‘Birthing’ your Product Design Portfolio The painfully, joyous process! Chetana Deorah / Tradecraft / October 2016 

“O, where do I begin?…” 

Hold the Vision. Do the Work. 

Trust the Process? What process? User-Centric design process / Product Design methodology!
 
 Applying the design process will help make 
 the portfolio creation less personal taking some of the emotional charge out of it. 

Create with context. • Online product design portfolio link • Recruiter phone screen • Hiring manager phone interview
 • In-person presentation • Presentations with more relevant details/ case studies • Interviewing team getting to know you 

User-Experience Design methodology 

Understanding the pain Portfolios are personal its difficult to talk about yourself You’re being judged the audience is complex, often times vague The stakes are high my job, my career, my lifestyle, my life! are on the line Our work as Product Designers is often intangible solving this problem is part of the solution! 

Your vision, your positioning • Know your audience / go create a persona! • Who are you competing with? • What is your USP (unique selling proposition) • What is the current job landscape? • Your identity across channels Product Design portfolio: Define & research stages 

The sum total of who you are. • Areas you want to make progress in. • Your skills, strengths, interests. • Share your dream. Your aspiration.
 Put it out there! Product Design portfolio: Research & Create stages 

Typically pick 4-9 of your key projects • Based on your positioning (UX/ID or ID+VD, • user research etc.). • Callout the key skill, problem solving, 
 key takeaway in the chosen projects. • Your role and credit team. • Highlight the project success metrics. Product Design portfolio: Create stage 

Content is king. • Develop a professional, yet simple brand. • Showcase skills, demonstrate process. • Your projects must speak to your experience. • Tell the story of who you are; and why you? Product Design portfolio: Create stage 

And, documenting User-Experience Design is well…different. 

We have to demonstrate fuzzy skills… • Understanding of the user • Problem solving skills • Design process skills • Big picture thinking • Attention to details • Critical thinking • Ability to work with complexity • Team collaboration • Being result-oriented 

creating project case studies • document behind-the-scenes. • problem & solution as deliverable. • demonstrate role and responsibility. • establish your voice. • your thinking style to problem solving. Product Design portfolio: Create stage 

Structure of a product design case study Topic: Live at: Project background: Problem defined: User needs: Solution: Results or Metrics: Learnings: Role & team: 

“Showing” with evidence • Show, don’t tell • Provide the “why” for each step • Share your learnings • Highlight pivots & evolution of thinking • Keep it comprehensive & to the point! • Make sure the project is not under an NDA Product Design project case studies are about… 

Thinking: the “invisible” skill • How do you show (user-centric design) thinking? • Its invisible but you can see evidence of it all around you • The why, what, who, how aspects 

Example of a few UX design artifacts user profile business model whiteboard sessions 

mindmap/ mental models Example of a few UX design artifacts 

… and getting to know you!
 
 without getting personal, be personable
 your interests, passions any volunteer work industry presence (talks, workshops etc.) your curiosities, hobbies Product Design portfolio: Create stage 

In summary • plan it like any UX project • content is king • time box this work like any other project! • know your audience • simple, memorable brand • test it, get feedback from colleagues, mentors • watch out for sensitive content, copyrights • prepare the portfolio with context (online, phone, in- person) • often times less can be more • tell an engaging story 

Online portfolio builders wix behance coroflot medium cargo collective carbonmade squarespace 

Resources UX Recruiting Toolkit: Interviewing UX candidates http://www.khoslaventures.com/ux-recruiting-toolkit-interviewing- ux-candidates-57 

Hold the Vision. Do the Work. TRUST THE PROCESS Chetana Deorah | Tradecraft 2016 | [email protected]