Every designer has a unique story - the path they've taken, the problems they've solved, the impact they've had. Your portfolio isn't just a collection of work examples - it's the story of you as a designer.

Creating a portfolio stretches us across many areas: branding, content design, marketing, visual design, product design, motion, typography, coding... it's a lot to handle, and few designers have mastered all of these.

I see plenty of portfolio advice out there, but most of it is pretty generic. I think what makes a portfolio connect is how well you tell your journey through three key elements: clarity, personality and work.

Opening

That first introduction is crucial - some readers might not scroll past it. It needs to grab attention and start telling your story right away.

I like using a big headline that sets the scene. It's your chance to tell readers exactly what you're about before they dive deeper.

Most designers specialise in certain areas, and that's worth showing straight away. Think about the roles you want. I lean towards B2C work, but you might focus on specific products or industries like FinTech or Government.

This focus helps because readers often come looking for these specialties. They might be hiring for a FinTech product team, so being clear about your expertise helps them quickly see if you're a good fit.

Going deeper

Telling more of your story. There are lots of ways to do this - jumping straight into work, listing achievements, or leading with visuals. What works best depends on the story you want to tell.

I chose to show my career journey visually. It adds another layer of detail about who I am and what I've done, building on that first headline.

My approach was to build on my B2C focus. I created app tiles showing the companies I've worked for - another way to emphasise my B2C experience - before diving into specific projects.

Then I added a short paragraph that packs in the key details about my work. It works because it quickly shows:

• Shows my experience
• Names significant companies
• Shows the scale of my work
• Highlights what I'm known for

This combination of visuals and text gives readers a quick, scannable picture of my experience. It's enough detail to interest them, but not so much that they'll skip over it.

Work

Showing your work is tricky to get right. What you include depends on:

• How many places you've worked
• Your project variety at each company
• What type of designer you are

I started by including every project, but it diluted the message. Like everything else on my homepage, less worked better. Three key projects told my story more clearly than five or six.

I kept my portfolio goal in mind - focusing on B2C apps. I chose recent work from GoHenry, Babylon Health as the case studies are interesting and design systems to show my specialty.

Interestingly, I left out the majority of my work. Just the highlights to make the strongest impact.

Personality

How you show personality is your choice. But I think it's important to add some personal touches that build a picture of who we are as people.

These personal touches help readers see not just what you've done, but how you think and work. Maybe it's sharing a creative hobby, playing with colour, or writing with humour. I wanted to show polish and push my visual design skills.

I coded my portfolio myself using just HMTL and CSS so more complex things were a bit more of a challenge. But in the end I managed to add some subtle animations and different theme options: dark, light and a middle tone (I think of it as sunrise).

Your portfolio tells your unique story as a designer. When clarity, personality, and work all support that story - from the opening headline to the final project - you create something that resonates with readers and shows them who you are.

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