UI Designer Portfolio Website Guide & Tips

What Is a UI Designer Portfolio?

A UI Designer portfolio is a collection of projects that introduce recruiters, hiring managers, and potential clients to your design process and skills. A portfolio showcases not just the finished product but decisions made throughout the design process. A properly constructed portfolio presents a window into your thought process and personality. It communicates to potential employers who you are as a UI Designer and showcases what makes you unique in the industry. The purpose of a portfolio is to show employers why they should hire you.

How to Build UI Designer Portfolio Projects

Your portfolio should showcase your best work and detail each step of the design process. UI Designers commonly choose projects from previous work experience. However, if you are just starting out or looking to change direction within the industry, you may desire additional projects to include in your portfolio. There are several online websites that offer UI design prompts, case studies, and fake client requests that can assist you with building more projects.

Professional classes can also be valuable sources for projects to add to your portfolio, especially for an entry-level Designer or a UI Designer who has recently received training to improve their skills. Noble Desktop’s UI Design Certificate teaches important UI design concepts and tools. It also features a portfolio workshop and one-on-one career mentorship. 

Choosing UI Designer Portfolio Pieces

One of the most important steps of the portfolio creation process is choosing the pieces that will go into it. You want to only include the best materials that demonstrate your skills as a UI designer, not everything you’ve ever done. Choosing mediocre materials or projects you aren’t proud of is likely to prove uninspiring to the viewer as well. 

Your portfolio should tell a story about who you are as a designer. Each piece should reflect something that you’ve learned or some way that you’ve grown. The individual projects should also relate to each other in some way. Maybe the projects are all of a similar type, or perhaps they all presented specific challenges that had to be overcome in unique ways.

It’s also helpful for the pieces you select to reflect the kind of work you are interested in. For example, you might focus on mobile projects if you’re looking to work specifically with mobile applications. You also might find yourself swapping out projects to fit the work duties expected of different job positions. 

Choosing a UI Designer Portfolio Website

While portfolios are sometimes printed, in today’s digital world, it’s common for portfolios to be hosted on websites. Popular websites for hosting portfolios include platforms like WordPress or Squarespace. You don’t need to know any web coding on these sites to create a professional and visually appealing portfolio. However, if you’re a UI Designer with a coding background, it could be useful to build a web-based portfolio by hand to showcase your coding skills. This method makes it easy for your work to be found through internet searches, and it only takes a simple link to share your portfolio with others. 

You can also post your portfolio on a number of self-promotion communities for designers and other creative professionals, such as Dribbble, Coroflot, and Behance. These websites go beyond traditional portfolio hosting as they also feature job boards with hiring managers looking specifically for designers. Some of these sites provide networking opportunities between designers so that you can get feedback and advice on your work and job hunt. Even if you use one of these self-promotion communities, it’s still ideal to build your own website or use a portfolio hosting site, as you’ll have more control over how your portfolio looks.

Building a UI Designer Portfolio Website

Creating a web-based portfolio should be a deliberate process. You should use the same principles in building your portfolio as you would with any UI design project. The features you choose to include in your design must be visually appealing. You also need to consider the user and how your navigational elements lead them to important information. As a UI Designer, if your portfolio hosts excellent projects, but the design of your portfolio website needs to be fixed, your skills are likely to be taken seriously.

In addition to hosting your portfolio, your website should have an “about me” section that explains who you are and your history as a designer. This is also a good place to include other professional information, such as a LinkedIn profile or email address. Your website might also include a page for your resume and another for any testimonials or accolades you might have.

SEO is another important aspect that can help your portfolio website rank in search results and be seen by hiring managers, recruiters, or potential clients. You may be interested in enrolling in one of Noble’s SEO courses to understand strategies to maximize webpage traffic. 

Polishing a UI Designer Portfolio Website

It’s important for your portfolio website to be as polished as possible. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to the pieces you choose to showcase. In the end, three or four good projects are better than several unfocused or mediocre ones. Due to an individual’s personal connection to their own work, it can be difficult to know if your portfolio is coming across as effectively as you wish. For this reason, it’s a good idea to get a colleague or another industry professional to review your portfolio before sharing it with prospective employers. A trusted friend will also do in a pinch. 

One great place you can gain such feedback is in the UI Design Certificate Program offered through Noble Desktop. In addition to receiving hands-on training from expert instructors, students learn important industry concepts and tools. You’ll also build a portfolio of professional projects and receive one-on-one career mentorship. During this mentorship, students can ask any questions they have about the job application process and receive feedback on their portfolio materials and approaches. 

Learn the Skills to Become a UI Designer at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers several UI design classes for those seeking professional instruction in pursuing a career as a UI Designer. Classes are small and feature expert instructors and free retake options. Courses can be attended in person in NYC or online from anywhere. 

The UI Design Certificate is designed to prepare students to launch a career in UI design. You’ll learn essential design principles as well as how to use the most popular UI design tools: Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Throughout the course, you’ll complete a number of hands-on projects and build a portfolio to showcase your skills to potential employers.

Should you be interested in UX design as well as UI design (the two fields commonly overlap), you can pursue the UX & UI Design Certificate. You’ll learn the design principles and industry tools of both UX & UI design, build a professional portfolio, and receive one-on-one job preparation assistance. 

Bootcamps are also available where you can learn the ins and outs of the most popular UI design tools, including Figma, Photoshop, and Illustrator. These courses are open to pure beginners and are designed to guide you to mastery of the program. 

If you’re not ready to jump into a full UI design course, you can explore Noble Desktop’s learning hubs. These hubs are designed to inform you about a topic and offer learning resources, including free tutorials and self-guided education. UI design learn hubs include:

• Learn UI Design
• Learn Visual Design
• Learn Adobe XD
• Learn Figma
• Learn Sketch