Lately, I’ve had some free time during my job transition and have been reviewing a few of my friends’ design portfolios. Gradually, I found some common themes around the feedback I’ve given. And it occurred to me that others might find some of my recommendations useful so I wrote them down.

最近，我在工作過渡期間有一些空閑時間，并且正在審查我的一些朋友的設計作品集。 漸漸地，我發現了一些關于反饋的共同主題。 在我看來，其他人可能會發現我的一些建議很有用，所以我將其寫下來。

1：保持簡單。 您無需在投資組合中透露所有有關您的信息。 (1: Keep it simple. You don’t need to tell everything about you in your portfolio.)

You might be a talented designer who is able to design end-to-end, has 20 awesome projects to showcase and 5 side-gigs you can’t wait to tell interviewers about. But keep in mind that interviewers’ time is always limited. When I was a hiring manager, I truly had only 20 minutes to review each portfolio. This is what I usually did: I opened the portfolio, navigated to the “About” page to see if there was anything interesting beyond a generic “A designer trying to improve people’s lives” tagline there. Then I jumped to checking out the first project, assuming that would be the latest and greatest. If I was impressed with that one, I would quickly scan some of the other work to get a sense of the breadth of problems that candidate was solving. But in general, reviewing the first two projects would provide adequate signals for making a decision.

您可能是一位才華橫溢的設計師，能夠端到端設計，有20個很棒的項目可以展示，還有5個旁觀者，您迫不及待要告訴采訪者。 但是請記住，訪問員的時間總是有限的。 當我是一名招聘經理時，我確實只有20分鐘的時間來審核每個投資組合。 這通常是我做的事情：打開投資組合，導航到“關于”頁面，查看那里是否有通用的“試圖改善人們生活的設計師”標語之外是否還有有趣的事情。 然后我跳到簽出第一個項目，假設那將是最新的也是最大的。 如果讓我印象深刻，我將快速瀏覽其他一些工作，以了解候選人正在解決的問題的廣度。 但是總的來說，審查前兩個項目將為決策提供足夠的信號。

So, I would recommend keeping your projects as few as possible. 2–4 is truly enough.

因此，我建議您的項目盡可能少。 2–4確實足夠。

One masterpiece is more powerful than a hundred mediocre works.

一件杰作比一百件平庸的作品更強大。

Of course, whatever you show should be really, really polished. That means you have to be very thoughtful about which projects to show. You can treat your portfolio as a product you are trying to sell, think about what your selling points are and how you want to position yourself. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

當然，無論您顯示什么，都應該非常，非常精美。 這意味著您必須非常考慮要顯示的項目。 您可以將投資組合視為您要銷售的產品，考慮您的賣點是什么以及如何定位自己。 您可以問自己一些問題：

1. What is the ideal designer role for me?

   對我來說理想的設計師角色是什么？

2. What traits do I need to demonstrate to succeed in that role?

   我需要證明什么才能成功擔任該職位？

3. Does my story on project A demonstrate all these traits?

   我在項目A上的故事是否顯示了所有這些特征？

4. If not, does project B complement it?

   如果沒有，項目B是否對其進行補充？

With thinking practice like this, you should be able to land on the best projects to showcase your diverse skills, and with unique stories as well.

通過這樣的思維練習，您應該能夠從事最好的項目，以展示您的各種技能以及獨特的故事。

2： 并非總是需要強大的視覺設計技巧； 但是，要注意細節。 (2: Strong visual design skill is not always required; however, attention to detail is.)

Product Design is a job that requires a wide range of knowledge, from business strategy and user research to interaction, visual and motion design. Product Designers come from diverse backgrounds, such as Graphic Design, Computer Science or Psychology. Thus, one designer’s skill profile can vary drastically from another. It’s totally fine if you want to develop a “T-shaped” career by focusing on, let’s say, design strategy; but it doesn’t mean you can be sloppy with details in your portfolio. I’m always surprised when I see some mistakes over and over again, even from senior designers:

產品設計是一項需要廣泛知識的工作 ，從業務策略和用戶研究到交互，視覺和動作設計。 產品設計師來自不同的背景，例如平面設計，計算機科學或心理學。 因此，一個設計師的技能概況可能會與另一個設計師大不相同。 如果您想通過專注于設計策略來發展“ T形”職業，那完全沒問題。 但這并不意味著您可以對投資組合中的細節草率行事。 當我一遍又一遍地看到一些錯誤時，我總是感到驚訝，即使是高級設計師也是如此：

• Use one pane layout with full width on the body copy

  在主體副本上使用全寬度的一個窗格布局

On large screens, this leads to excessive line lengths which cause readability issues. The ideal length for body copy on a large screen is 40–60 characters per line. Consider setting a maximum width on your body copy and reserving the full width pane for displaying your high fidelity mocks only.

在大屏幕上，這會導致行長過大，從而導致可讀性問題。 在大屏幕上進行正文復制的理想長度是每行40–60個字符。 考慮在您的正文副本上設置最大寬度，并保留全寬窗格以僅顯示高保真模擬。

You could also refer to some online blogs or content-sharing platforms to see how they handle layout to make a long article easy to read. Medium is a good example.

您還可以參考一些在線博客或內容共享平臺，以了解它們如何處理布局以使長篇文章易于閱讀。 中等就是一個很好的例子。

• Use too many typography styles in one layout

  在一種布局中使用太多的排版樣式

Each font you introduce adds a new tone to your design. Each variant you introduce adds a new factor of complexity. Using too many fonts in different styles without a system can make a page look unstructured and unprofessional. Well, if you are not a total typeface guru (I myself am still catching up!), you could just keep it simple by using two compatible fonts (one for headings, one for body copy) with minimum variants on one page. And, ALL CAPS should never be used in a long sentence.

您介紹的每種字體都會為您的設計增添新的色彩。 您介紹的每個變體都會增加新的復雜性。 在沒有系統的情況下使用太多不同風格的字體可能會使頁面顯得結構混亂且不專業。 好吧，如果您不是一個完整的字型大師(我自己仍在追趕！)，則可以通過使用兩種兼容的字體(一種用于標題，一種用于正文)來保持其簡單性，并在一頁上使用最少的變體。 而且，所有CAPS都不應使用太長的句子。

• Typos and grammar issues

  錯別字和語法問題

This is very common in the portfolios of international speakers of English. Since your portfolio is something that will represent you throughout your career, it’s a good idea to invest in a communication coach to help you proofread before sending out it to hiring managers.

這在國際英語講者中非常普遍。 由于您的投資組合將在您的整個職業生涯中代表您，因此，最好在交流教練之前進行投資，以幫助您進行校對，然后再發送給招聘經理。

You might think these are small nits. But designers who can’t demonstrate a basic understanding of visuals and attention to detail in their portfolio might leave hiring managers in doubt if you have the ability to drive or execute on high-quality output end-to-end. Visual design doesn’t have to be your strongest point, but you don’t want poor quality to diminish your work.

您可能會認為這些都是小巧的尼特。 但是，如果您沒有能力端到端地驅動或執行高質量的輸出，則無法展示出對視覺效果和對細節的關注的設計師可能會招用招聘經理。 視覺設計不一定是您的強項，但您不希望質量低劣會削弱您的工作。

3：講一個好故事。 (3: Tell a good story.)

This is the most important element. A good story can ensure 80% of the success of your portfolio. You have taken your projects all the way from concept to final launch. So much effort and thought has been put into it all. You have grown and learned a lot. Fantastic! The portfolio story, however, is its own thing. It’s not just simply listing what you’ve done, but a thoughtfully curated narrative that can help you pull interviewers in and “checking all the boxes” in their mind.

這是最重要的元素。 一個好的故事可以確保您的投資組合成功80％。 從概念到最終啟動，您已經完成了所有項目。 付出了很多努力和思想。 您已經成長并學到了很多東西。 太棒了！ 然而，投資組合的故事是它自己的事情。 這不僅是列出您所做的事情，而且是精心策劃的敘述，可以幫助您吸引面試官，并在他們的腦海中“檢查所有框子”。

You can write down those moments that best highlight your approach, strong suits and learnings. Then, take your time to craft a cohesive storyline to link those moments. Practice telling the story with your friends for feedback. Lastly, do what a designer usually spends 90% of their time on: iterate. My tips below apply not only to portfolios, but also portfolio presentations.

您可以寫下那些最能突出您的方法，強項和經驗的時刻。 然后，花一些時間來制作連貫的故事情節以鏈接這些時刻。 練習與朋友講故事以征求反饋。 最后，執行設計師通常花費其90％的時間的工作： 迭代 。 我在下面的提示不僅適用于投資組合，而且還適用于投資組合演示。

提示1：專注于您的過程。 不是您的解決方案。 (Tip 1: Focus on your process. not your solution.)

Nobody expects to just see a bunch of Dribbble shots from a Product Designer. So, save your high fidelity mockups for the last part. Focus your story on walking the audience through your process. Answer these key questions:

沒有人期望看到產品設計師提供的一堆Dribbble鏡頭。 因此，在最后一部分中保存您的高保真模型。 將您的故事重點放在引導觀眾完成整個過程上。 回答以下關鍵問題：

• What was the problem?

  怎么了

• How did you know it was a real problem and worth solving?

  您怎么知道這是一個真正的問題，值得解決？

• How did you solve the problem?

  您是如何解決這個問題的？

• Which directions did you try?

  您嘗試了哪些方向？

• What was your ultimate solution?

  您的最終解決方案是什么？

• What was the impact?

  有什么影響？

Be ready to show your iterations, tradeoffs and how you landed on your solutions. Having a structure can help your audience follow the sequence. If you need a visual representation, here is the one I use:

準備展示迭代，權衡以及如何著手解決方案。 具有結構可以幫助您的聽眾遵循順序。 如果您需要一種視覺表現形式，這是我使用的一種：

A common mistake is enumerating what was done without any explanation on why it was done in that way. For example, many designers liked to show “personas” in their portfolio. However, why did you use personas here? How did this approach inform your design choices? It’s not always clearly explained, so left the audience feeling that the designer might not profoundly understand the methodology.

一個常見的錯誤是枚舉所做的事情，而沒有任何解釋為什么這樣做的原因。 例如，許多設計師喜歡在其作品集中顯示“角色”。 但是，為什么在這里使用角色？ 這種方法如何告知您的設計選擇？ 它的解釋并不總是很清楚，所以讓聽眾感到設計師可能無法深刻理解方法論。

Emphasize on “why” and “how”, not “what”.

強調“為什么”和“如何”，而不是“什么”。

As long as you are applying for a Product Designer role, the story should heavily stress on “how” and “why”, instead of “what”. It’s critical to explain the reasoning behind your decisions at each step of your process. Why is the primary button green? Why did you choose tabs versus a hamburger menu? You don’t need to put everything in your portfolio, but definitely keep the answers in your mind since they might be surfaced during interviews.

只要您申請產品設計師職位，故事就應該重點強調“如何”和“為什么”，而不是“什么”。 在流程的每個步驟中解釋決策背后的原因至關重要。 為什么主按鈕為綠色？ 為什么選擇標簽而不是漢堡菜單？ 您不需要將所有內容都放在投資組合中，但一定要牢記在心，因為答案可能會在面試中浮出水面。

提示2：將業務背景融入您的故事 (Tip 2: Weave business context into your story)

Many designers start their story with users’ problems then jump right into the design process without mentioning any business background. Why does the company want to invest in this area? What’s the opportunity size of this initiative? How did you measure success? When asked these questions, some designers start scratching their heads. This might leave interviewers with the impression that you lack the ability to influence strategy, that you can only execute on design for defined problems handed off by your PM. Remember:

許多設計師從用戶的問題開始他們的故事，然后直接進入設計過程而沒有提及任何業務背景。 公司為什么要在這方面投資？ 該計劃的機會規模是多少？ 您如何衡量成功？ 當被問到這些問題時，一些設計師開始撓頭。 這可能會使面試官感到您缺乏影響策略的能力，只能針對PM交出的已定義問題執行設計。 記得：

Every design problem connects with business objectives.

每個設計問題都與業務目標相關。

You can easily cover this by weaving business context throughout your story, from beginning to end. For example:

通過從頭到尾編織整個故事中的業務上下文，您可以輕松解決這一問題。 例如：

1. Start with the business background, explaining the unique business challenge, why the problem was essential to solve for the business, what the opportunity size and business goals were, etc.
   從業務背景開始，解釋獨特的業務挑戰，為什么問題對于解決業務必不可少，機會規模和業務目標是什么，等等。
2. In the middle, highlight your considerations on business relevance when you weighed different design options, and how you balanced user’s and business needs to land on a satisfactory solution.
   在中間，當您權衡不同的設計選項時，突出顯示您對業務相關性的考慮，以及如何平衡用戶和業務需求以找到令人滿意的解決方案。
3. End with the business outcome if your design was launched; for example, metrics impacted and takeaways.
   如果啟動了設計，則以業務成果結尾； 例如，影響指標和收益。

Showcasing your understanding of business objectives can help you impress PM interviewers for sure. But most importantly, designers should view business as a fundamental part of their work and constantly think about how design can bring business value in the day-to-day. Being business savvy is virtually a must for senior designers these days. If you haven’t done it yet, I highly recommend you start building a solid foundation of business acumen. To begin, your PM friends might be the best people to learn from.

展示您對業務目標的理解可以肯定地幫助您吸引PM面試官。 但是最重??要的是，設計師應將業務視為工作的基本組成部分，并不斷思考設計如何在日常中帶來業務價值。 如今，精通業務實際上是高級設計師的必需品。 如果您還沒有這樣做，我強烈建議您開始建立扎實的商業頭腦。 首先，您的PM朋友可能是最好的人。

提示3：使用“我們”，而不是“我”。 (Tip 3: Use “we”, not “I”.)

Early days in my career, I liked to brag about how I single-handedly solved a problem by doing everything. But nowadays, I try to avoid using too many “I” in my story. Of course, you need to make your contribution clear, but that doesn’t mean your story should be all about “you”. Product Design, by its nature, requires a strong ability to collaborate. In a real workplace, how to work with other functions, synthesize different opinions and output with a balanced solution is way more relevant than visualizing just your own idea.

在我職業生涯的早期，我喜歡吹噓自己如何通過一切來解決問題。 但是如今，我盡量避免在故事中使用過多的“我”。 當然，您需要明確說明自己的觀點，但這并不意味著您的故事應該全部與“您”有關。 產品設計本質上要求具有強大的協作能力。 在實際的工作場所中，如何與其他功能一起工作，綜合不同的意見并通過平衡的解決方案進行輸出，比僅可視化您自己的想法更重要。

So, you probably have seen cross-functional partners in your interview panel to gauge your collaboration skills. How about peppering your story with how you collaborate with your cross-functional partners? For example, bringing the team along in your process by running a co-design workshop, or working with Engineers together so that you can design a scalable solution to avoid technical debt. These elements could easily resonate with cross-functional partners and set the right tone for the following 1-on-1 conversations.

因此，您可能在面試面板中看到了跨職能合作伙伴來評估您的協作技能。 與跨職能合作伙伴的合作如何充實您的故事？ 例如，通過舉辦合作設計研討會來使團隊參與進來，或者與工程師一起工作，以便您可以設計可擴展的解決方案以避免技術負擔。 這些元素可以輕松地與跨職能合作伙伴產生共鳴，并為隨后的一對一對話設定正確的語調。

Above are some suggestions I’ve given to my friends. I hope these tips can also help you avoid some mistakes and build a stronger portfolio. Any feedback? Please leave it here.

以上是我給我的朋友的一些建議。 我希望這些技巧還可以幫助您避免一些錯誤并建立更強大的產品組合。 任何反饋？ 請留在這里。