Are you a design student preparing for a "portfolio review"? A school event, or part of a job interview process? Great! This is for you.
I've been a "reviewer" in probably 200+ portfolio reviews since I graduated, and these are the things I've noticed help students get the most out of their portfolio review time — whether it's 10 minutes or an hour.
<aside> 🙋♀️ First, tell me who you are
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Don't launch into your work without talking about basic info. What are you studying, what year are you in, what kind of work are you interested in? Are you looking for internships, or jobs, or do you just want feedback on your work?
It also never hurts to be funny, or to share a memorable detail about yourself. Teams are hiring people they want to work with.
<aside> 📊 Make a presentation, don't show your website
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Screensharing or showing your website isn't the ideal way to show your work.
For one thing, most of the imagery isn't full-screen, meaning I'll have to squint to make out basic details.
For another, there's probably a lot of stuff on your website that you haven't thought about in a while, and you'll end up skipping around and scrolling to find the artifacts you want to show. All that movement is distracting!
Similarly, don't just pan around a Figma file — though of course you can present a "deck" made from a Figma prototype, or jump into the Figma file if your interviewer asks for it.
The easiest way to show your work in conversation is to make a presentation (google slides, keynote, pitch, whatever) that lets you walk through projects one step at a time.
<aside> 1️⃣ Show one thing at a time
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For each talking point, make sure there's a singular focus. Make sure whatever you're showing is as big on-screen as possible.