Notion to Figma to Framer: Designing Your UX Portfolio in 2024

Ayodeji Olagbaiye is a product designer who began his journey about five years ago and is an active member of design communities. Deji currently works as a Product Designer at Kuda Bank, is a Community Advocate of Friends of Figma Lagos, and is building Tinytype a software for artists. He has a degree in Petroleum & Gas Engineering from the University of Lagos.

In our conversation, we talk about:

• What your portfolio MUST contain if you want to land a UX design role in 2024

• What NOT to do when designing your portfolio

• How to get your first UX design job

• The best platform to host your UX design portfolio

• How often you should update your portfolio if you want to stay relevant

Key Takeaways

1. Your portfolio should be visually appealing to spark the recruiter or design managers’ interest. 

2. Case studies are a very important part of your portfolio because they show how you think; you need at least one in your portfolio as a newbie.

3. Make your case study as simple and as short as you possibly can without leaving out the major points.

4. Pro-tip: It’s best to write your case study as you’re working on a project, but if you don’t have the bandwidth to do this while the project is ongoing, make enough notes in a doc somewhere to be able to write a proper case study later.

5. Update your portfolio at least once a year or with new projects that reflect your growth as a designer.

6. Don’t be afraid to share your work publicly.

7. Join a design community - it’s one of the best ways to get feedback and support on your portfolio.

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Find Ayodeji

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayodeji-olagbaiye/ 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DejiNotDope 

Find Iwalola

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iwalolasobowale/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iwalolaa/ 

• Twitter: twitter.com/IwalolaSobowale

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In this episode we cover:

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:52 Icebreaker

00:11:02 Deji's background

00:13:03 Working with developers

00:15:50 What media is Ayodeji consuming?

00:17:18 How Ayodeji got into UX design

00:25:34 Joining Kuda

00:29:06 Working remotely

00:30:05 What he would have done differently

00:34:00 Getting your first job and having a portfolio

00:36:30 What he wishes he knew when building his first portfolio

00:43:26 Key things in a portfolio

00:50:50 Updating your portfolio

00:54:46 Can you get a job without a big project on your portfolio?

00:58:40 What not to do in your portfolio

01:01:39 Is there a best place to host your portfolio?

01:09:06 Can AI help with your portfolio?

01:10:54 Unpopular opinion about design portfolios

01:13:45 Some of the best portfolios Ayodeji has seen

01:21:40 Resources to build your portfolio

01:24:10 Advice for designers

01:31:22 Outro

Referenced

• Tintype 

• Daniel Abayomi 

• Notion

• Framer

• Webflow

• Wordpress

• Wix

• Polywork

• Kuldar's Portfolio 

• Ekemini's Portfolio

• Dennis Snellenberg's Portfolio 

• 90% of designers are unhirable? | UX Collective 

• UX Collective

• Dribbble

• Behance

• Layers

Previous Episodes

Here are some previous episodes for you to enjoy:

1. Disrupting the UX Career Path with Grace Adenle

2. Why Product Management Doesn't Work in Your Organisation with Nnamdi Azodo 

Until next time, stay curious!