Screenshots, videos, animations, case studies, a blog, a link to the actual thing... There's a lot of ways you can showcase your projects in your portfolio.

Having a conversation with a client/employer and referencing real life work has been my primary means of communicating my skill-set.

Of course a link to the actual product is best, but if you're a freelancer then the finished product doesn't always match your vision... So should you show the real deal, or your pixel-perfect Photoshop mockups?

Personally, I show the mockups on my site, and link to the site. Of course ideally both would be identical, but in practice that doesn't happen often.

I don't think it's a big deal though, most people understand that unless you're an in-house designer (and even then...) you will rarely have total control over the product.

Depends what type of design you are displaying. Screenshots, videos or anything you cannot interact with only convey aesthetics. If its graphic design, or marketing sites etc, screenshots get the job done. When it comes to "product design" static example do not convey the work and thought that has been applied. Explaining interactions is like trying to explain a smell. You can do it but there is nothing like actually smelling it. That is why I prefer links to the actual product and an explaination of the role the designer took part in.

I'm with @yaronschoen on this one, however communicating your projects, I think, is as difficult as coming up with the interactions on those products you've worked on. And designers often either don't have the time to write full-on case studies, or just take the easy route (like myself) to show off screenshots. Although I do provide links to the actual product and try not to show undone projects on my portfolio.

And it's sort of lame that I can't edit my posts here.

I'm glad I was able to add such valuable commentary to this discussion.

I'm sure your comment will be the one with the most likes anyway, as always... (although, not sure if you can actually "like" something on here)

imo it really depends on what you are trying to communicate.

While I do agree that dribble is great for posting shots of dropdowns etc, if you are going for a UI designer job where you will be working with a few other designer, you probably want to portray your pixel perfect design with images like this.

However that said, I also agree that on portfolios, these individual elements probably won't work. What I would display is how a design solved the clients problem, and detailing it out with copy can be very effective.

Sometimes we have to remember that not everyone loves design as much as we do. That pixel perfect design will probably be appreciated within the design community, but may not be noticed consciously by clients.

I agree that good copy is very effective. I have a hard time putting it into text on the screen though. I'm much better at describing a product in person. With that said, my new portfolio will more than likely have images with short descriptions that will spark that conversation with a potential client/employer.

Am I weird to think that a designers strongest work should be their own website where "they" have the control of everything and where they're the decision makers?

For example I experienced and enjoyed every single version of Yaron's websites (creepy comment), and loved the iterative approach. It's almost like a time machine, you see the trends, or maybe not trends, but possibilities (?) I guess for that year that version was designed and built. I think designers should take their websites more seriously in general. It's your product, and how you present your work is as important as the work you present.

Yeah I'm with you (@Kerem) on this one. It is an area with no limits. The designer can do what ever they can dream of.

The only issue with this is of course time. Most people wouldn't turn down paying work, to go play on their website. So I guess if the work is coming in, then what does the website matter?

Agree with @Kerem as well - but going back a few posts - I think a designer's blog is a really solid place to see skill levels. A lot of designers use their blog to work through new techniques, new projects, possibly explaining their processes/workflows and more.

This is not to say that all designers do this or that the ones that don't are any less skilled - but the ones that do can point to that as an example of their understanding of their craft.

The case study is a great example as well but I haven't actually seen any individual designers putting them together. Agencies do all the time but it usually ends there.

The designer's site may show their raw creativity and technical skill, but those don't make up the whole equation. A designer's site answers only to himself, and hence doesn't display other assets like the ability to listen and interpret requests from clients or managers, awareness of brand identity and ability to integrate that into design, and efficient use of time.

These play in as much as technical skill and creativity in most cases, particularly when evaluating a designer to hire or contract to.

One thing that could be more important on a designer's site is content that both displays skill and helps others. I look more favorably on a thrown-together site with excellent articles than a well-designed site with few (but both are rare).

I believe highlighting individual UI elements in a design portfolio is crazy. It doesn't show anything of a designer's ability to create an environment which the user can interact with. Designing is more than just what something looks like, and I think without showing the user flow (as mentioned above), the designer doesn't display their actual intelligence at user design and usability.

We just hired our first product designer at Branch, and what sold us more than anything was him showcasing the reasoning and process behind his design decisions. Seeing a project emerge from early sketches/research definitely helps. I'm less interested in deliverables (wireframes, flat screenshots, user flows) since it's harder to gauge how one thinks through them. Also, since a lot of designs are group work, deliverables don't clearly communicate the involvement of the designer.

A couple of years ago I came across a designer's portfolio screencast of him using the products, casually explaining how he arrived at design solutions, sprinkling some user observations in between. Even though it required undivided attention, it was one of the more convincing portfolios. Since web products come and go, I think it's a great idea to record the experience this way.

@yarcom is right that it depends on the kind of design work. Some waterfall design shops specifically look for "wireframe makers" and "UI skinners" (and not more), so in that context, showing how good you are at layer styles might just land you the job.

I think the best way to show design skill [ I'm focusing on graphic design / brand design skill only ] is to document the process. Not just a brief case study of defining the problem, then developing the solution and sharing the final result but step by step documentation of what actually happened. i understand that privacy would be an issue especially when it comes to sharing emails but there's no need to share the entire email.

To any prospective client who views such documentation, it will be clear that the designer isn't just an aesthetics / visual designer and that they also bring strategic and long-term vision definition skills to the table.

Instagrams lead UI designer told me they rather hire a designer that writes (blogs) to one who doesn't. I believe writing proves that you have an actual concept behind your pixels and not just throwing stuff because "they look pretty".

Writing in general gives the audience a feeling of the authors ability to express himself. It is not just in design, but in that case it is in general more important to have.

Having the ability of explaining what you do its a huge plus specially for remote freelancers and for those who work with non-designers.

The ability to write well and clearly articulate your thoughts is super important. If you can't communicate on that level, it is incredibly difficult to communicate thoughts, ideas, and actions through design. As Jason Fried says in his 37signals book:

>If you're trying to decide among a few people to fill a position, hire the best writer.
>Being a good writer is about more than writing. Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking. Great writers know how to communicate.

In my blog, I talk about what's going on in the industry, in my work, and things that personally interest me. Many times, those topics overlap. (I like to think) it shows competency, passion, and skill in those areas.

Successful design on one project (especially a team effort) is rarely an indicator of a "skilled designer" by itself. If that person can write about what they did _and_ the theory stuff behind it, they're more likely to be able to evaluate new problems and think creatively based on those new constraints.

I agree that good writing is a big plus (heck, we pay more attention to copywriting than any other early stage startup).

But honestly I'd rather hire someone who puts great things out in the world (products, not dribbble shots), rather than someone who spends more time crafting a porfolio and blogging. Executed self projects mean more to me than how good someone is in self-promoting. Of course, unless I'm hiring for someone to make promotional material :)

I sort of agree. Solo projects are vital to my sanity as a designer and startup guy, and I'll never stop doing them. In terms of evaluating a designer, however, they're not always the most indicative of skill. Like @BMischenko said earlier, they don't test your ability to cope with external constraints, styles, developers, users, etc.

If you're looking to join a startup instead of an agency or freelancing, however, I can't think of anything more important than side projects and personal branding. They got me hired.

There is a lot of talk here about copy and writing being a big part. I agree with it all, and think copy is as big a part of impressing new clients as the visual design.

However I just thought I'd just bring up that it can be worth hiring a copywriter to help get your point across. I've always found on projects, that even if you / the client write everything and they just suggest improvements, it can take copy to the next level.

p.s. great discussion btw, really helpful as I'm still working on the 'work' section of my site :D