of Feature Sets
43

44. Who are you presenting t?
Demonstrate understanding of user needs & behaviors
44

45. 4 Process/Steps
Process/Steps

46. “A good plan is like a road map: it shows
the final destination and usually the best
way to get there.”
− H. Stanley Judd
46

47. Who are you presenting t?
A
Create your version of a process map
Audience
Highlight partners and deliverables
Identify activities, artifacts, teams
Show points of collaboration
47

48. Discovery High Level Design Detailed Design Development Documentation
Research
Personas Scenarios & Tasks Paper prototype testing
UX
Checkpoint use cases
Process Flows Screen Sketches Wireframes
with development Team Interaction Design
Content
Page and Module
Template Definition
Content Assessment Content Recommendation
Visual Des
Design Exploration Prototype Checkpoint Style Guide
Design Page Comps for key screens
Site Dev/Tech
Interactive Prototype
Checkpoint use cases and technologies QA/ Testing
Tech Assessment
(Ajax, Flash, etc.) with creative team
48

49. 5
Artifact
Value of
Artifact/Activity

50. “Everyone hears only what he
understands.”
− Johann Wolfgang van Goethe
50

51. Who are you presenting t?
A
Show how UX artifacts & activities led to
Audience
informed design decisions
UX Artifacts that influence design
• Content audit
• Ethnography or in-context studies
• Personas
• Journey Maps
• Wireframes
• Testing/Iterative Design
51

53. http://www.affectivedesign.org/archives/948

54. Credit: Elaine Shultz
Materials and Tools became a tab in the final design
Users preferred to
see substeps in list
format at the top of
the page
Right rail used
predominantly to
surface related
projects
I need became a Materials and
Tools section in the final version
Round 1 Testing -- How To page Round 2 Testing -- How To page

55. http://adaptivepath.com/ideas/the-anatomy-of-an-experience-map

56. http://adaptivepath.com/ideas/the-anatomy-of-an-experience-map

57. http://adaptivepath.com/
ideas/the-anatomy-of-an-
experience-map

58. 6 Behind the
Scenes
Behind Scenes

59. “The doing is often more important than
the outcome.”
− Arthur Ashe
59

60. Who are you presenting t?
A
1-2 page collage max
Audience
Include sketches, photos, prior versions
Capture the environment
Show points of collaboration
60

61. Credit: Luci Laffitte
Ethnography
61

62. http://simondoggett.com/#a38/custom_plain
Ethnography
62

63. http://simondoggett.com/#a38/custom_plain
Help people lead better LIVES
Finding points to INNOVATE & DELIGHT
63

64. Help people lead better LIVES
Finding points to INNOVATE & DELIGHT
64

65. Help people lead better LIVES
65

66. 7
What You Did
What You Did

67. “If you do not tell the truth about
yourself you cannot tell it about other
people.”
− Virginia Woolf
67

68. Who are you presenting t?
A
Be specific about your role
Audience
What were your deliverables?
What decisions did you drive?
What (new) role would be appealing?
Show points of collaboration
68

69. Who are you presenting t?
A
Be specific about your role
Audience
What were your deliverables?
• What were you responsible for?
• Who were your partners and how did
you collaborate with them?
• Which documents were joint efforts?
Full
Team
UX
Team
You
You
+
(?)
69

70. Who are you presenting t?
A
What were your deliverables?
Audience
What were your deliverables?
• Are there different levels of effort
for each deliverable?
• What tools did you use?
• How were your deliverables shared
with the client?
70

71. Who are you presenting t?
A
What decisions did you drive?
Audience
What were your deliverables?
• How were you an advocate for the
user? Did you participate in any
user research activities “first-hand”?
• How did you help solve a design
impasse?
• Did you demonstrate your role
championing iterative design?
71

72. Who are you presenting t?
A
Audience
72

73. Who are you presenting t?
A
Audience
73

74. Who are you presenting t?
A
What new role would be appealing?
Audience
What were your deliverables?
• Emphasize competency and
demonstrate readiness for step-up
• The last piece of work you share
should build a case for expanded
responsibilities
74

75. 8 Quality not
Quantity
Quality

76. “Not everything that counts can be
counted and not everything that can be
counted counts.”
− Einstein

77. Who are you presenting t?
A
Refrain from trying to show too much
Audience
Nix mediocre work
Eliminate “similar” work samples
Pay attentionof collaboration
Show points to details
77

78. 9 Design System
vs. Instance
Design System

79. “It is impossible, in principle, to explain
any pattern by invoking a single
quantity”
− Gregory Bateson

80. Who are you presenting t?
A
Show the design system
Audience
Use real text whenever possible
Show templates & reusable components
Pay attentionof collaboration
Show points to details
80

81. presenting t?
http://unify.eightshapes.com/uploads/documents/
EightShapesUnifySample.DesignSpecification.pdf
Pay attentionof collaboration
Show points to details
81

82. presenting t?
http://unify.eightshapes.com/uploads/documents/
EightShapesUnifySample.DesignSpecification.pdf
Pay attentionof collaboration
Show points to details
82

83. Who are you presenting t? http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/
Pay attentionof collaboration
Show points to details
83

84. Who are you presenting t?
http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2007/01/12/free-css-layouts-and-templates/
Pay attentionof collaboration
Show points to details
84

85. 10 Walkthrough
Showmanship
Design System

86. “When someone walks on stage for a
performance and has charisma,
everyone is convinced that he has
personality.”
− Lukas Foss

87. Who are you presenting t?
A
Portfolio is a narrative of your skills
Audience
Rehearse your pitch
Aim for polish & aesthetic appeal
Show points to one prototype
Include at least details
Pay attentionof collaboration
87

88. Who are you presenting t?
A
Portfolio is a narrative of your skills
Audience
Rehearse your pitch
• Determine which projects showcase
specific UX skills
• Write brief summaries to describe
each project so the artifact
communicates without voiceover
Show points For one prototype
Include at least details
Pay attentionof collaboration make sure
• to online portfolios,
your site is easy to navigate (!)
88

89. Who are you presenting t?
http://www.helloerik.com/ux-portfolio-user-experience-examples
89

90. Who are you presenting t?
A
Rehearse your pitch
Audience
Rehearse your pitch
• You can never be too prepared
• Role-play with a friend
• Strike a balance between a
conversation and an interview
• The portfolio review is perfect for
Include at least one prototype
Pay attentionof collaboration and
to details
Show points selling your personality
communication skills
90

91. Who are you presenting t?
Adopt a collaborative stance during portfolio review. Ask if you can sit next to
him/her during the walkthrough to go over the work together
91

92. Who are you presenting t?
A
Aim for polish & aesthetic appeal
Audience
Rehearse your pitch
• No careless typos
• Adopt the posture of an expert
• A beautifully-designed portfolio will
never hurt
Show points to one prototype
Include at least details
Pay attentionof collaboration
92

93. Who are you presenting t?
http://
www.nettamarshall.co
m/#portfolio
93

94. Who are you presenting t?
A
Include at least one prototype
Audience
Rehearse your pitch
• Can’t replicate interactions on paper
• Brings your work to life
• If you have a client presentation
video, credit the team for the effort
and use it to demonstrate your
Include at least one prototype
Pay attentionof collaboration
to details
Show points contribution
94

95. Go get that dream job :-)

96. LYNN TEO
Chief Experience Officer
McCann New York
lynn.teo@mccann.com
@Lynn_Teo