As UX designers, it’s natural to jump straight to solutions.

You see something that feels off — and your brain immediately starts redesigning.

Don’t resist that instinct. It’s human.

But here’s the trick: use that solution as a starting point, not the answer.

Once the idea comes, pause and ask — what triggered this in the user’s experience?

Peel it back. Find the frustration, the friction, the missed expectation underneath.

The more you do this, the more your thinking shifts.

You’ll start seeing beyond ideas — into the root of the problem.

And without even realizing it, you’ll be thinking like a professional.

Most UX portfolios fail not because they lack good content — but because they’re designed only for the designer, not the recruiter.

Think about it. When someone opens your portfolio from your LinkedIn — they don’t have 10 minutes. They have 20 seconds. In that moment, they’re not trying to read every case study. They’re just scanning. They want to know: “Are you worth shortlisting?” And that decision often happens before they read a single paragraph.

But that’s only one side of the story.

Because once you’re in an interview — visuals and vibes alone won’t help. Now they’ll dig into your thinking. They want the decisions, the trade-offs, the depth. And if your portfolio doesn’t hold up under that kind of scrutiny… it won’t matter how good the first impression was.

So don’t design only for the glance. Design for the deep dive too. Your portfolio needs to do both.

Most students try to fit everything into their case study — every research insight, every note, every detail from the journey. But more is not always better. Just like no one explains a car by listing out 200 features, your portfolio doesn’t need to explain every single move you made.

People decide based on what they remember. And they remember clarity. If you can explain three to five important decisions clearly, that already tells me how you think. If someone wants to know more, they’ll ask. That’s when you show the rest. Keep the depth ready, but don’t lead with it.

The goal is not to impress by showing everything. The goal is to help someone understand how you think. That happens through choices, not checklists.