UX Portfolio Mistakes: 11 Red Flags & How to Fix Them

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Why your UX portfolio gets zero callbacks

Scenario: you've just spent the last three weeks perfecting your UX portfolio. The colors are just right. The case studies are almost perfect. You hit publish and... crickets. No callbacks. No interviews. Just silence.

Been there? Yeah, me too. And let me tell you—it stings.

Most UX portfolios fail not because the designer lacks talent, but because they're making fundamental mistakes that scream "amateur hour" to hiring managers. I've reviewed hundreds of portfolios as both a hiring manager and UX mentor, and I keep seeing the same red flags over and over again.

Today, let's fix that.

Understanding the hiring manager's perspective

Most hiring managers spend less than 3 minutes reviewing your portfolio. I know, ouch. It's like speed dating, but with less awkward small talk and more judgment.

They're looking for reasons to say "no" before they look for reasons to say “yes”.

When I review portfolios (and trust me, I’ve seen hundreds), my internal monologue goes something like this:

Does this person actually solve problems, or do they just make things look nice?

Can they communicate their thinking clearly, or will I have to decode their process?

Will they fit our team culture, or will every meeting feel like pulling teeth?

Do they understand UX as a strategic tool, or are they just arranging boxes on a screen?

You’d best be ready—because if your portfolio doesn’t answer these questions fast, I’m already on to the next one.

11 portfolio red flags and how to fix

Every red flag has a fix.

And I'm about to show you 11 red flags and what exactly hiring managers look for (and what makes us cringe).

No sugarcoating, no vague advice—just real, actionable fixes for the most common portfolio killers. Without further ado—let's dive in 👇

1. No CTA

You make it harder to contact you than finding a needle in a haystack. Poor CTAs mean:

You appear unprofessional

You miss opportunity windows

Professional networking is limited

Recruitment process gets delayed

Interested employers might give up

❌

Common mistakes:

Unclear availability

No clear next steps

Difficult to reach out

Missing resume download

Hidden contact information

✅

Add these essential elements:

LinkedIn profile

Availability status

Resume download

Clear email address

Response time expectation

Make it easy to contact you. Put your info where people can find it quickly.

🎁

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2. Weak visuals

Your UI looks like it's stuck in 2015. While UX isn't all about visuals:

Low-quality assets suggest carelessness

Poor visual design suggests limited craft skills

Dated patterns show lack of industry awareness

Inconsistency raises red flags about attention to detail

Bad hierarchy indicates poor information architecture skills

❌

Common mistakes:

Low-quality images

Poor visual hierarchy

Amateur graphic design

Inconsistent UI elements

Outdated design patterns

✅

How to fix:

Use proper UI spacing

Study current design trends

Show before/after comparisons

Learn basic visual design principles

Include actual screens, not just wireframes

Good design needs good visuals. Make sure your work looks current and polished.

3. Too much fluff

Your writing sounds like a corporate buzzword generator had a party. Fluff in your portfolio:

Hides your real capabilities

Wastes the reviewer's limited time

Questions your ability to communicate clearly

Suggests a lack of concrete accomplishments

Makes it hard to understand your actual contributions

❌

Common mistakes:

Excessive adjectives

Overuse of buzzwords

Vague descriptions of work

Empty claims without substance

Marketing speak instead of clear explanation

Example:

"Disrupted the traditional user experience landscape"

"Leveraged synergistic design thinking to revolutionize the user paradigm"

"Crafted an innovative solution through deep empathy and strategic ideation"

✅

How to defluff:

Use simple language

Cut adjectives by 50%

Focus on specific actions and results

Write like you're explaining to a friend

Simple words work best. Say what you did and why it worked. Skip the fancy language.

4. No personality

Your portfolio reads like it was written by ChatGPT's boring cousin. Design is about solving human problems. Without personality, you:

Miss the chance to show cultural fit

Blend in with hundreds of other applicants

Fail to demonstrate what makes you unique

Don't give hiring managers any memorable details

Make it hard for teams to imagine working with you

❌

Common mistakes:

Cookie-cutter about me sections

No personal voice or perspective

Bland, corporate-speak descriptions

Lack of unique viewpoints or approaches

Generic "passionate designer" statements

Example:

"I create innovative solutions..."

"I am a passionate UX designer who loves solving problems..."

Generic stock photos of people pointing at screens

✅

How to show personality right:

Write like you talk (professional ≠ boring)

Show your side projects or design experiments

Include a photo of you actually working/designing

Share your design philosophy (but make it real, not Pinterest-quote real)

Companies hire people, not just skill sets. They want to understand who you are and how you think.

5. Missing metrics

You claim success but show no proof. Without metrics:

ROI is questionable

Success is subjective

Your impact is unproven

Business value is unclear

Design decisions lack validation

❌

Common mistakes:

No business impact data

Vague impact statements

No success measurements

Lack of quantifiable results

Missing before/after comparisons

✅

Metrics to include:

Business metrics

User adoption rates

Task completion rates

User satisfaction scores

Time on-task improvements

Example:

"Reduced cart abandonment by 23% through redesigned checkout flow, resulting in $1.2M additional revenue in Q3 2023"

Numbers prove your success. Include real results whenever possible.

🎏

Your full guide to creating an outstanding portfolio and getting noticed.

UX Portfolio Playbook — UX Playbook

Get hired as a UX designer stress-free with ready-to-use templates, and guides, and more. — 👩‍🏫 Suitable for: Beginners , Intermediates designers — 🔥 This includes: Onboarding, Portfolio Formats, UX Case Studies, UX Hiring Process, UX Job Search, LinkedIn Profile, Job Applications, Notion

https://uxplaybook.org/shop/p/ux-portfolio-playbook

6. Typos everywhere

Your portfolio looks like autocorrect had a meltdown. UX design requires meticulous attention to detail because:

Copy is a crucial part of user experience

Design specifications need to be precise

Client communications must be professional

Documentation needs to be clear for developers

Small errors in products can confuse thousands of users

❌

Common mistakes:

Wrong technical terms

Inconsistent capitalization

Missing or extra punctuation

Grammar errors in case studies

Spelling mistakes in crucial sections

Example:

Created wirefarmes

User Experiance Designer

Improved user engagment

✅

The fix:

Have a friend proofread

Use Grammarly (the free version is fine)

Print it out – errors are easier to spot on paper

Read your content backward (seriously, it helps spot errors)

Small mistakes add up. Take 10 extra minutes to check your spelling. It's worth it.

7. Sloppy presentation

Your portfolio looks like it was organized by a cat walking across your keyboard.

As a UX designer, your job is to create organized, intuitive experiences. A messy portfolio suggests you either:

Don't pay attention to detail

Lack of basic visual hierarchy understanding

Rush through your work without quality checks

Can't apply basic design principles to your own work

When hiring managers see a sloppy portfolio, they immediately question your ability to handle complex design systems and maintain consistency across products.

❌

Common mistakes:

Broken links or navigation

Poorly compressed images

Unorganized content layout

Random font sizes and styles

Inconsistent spacing between sections

✅

How to fix it:

Stick to 2-3 font sizes maximum

Use high-quality images (aim for under 1MB but over 100KB)

Create a consistent grid system (yes, just like you do for your apps)

Test your portfolio on different devices (what looks good on your 4K monitor might look terrible on your laptop)

Clean design shows you care about quality. Take time to make everything neat and organized.

8. No case study process

You show final designs without showing how you got there. Without process documentation:

Your iteration approach is unclear

Your user-centered focus is unproven

Employers can't evaluate your thinking

Your research abilities are questionable

Your problem-solving skills remain unknown

❌

Common mistakes:

Absent user research

Missing methodology

Only showing final designs

No explanation of iterations

Lack of problem-solving narrative

✅

What to include:

Problem definition

User journey maps

User testing results

Wireframe iterations

Implementation challenges

Research methods and findings

💡

Process documentation template:

Problem statement

Research phase

Design exploration

Testing and iteration

Final solution

Results and learnings

The journey is as important as the destination. Show your work, not just your wins.

9. No clear “Who you are”

Your professional identity is as clear as mud. Lack of clear identity means:

Your expertise is questionable

Your value proposition is weak

Your career direction is unclear

Your professional brand is diluted

Employers can't assess fit for roles

❌

Common mistakes:

Vague skill set

Unclear specialization

Undefined career goals

Missing professional focus

Ambiguous experience level

✅

Must-have elements:

Career goals

Industry expertise

Years of experience

Special skills/strengths

Clear professional focus

If you don't define who you are, others will define you - or worse, ignore you.

Your portfolio looks like every other portfolio on Wix/Squarespace. Template overuse suggests:

Lack of creativity

Limited technical skills

Poor attention to differentiation

Inability to create unique solutions

Unwillingness to put in extra effort

❌

Common mistakes:

No personal branding

Common design patterns

Standard portfolio structures

Generic layouts everyone uses

Using default templates without customization

✅

What to notice:

Make it memorable

Create unique layouts

Add personal branding elements

Customize templates significantly

Basic templates don't show your skills. Take time to create something that represents you.

Read more about the pros and cons of these 20 best UX portfolio website builders ⤵️

20 Best UX Portfolio Website Builders for Designers in 2025

What's the top UX portfolio builders for designers? Dive into the pros and cons of tools like Webflow, Framer, Behance, Squarespace, UXFolio, and Notion.

https://uxplaybook.org/articles/best-ux-portfolio-website-builders-2025

11. Projects with zero depth

Your case studies read like fortune cookie messages. Without depth, hiring managers can't:

Judge the impact of your work

Evaluate your research capabilities

Assess your decision-making skills

Verify your user-centered approach

Understand your problem-solving process

❌

Common mistakes:

Surface-level case studies

Absent user testing results

Missing problem statements

Lack of research documentation

No explanation of design decisions

Example:

"Users didn't like it, so I fixed it"

"The client wanted a better app, so I made it better"

"Engagement increased by making it more engaging"

✅

How to add depth:

Include sketches and iterations

Start with the business problem

Share what didn't work (yes, really!)

Document your decision-making process

Show your research methods and findings

Details matter. Show your work step by step. Good portfolios tell the full story.

The ultimate UX portfolio checklist

I've reviewed hundreds of portfolios, and let me tell you: having a checklist is like having a design safety net. It's the difference between "I think it's ready" and "I know it's ready.”

Think of this as your pre-flight checklist. You wouldn't want a pilot to skip their checklist, right? (Though arguably, a bad portfolio probably won't cause an emergency landing... probably.)