{"id":13339,"date":"2017-08-29T16:33:21","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T15:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.intercom.com\/?p=13339"},"modified":"2020-07-30T12:57:51","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T11:57:51","slug":"minimum-viable-product-design-portfolio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/minimum-viable-product-design-portfolio\/","title":{"rendered":"The minimum viable product design portfolio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past few months, I\u2019ve reviewed dozens of product design portfolios, so many that I\u2019ve been thinking deeply about what a good product designer’s portfolio should look like.<\/p>\n

Before I begin, let me say that we appreciate every portfolio we receive, from the most junior designers to the most senior. Please keep sending us your portfolios, and if you would like to get really good at creating them, follow these tips.<\/em><\/p>\n

The true nature of design work is often difficult to convey. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re a product designer working in a large product team, and the only visible results of your work are a few buttons added to an already overloaded UI. Or you\u2019re a designer that\u2019s so busy at work that you simply don\u2019t have time to work on an in-depth portfolio. What\u2019s the best way to present your work? The answer may not be a text-heavy website or PDF that takes 30 minutes to read through.<\/p>\n

Most product design portfolios tend to fall into two camps:<\/p>\n

1. The polished Dribbble portfolio<\/h3>\n

First is the Dribbble portfolio, with bright beautiful pictures and isometric mockups of iPhone screens. This can be a great option for those who position themselves as a UI or visual designer. But as we know, product design is about more than aesthetics; it’s about how things work at a fundamental level. It\u2019s about what problems are being solved and why, about the system architecture<\/a>, about the organisation and interaction of each section, about the language used<\/a>, about the UI patterns<\/a>. Dribbble doesn\u2019t help you communicate that<\/a>. It values strong visual presentation, nice colors, icons and typography, but usually ignores the real business problem behind the design.<\/p>\n

2. The detailed case-study<\/h3>\n

The other is the product design portfolio with overly detailed and long winded stories that go deep into the process of working on the product. The author might mention a few of the latest product design buzzwords, and illustrate each project with fancy behind the scenes photos of Post-its and sketches. Rather than convey any actual information, these are simply included as a nod to the fact that design is a complex, iterative process that is difficult to communicate, so here\u2019s a photo of some Post-its to prove it. This is the product design portfolio equivalent of how a drunk uses a lamp post: more for support than illumination.<\/p>\n

Instead, the best product design portfolios I have seen are simply a list of links to products the designer has worked on, along with screenshots and short, relevant descriptions.<\/p>\n

They briefly cover:<\/p>\n