Build a Standout UX/UI Portfolio: Land Your Dream Job
How This Course Will Help Your Career
In a competitive job market, first impressions count. For designers, this is your design portfolio—a representation of who you are, what you can do and why you’re the best candidate for the job. Join us in this design portfolio course as you learn the components and requirements of an exceptional portfolio that catches attention, impresses employers and wins clients.
What You Will Learn
Why a portfolio is pivotal to your job hunt and how hiring managers review portfolios.
How to create a design portfolio that communicates your unique skills and personality and makes the reader want to learn more about you.
How to create a compelling design portfolio, what it includes and how to implement the key components and arrange them according to industry expectations.
The common mistakes designers make with their portfolios and how to avoid them.
Why your portfolio needs attention-grabbing hooks and how to create them.
Why content and documentation are the most critical parts of a design portfolio and why you should prioritize them over visual design.
How to craft engaging design case studies that draw the reader in and sell your abilities.
For new and transitioning designers, how to reframe your non-design experiences into robust case studies.
What types of portfolio creation tools are available, their differences and why you might choose one over another.
How to approach the visual design of your portfolio and apply the finishing touches that will captivate your audience.
How to prepare your portfolio and present it to potential clients and employers.
“Your portfolio is your best advocate in showing your work, your skills and your personality. It also shows not only the final outcomes but the process you took to get there and how you aligned your design decisions with the business and user needs.”
— Morgane Peng, Design Director, Societe Generale CIB
In many industries, your education, certifications and previous job roles help you get a foot in the door in the hiring process. However, in the design world, this is often not the case. Potential employers and clients want to see evidence of your skills and work and assess if they fit the job or design project in question. This is where portfolios come in.
Your portfolio is your first impression, your foot in the door—it must engage your audience and stand out against the hundreds of others they might be reviewing. Join us as we equip you with the skills and knowledge to create a portfolio that takes you one step closer to your dream career.
Build Your Portfolio is taught by Morgane Penn, a designer, speaker, mentor and writer who serves as Director of Experience Design at Societe Generale CIB. With over 12 years of experience in management roles, she has reviewed thousands of design portfolios and conducted hundreds of interviews with designers. She has collated her extensive real-world knowledge into this course to teach you how to build a compelling portfolio that hiring managers will want to explore.
In lesson 1, you’ll learn the importance of portfolios and which type of portfolio you should create based on your career stage and background. You’ll discover the most significant mistakes designers make in their portfolios, the importance of content over aesthetics and why today is the best day to start documenting your design processes. This knowledge will serve as your foundation as you build your portfolio.
In lesson 2, you’ll grasp the importance of hooks in your portfolio, how to write them, and the best practices based on your career stage and target audience. You’ll learn how and why to balance your professional and personal biographies in your about me section, how to talk about your life before design and how to use tools and resources in conjunction with your creativity to create a unique and distinctive portfolio.
In lesson 3, you’ll dive into case studies—the backbone of your portfolio. You’ll learn how to plan your case studies for success and hook your reader in to learn more about your design research, sketches, prototypes and outcomes. An attractive and attention-grabbing portfolio is nothing without solid and engaging case studies that effectively communicate who you are as a designer and why employers and clients should hire you.
In lesson 4, you’ll understand the industry expectations for your portfolio and how to apply the finishing touches that illustrate your attention to detail. You’ll explore how visual design, menus and structure, landing pages, visualizations and interactive elements make your portfolio accessible, engaging and compelling. Finally, you’ll learn the tips and best practices to follow when you convert your portfolio into a presentation for interviews and pitches.
Throughout the course, you'll get practical tips to apply to your portfolio. In the "Build Your Portfolio" project, you'll create your portfolio strategy, write and test your hook, build a case study and prepare your portfolio presentation. You’ll be able to share your progress, tips and reflections with your coursemates, gain insights from the community and elevate each other’s portfolios.
Gain an Industry-Recognized UX Course Certificate
Use your industry-recognized Course Certificate on your resume, CV, LinkedIn profile or your website.
Our courses and Course Certificates are trusted by these industry leaders:
Entry and mid-level designers looking to build their portfolios from scratch or improve their existing design portfolio.
Aspiring designers looking to transition to design from an unrelated or semi-related field.
Experts, managers and leads looking to improve and polish their existing portfolio.
All design disciplines, including user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers, user researchers, web designers and more.
Lessons in This Course
- Each week, one lesson becomes available.
- There’s no time limit to finish a course. Lessons have no deadlines.
- Estimated learning time: 11 hours 21 mins spread over 6 weeks .
Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction
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0.1: Welcome to Build a Standout UX/UI Portfolio: Land Your Dream Job (15 mins)
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0.2: Build Your Portfolio: Overview (2 mins)
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0.3: An Introduction to Our Courses (37 mins)
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0.4: Let Our Community Help You (1 min)
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0.5: How to Earn Your Course Certificate (16 mins)
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0.6: Meet Your Peers Online in our Discussion Forums (6 mins)
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0.7: Meet and Learn from Design Professionals in Your Area (1 min)
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0.8: Gain Timeless Skills Through Courses From the Interaction Design Foundation (21 mins)
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0.9: Mandatory vs. Optional Lesson Items (7 mins)
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0.10: A Mix Between Video-Based and Text-Based Lesson Content (6 mins)
Lesson 1: Attract Success: Your Portfolio is the Key to Design Your Dream Career
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1.1: Welcome and Introduction (2 mins)
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1.2: Design Your Career Success: Why Your Portfolio Matters More Than Ever (19 mins)
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1.3: Attract Jobs at Every Career Stage! How to Tailor Your Portfolio (19 mins)
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1.4: 7 Design Portfolio Mistakes That Are Costing You Jobs! And How to Fix Them (44 mins)
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1.5: Mistakes Make Us Masters! Share Your Biggest Mistake and How You Conquered It (7 mins)
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1.6: Beyond Beauty: What a Content-Driven Portfolio Is and Why It's a Gamechanger (17 mins)
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1.7: More than the Final Product: Showcase Your Design Process to Impress Hiring Managers (16 mins)
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1.8: Build Your Portfolio: Build a Winning Portfolio Strategy (12 mins)
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1.9: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 2: Hook Hiring Managers' Attention with Your Design Portfolio
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2.1: Welcome and Introduction (2 mins)
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2.2: Grab Hiring Managers’ Attention with Your Design Portfolio Right From the Start (18 mins)
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2.3: Craft an “About Me” Section that Gets You Noticed (23 mins)
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2.4: Turn Your Non-Design Experience into Design Portfolio Gold (42 mins)
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2.5: Stand Out in a Competitive Market: Land Your Dream Job (13 mins)
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2.6: Peer Power! Get Feedback to Make Your Portfolio Stand Out (8 mins)
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2.7: Build Your Portfolio: Craft a Portfolio Introduction that Makes Viewers Say "Tell Me More!" (8 mins)
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2.8: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 3: How to Make Your Case Studies Stand Out and Tell Your Story
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3.1: Welcome and Introduction (2 mins)
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3.2: Tell Your Story: Transform Your Case Studies into Powerful Design Narratives (19 mins)
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3.3: The First Impression Formula: Write Case Study Intros That Hook Hiring Managers (16 mins)
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3.4: User Research: Show Hiring Managers You Understand Users (20 mins)
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3.5: Tell Your Design Story with Powerful Sketches and Wireframes (12 mins)
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3.6: Share, Refine and Get Feedback: The Power of Clean Sketches in Your Case Studies (7 mins)
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3.7: From Lo-Fi to Hi-Fi: Showcase Your Design Evolution with Prototypes and Iterations (19 mins)
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3.8: Keep it Confidential: How to Showcase Your NDA-Protected Design Work (18 mins)
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3.9: Build Your Portfolio: Craft Case Studies that Get You Invited to an Interview for Your Dream Job (8 mins)
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3.10: Congratulations and Recap (6 mins)
Lesson 4: Land Your Dream Job with a Standout Portfolio
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4.1: Welcome and Introduction (2 mins)
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4.2: Match Your Design Portfolio Tool to Your Skills and Goals: Website vs. PDF vs. Slideshow (19 mins)
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4.3: Tool Time! Share Your Tool Wins, Fails and Lessons Learned (7 mins)
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4.4: Design with Intent: Craft Your Portfolio with Visual Storytelling Tools (21 mins)
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4.5: Missed Clicks, Missed Job Opportunities: Optimize Your Portfolio Navigation (17 mins)
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4.6: Design a Landing Page That Gets You an Interview (16 mins)
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4.7: Show, Don't Tell: Design UX Case Studies that Get You Hired (19 mins)
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4.8: Clickable or Classic? Choose the Right Interactivity Level for Your Portfolio (16 mins)
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4.9: Land Your Dream Job with Your Portfolio Presentation (43 mins)
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4.10: Land That Job: What Top Design Leaders Really Look for in a Portfolio (33 mins)
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4.11: Build Your Portfolio: Get Ready to Land Your Dream Job with Your Presentation (9 mins)
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4.12: Congratulations and Recap (5 mins)
Lesson 5: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up
Learning Paths
This course is part of 8 learning paths:
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UX Designer Learning Path22 courses in 4 parts
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Interaction Designer Learning Path18 courses in 4 parts
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Visual Designer Learning Path17 courses in 4 parts
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Usability Expert Learning Path12 courses in 4 parts
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UI Designer Learning Path15 courses in 4 parts
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Product Manager Learning Path17 courses in 4 parts
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Marketer Learning Path12 courses in 3 parts
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User Researcher Learning Path13 courses in 3 parts
How It Works
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Take online courses by industry experts
Lessons are self-paced so you’ll never be late for class or miss a deadline.
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Get a Course Certificate
Your answers are graded by experts, not machines. Get an industry-recognized Course Certificate to prove your skills.
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Advance your career
Use your new skills in your existing job or to get a new job in UX design. Get help from our community.
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