Joke's on you, I'm a UX designer and I don't have a website. (I've been fortunate enough to get a lot of word-of-mouth job opportunities and I have a stable UX job, and my writing under my real name has gotten my work out there in other ways.) That being said, I completely agree with your critiques on these sites. Functionality and clarity are the bread and butter of good UX, and there's some of that missing here. But the reason I think it's missing here is because of the interests of hiring managers, not of other UX or web design professionals. Most hiring managers I've had the "pleasure" of speaking with want to see something that looks pretty and that pops. If you follow design conventions, you look boring, and then they need to ask why hire you instead of someone else who can do the same thing for less. So the portfolio site becomes more of a fashion show instead of a site that works, and much like the clothes at a fashion show, these designs should not be worn in public. The trick most designers miss is that you can have something stylized AND functional, but you need to understand why something is functional before you modify it to be stylized. The oval button you shared is a good example of that not working. It doesn't look quite like a button even though it's around where a button should be. The more ways you can subtly signify what things do, the better.
Just watching the video and it looks like all the portfolios miss one very important aspect. Accessibility. Colour contrast, typography are not accessible.
Agree. We need to be accessibility first, then mobile responsiveness, then functionality, then design. Many people get too hung up on the looking pretty, which is one of the most useless parts of a website.
Another point, visible on the Asiya website is not to have your social media icons at the top of your site. That will encourage visitors (potential customers) to click away from your site, and particularly if your social media sites aren't up to date, or interesting, they will not come back to your website. Social media links should be in the footer as best practice.
I like it! I have a question though: what would you recommend putting on the homepage if it’s not your portfolio? I don’t see another more important objective the homepage could serve than giving an overview of you/your work.
Let's not forget, Aaron really knows his stuff! He's super patient and helps a lot of designers who get themselves stuck in their work. But if the timing of a face reveal actually matters to the audience we talked about dropping the avitar vibe over a year ago and now Aaron is finally comfortable enough to assign his face to his voice. Suprise, suprise! ☺ Eric, from San Diego, CA
It’s not just UC designers making these mistakes, it’s web designers and agencies of all sizes. And the problem? Their clients don’t know any better and pay these people to make the same mistakes on their own websites. I think to see the big agencies make these mistakes is shocking, they should know so much better.
UX is very subjective; it differs from person to person and usually depends on what a person is trying to solve and whom they are targeting. You come with a set of beliefs and thoughts about what makes a website good; however, it may differ for another person. Some people in these portfolios might be trying to catch the attention of companies by creating something out of the box. I believe these people are very capable of creating something you would want. No website is perfect; it depends on the intent of the website or the portfolio. A portfolio might not even have a CTA, not because the designer doesn't know about it, but because they had another intent. You can have a UX designed just for accessibility or simply to drive conversions-it's all based on the problem at hand. I might have more orders than I can fulfill, so I might remove the CTA from my portfolio.
If work page is home page for me if I'm going through a portfolio I don't have much time and i would rather prefer just one work page and one about section in the end.
Shouldn't UX designers also design for accessibility? The small white text on a yellow background was totally unreadable in one of the examples. Seems like a pretty basic mistake.
how do you show your work when a website you've built no longer exists or someone (like an intern at the company) took over and butchered it? Just keep screenshots? I'm never really sure how to present my work
Wayback Machine may have an older version of the site. It may not be as functional, but it can help with stills and it has at least some interactivity the reviewer can have fun with.
Joke's on you, I'm a UX designer and I don't have a website. (I've been fortunate enough to get a lot of word-of-mouth job opportunities and I have a stable UX job, and my writing under my real name has gotten my work out there in other ways.)
That being said, I completely agree with your critiques on these sites. Functionality and clarity are the bread and butter of good UX, and there's some of that missing here.
But the reason I think it's missing here is because of the interests of hiring managers, not of other UX or web design professionals. Most hiring managers I've had the "pleasure" of speaking with want to see something that looks pretty and that pops. If you follow design conventions, you look boring, and then they need to ask why hire you instead of someone else who can do the same thing for less. So the portfolio site becomes more of a fashion show instead of a site that works, and much like the clothes at a fashion show, these designs should not be worn in public.
The trick most designers miss is that you can have something stylized AND functional, but you need to understand why something is functional before you modify it to be stylized. The oval button you shared is a good example of that not working. It doesn't look quite like a button even though it's around where a button should be. The more ways you can subtly signify what things do, the better.
Im working on a project this summer and your videos are a huge help! Keep doing what you do🙏🏼
Just watching the video and it looks like all the portfolios miss one very important aspect. Accessibility. Colour contrast, typography are not accessible.
Agree. We need to be accessibility first, then mobile responsiveness, then functionality, then design. Many people get too hung up on the looking pretty, which is one of the most useless parts of a website.
I need more of this. Great Content!
Another point, visible on the Asiya website is not to have your social media icons at the top of your site. That will encourage visitors (potential customers) to click away from your site, and particularly if your social media sites aren't up to date, or interesting, they will not come back to your website. Social media links should be in the footer as best practice.
Thanx for the tips keep up the good work 🤝🏻
what made you reveal your face after all this time?
Love this! There are too many people claiming to be something they aren't. Learn your craft and get the basics done on your portfolio!
I like it! I have a question though: what would you recommend putting on the homepage if it’s not your portfolio? I don’t see another more important objective the homepage could serve than giving an overview of you/your work.
Your videos are very helpful.
Let's not forget, Aaron really knows his stuff! He's super patient and helps a lot of designers who get themselves stuck in their work. But if the timing of a face reveal actually matters to the audience we talked about dropping the avitar vibe over a year ago and now Aaron is finally comfortable enough to assign his face to his voice. Suprise, suprise! ☺ Eric, from San Diego, CA
It’s not just UC designers making these mistakes, it’s web designers and agencies of all sizes. And the problem? Their clients don’t know any better and pay these people to make the same mistakes on their own websites. I think to see the big agencies make these mistakes is shocking, they should know so much better.
you look younger than I thought you would be
Yea same. I was expecting a middle aged man behind that voice
Man i have a learnt A LOT from you!!!!
FACE REVEAL! Now we're talking 💪💪💪💪 Only thing left to do is change your channel name to your real name. Personal brand through the roof 📈📈📈
Who gives a fuck what someone's face looks like, you weirdo. What counts is content value.
about starting on a "work" page I thought it would be a good practice. I have seen great UX people reccomending it for juniors.
UX is very subjective; it differs from person to person and usually depends on what a person is trying to solve and whom they are targeting. You come with a set of beliefs and thoughts about what makes a website good; however, it may differ for another person. Some people in these portfolios might be trying to catch the attention of companies by creating something out of the box. I believe these people are very capable of creating something you would want.
No website is perfect; it depends on the intent of the website or the portfolio. A portfolio might not even have a CTA, not because the designer doesn't know about it, but because they had another intent. You can have a UX designed just for accessibility or simply to drive conversions-it's all based on the problem at hand. I might have more orders than I can fulfill, so I might remove the CTA from my portfolio.
One think I dislike as a trend with UX is the monotone nature of every website.
Good video about UX! 👍🏻
Ayyy nice to see you
👍
I like this video very much
If work page is home page for me if I'm going through a portfolio I don't have much time and i would rather prefer just one work page and one about section in the end.
🙏🏾
Am i weird for prefering videos without a face ? I just realised it made me focus on the content itself.. and not the person behind it..
Shouldn't UX designers also design for accessibility? The small white text on a yellow background was totally unreadable in one of the examples. Seems like a pretty basic mistake.
how do you show your work when a website you've built no longer exists or someone (like an intern at the company) took over and butchered it? Just keep screenshots? I'm never really sure how to present my work
Wayback Machine may have an older version of the site. It may not be as functional, but it can help with stills and it has at least some interactivity the reviewer can have fun with.
200th like.
Grammatical incorrectness annoys me, too. 😊
Smile and look happy.
Damn he's hot
No offense, but you looked “stoned”.