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Why your portfolio is underselling your work
Published about 2 months ago • 2 min read
A designer I worked with recently almost left one of her strongest projects out of her portfolio. Why? She didn’t think it was impressive enough. The project was a filtering feature for a dashboard she was working on. In her mind, it was small: one feature, nothing compared to the end-to-end projects in the rest of her portfolio. So I asked her to walk me through it. She had conducted user research to understand why people were struggling to find information. She synthesized the findings and identified filtering as the most useful solution. She mapped edge cases, worked through technical constraints with engineering, and tested several interaction models before the feature shipped. That’s not “just a feature.” That’s a complete design process applied to a real problem. The project was never the issue. The way she was describing it was.
The language problem
After reviewing hundreds of portfolios I can tell you this: Designers don’t have an impressive work problem. They have a language problem. I see work that is solid, with real thinking and set outcomes. But the way most designers describe their projects often strips all of that away. I read through projects that sound like a task list instead of evidence of their capability.
Here’s what that sounds like:
“I designed a filtering feature for a dashboard.”
And here’s a stronger version:
“I led research that showed users were struggling to find information in the dashboard. I designed and tested a filtering system that addressed the problem within the existing technical constraints.”
See the difference? Same project with a completely different impression. It’s about specificity. It’s showing the thinking behind the work, not just the output.
Three language shifts to think about
1. Replace the deliverable with the decision
Most designers write:
“I designed the wireframes.”
That tells us what they made not what they contributed.
Try:
“I explored three directions and recommended the second because it addressed the core user need within our timeline.”
The wireframes are the output.
The decision is the thinking.
That’s what hiring managers want to understand.
2. Replace the task with the problem
Most designers write:
“I worked on the onboarding flow.”
That doesn’t tell us why the work mattered.
Try:
“I identified a major drop-off during the second step of onboarding and redesigned that part of the flow to reduce friction.”
If you have a specific metric include it. If not, don’t invent one.
The task is what you did.
The problem is why it mattered.
Always lead with the problem.
3. Replace vague outcomes with specific ones
Most designers write:
“The feature was well received.”
That doesn’t tell a hiring manager much.
Try:
“In user testing, participants were able to find the right information more easily. After launch, the team continued using the feature as part of the platform’s core workflow.”
If you have a quantitative result, use it. If the outcome was qualitative, describe what changed and be specific. “People liked it” is vague. “Users completed the task with less confusion” is specific.
The question to ask about every project
Before deciding that a project isn’t impressive enough to include, ask yourself:
What problem was I solving and why did it matter?
What decisions did I make and why?
What changed because of my work?
If you can answer those questions with some detail, it may belong in your portfolio.
The work just needs to show that you can understand a problem, make thoughtful decisions, and contribute to an outcome.
A filtering feature can be impressive.
It just needs language that makes the work visible.
If you want direct feedback on whether your case studies are communicating the real strength of your work - or whether your language is making strong projects sound weaker than they are - that’s exactly what a portfolio review is for.
→ Book your portfolio review— $95 "My callback rate doubled after Anthony's audit." Talk soon, Anthony P.S. If you want to work through your broader portfolio and positioning with me live, a 1:1 strategy session is the better fit. $175.
A weekly email on portfolios, job search strategy, confidence, and career growth. From a designer with 25+ years in the industry helping 500+ designers level up. Free. Every Tuesday. Unsubscribe anytime.
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