I get that people usually want to see the work front and center, not this much text. But here's why I think that's not always the best. Please bear with me.
After looking at countless portfolios, reading article after article on how to present yourself as an ideal candidate and launch yourself into a new chapter in your career, I tried to fit my work in that format. I failed. And it made me feel less of a designer.
I tried to reflect on it to improve and make better decisions when applying but I didn't had a lot of feedback to work off. How can it be possible that every colleague I had the opportunity to work with had such esteem and praise to my work but suddenly it seems I'm not ‘high caliber' enough? How come I had a sense of pride on all of these projects I was a part of but I just couldn't fit them in this established structure with a clear process?
Am I a senior? It depends.
A senior branding or graphic designer? I think so.
A senior product designer? Not yet.
Am I a junior product designer? Maybe.
But not like I was a junior 10 years ago when I didn't understand typography, or composition, or how to manipulate colors, hierarchy, repetition or harmony to tell a story, or to just make something appealing. Back then I didn't understand the dynamics of working as part of a team. How important it is to communicate clearly, celebrate wins and work hard on correcting miss steps. Honestly 10 years ago I didn't knew myself that much. How I work best, what interests me the most, how much I love learning new things and how limited my energy can be when I don't build systems to optimize outcome.
Why is it hard for me to fit my previous work in the same way most portfolios are put together? Why doing that doesn't tell my story fairly? This is my hypothesis so far:
I learned about the basics of User Experience design in 2016 during a program in NYC. I went back to Paraguay where I just didn't have enough opportunities to put that knowledge to use in a consistent way. (For some context at this point I was already called a 'Senior’ graphic designer at my job)
The (tech) projects I did worked in, weren't part of a mature tech environment. People mostly didn't have a clue what they were doing. Neither did I. We just tried different things and we weren't that good in measuring outcomes.
Digital product design (UX/UI, web) wasn't my main focus. I always enjoyed being involved in different kinds of things at the same time. And I didn't need to look for a job. People just referred me. Sometimes companies would call me to offer me a position or new clients for freelance work. My boss from my previous job offered to become a partner and we started a company together. I didn't have a portfolio, and I didn't documented my work in a way I could build one later.
It may all just sound like excuses. It's my first reaction when writing this. But they are not. I'm not trying to convince you that I'm an amazing product designer. I'm just trying to say that I can turn into one. Fast. I'm like the bamboo that hasn't started growing tall yet, but has its vast roots ready. I do need someone to believe in me to get there. And to be clear, I do think I'm amazing. At least most days.
With that in mind, please take a look at my best effort to display how I provided value to different projects.
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