1. Template portfolios need to feel like you
A Framer site built from sections of different templates works for shipping fast. It does not work for standing out. Personalization is not decoration — it is evidence that you have taste and intent.
2. Vanity metrics hurt more than they help
Process stats that every junior portfolio shares (“5 user interviews,” “3 wireframe iterations”) do not differentiate. They date the work. Cut them unless they are genuinely unusual.
3. Your about page is a wall — fix that
Dense paragraphs nobody will read fail the referral test. Break it up. Show personality. Answer: would I want to sit next to this person for eight hours?
4. Lead with user outcome, not app name
Value statements work better when they describe the problem solved for the user, then name the product — not the other way around.
5. An app is not a case study
Live products need marketing pages that convert, not academic write-ups. Save the process narrative for portfolio case studies; keep the product surface focused on the user job to be done.
