Portfolio Redesign Strategy
Elevating My UX Presence Through Self-Directed Usability Research
I conducted a self-directed UX research project to evaluate and redesign my portfolio website to identify usability issues and align the site with the expectations of hiring managers and collaborators.
Role
UX Auditor & Lead Researcher
Timeline
2 months
Team
Independent project with feedback from peers, research participants, and mentors.
Method
Think-Aloud Usability Testing, Card Sorting, Heuristic Evaluation, System Usability Scale (SUS), Survey, Cluster Analysis, Expert Interviews, Content analysis, Persona, Journey Mapping
Tools
Zoom , Qualtrics, Proven by Users, Jakob Nielsen’s Ten Usability Heuristics, Canva
Objectives
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Evaluate how effectively my portfolio communicates my role, skills, and value as a UX researcher.
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Identify usability barriers and misalignments with hiring manager expectations.
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Gather actionable insights to guide a redesign grounded in user needs, UX principles, and storytelling clarity.
Outcomes
The research uncovered key usability issues including unclear navigation, weak visual hierarchy, and low scannability, that hindered the portfolio’s effectiveness.
I delivered over 15 targeted recommendations addressing design and content strategy. These insights directly informed a full site redesign, resulting in a more intuitive, professional, and strategically aligned portfolio experience.
01 | CONTEXT
As I prepared to apply for research roles, I realized my portfolio needed to reflect the same research rigor I bring to client work and my value as a researcher.
To learn how to do this, I led a mixed-methods evaluation of my own portfolio to understand how users—especially hiring managers—experienced the site. The project revealed key usability issues and content misalignments, directly informing a strategic redesign grounded in user expectations and UX best practices.
02 | CHALLENGE
I needed to understand what users expected, where my portfolio was falling short, and how to redesign it to better align with industry standards and user needs. These are the reserach questions that developed.
Preferences
What content types, design elements, and visual structures align with user preferences?
Frustrations
What common sources of frustration do users encounter in research portfolios, and how do these shape their perception of the researcher?
What challenges do users face when navigating research portfolios, and how do these affect their ability to find and understand key content?
Experience
How do users experience the overall clarity, flow, and messaging of my portfolio?
03 | APPROACH
To evaluate the site, I conducted a triangulated mixed-methods study designed first to uncover user expectations and behaviors, and second to assess overall usability of my portfolio.
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Phase 1: Understanding Users, 4 Weeks
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Survey (n=19)
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​Focus: Desired portfolio features, preferred aesthetic styles, general user expectations, and common usability barriers of portfolios.​
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Recruitment: Social media posts targeted at UX Professionals and hiring managers
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Synthesis: Content Analysis, Descriptive Statistics, Cluster Analysis
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Expert Interviews (n=2)
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Focus: exploratory discussions about what participants find engaging, relevant, and necessary in a professional portfolio
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Recruitment: Organic outreach to UX Professionals
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Synthesis: Content Analysis
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Phase 2: Evaluating Usability, ​4 weeks
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Think-Aloud Usability Tests (n=3)
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Focus: Allows for in-depth observation of how users interact with the site, what challenges they encounter, and how they perceive the professionalism and credibility of the researcher.
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Tools: Zoom, System Usability Scale (SUS)
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Card Sorts (n=5)
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Focus: to uncover how users expect the information to be structured and navigated, providing valuable insights into the site's overall information architecture.
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Tools: Proven by Users
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Expert Evaluation
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​Focus: leverage personas developed in Phase 1 to analyze effectiveness of the portfolio, and heuristic evaluation techniques to identify inconsistencies in design, assess accessibility, and highlight areas for content improvement.
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Tools: Persona, Jakob Nielsen’s Ten Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design
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04 | JOURNEY MAP AND PERSONAS:
PREFERENCES AND FRUSTRATIONS
Portfolio users move through four key stages, each with specific needs and friction points:
Awareness, Exploration, Engagement, and Retention
Early on, users want strong first impressions and intuitive structure; later, they expect clearly structured case studies, visual storytelling, and evidence of impact. Common frustrations include excessive text, unclear navigation, lack of visual hierarchy, and outdated design—all of which disrupt trust and decision-making.
Meet Alex, a UX researcher who frequently reviews portfolios for her work.
She scans portfolios in under three minutes and quickly dismisses ones that are hard to navigate or overly text-heavy. Alex looks for clear, structured case studies that tell a compelling story, supported by visuals and concise summaries.
For her—and users like her—clarity, polish, and a strong value proposition aren’t just preferences—they’re necessities for engagement.
"People judge a book by its cover—and a company by its website."
— Stanford Web Credibility Project (2002)
05 | USABILITY ASSESSMENT
"This website is a perfect example of a government website design; boring, flat, and repetitive, and
gives you exactly everything that you don’t need”
Participants struggled to locate key content due to unclear navigation, inconsistent labeling, and ambiguous terminology. The visual design—featuring low contrast, a dark color palette, and distracting animated backgrounds—negatively impacted readability. Case studies lacked consistent structure, making them hard to follow, and the absence of visual hierarchy made key information difficult to scan.
These issues contributed to a below-average System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 56.67, reinforcing the need for clearer navigation, more intuitive content organization, and a simplified, professional design.
"Attractive things work better."
— Donald A. Norman, Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things (2004)
06 | IMPACT
Redesigned the entire portfolio from the ground up to address structural, visual, and usability issues resulting in a 45% increase in site traffic.
These are the 12 evidence-based changes I applied to align my research portfolio with user expectations and usability best practices.
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Updated the color scheme to a more professional, clean palette that enhances credibility.
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Streamlined the overall layout to improve readability and reduce visual clutter.
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Reduced the number of clicks needed to access key information by simplifying navigation.
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Revised menu labels to be intuitive and aligned with user expectations.
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Created a consistent structure for case studies, ensuring predictability across the site.
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Added summary sections to case studies highlighting methods, objectives, and outcomes.
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Rewrote content using clear, accessible language and minimized jargon throughout the site.
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Applied a clean, modern layout with strong visual hierarchy and simplified design elements.
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Used contrasting colors to improve text readability and highlight important sections.
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Made calls to action highly visible and easy to click, including options to contact me, schedule a meeting, view my resume, or connect on LinkedIn.
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Refined the homepage messaging to clearly communicate my expertise and value proposition.
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Removed unnecessary or outdated content to keep the site focused and user-friendly.
"Good design is good business."
— Thomas J. Watson Jr., former IBM CEO
07 | RECOMMENDATIONS
Navigation & Information Architecture
Use intuitive menu labels that match user expectations and reduce the number of clicks it takes to access key content. A clear, predictable structure helps users understand where they are and where to go next, minimizing confusion and frustration.
Content & Case Study Structure
Prioritize clear, accessible language over academic jargon and make your methods and outcomes easy to scan and compare across projects.
Begin each case with a concise summary and include the option to explore deeper through downloadable reports or visuals. Structure case studies using a consistent format, such as the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Results), to clearly communicate your process and impact.
Visual Design
A well-designed layout enhances readability and therefore credibility, especially in the first few seconds of engagement.
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Simplify your design by removing distracting animations and using a clean, modern layout with strong contrast and readable text. Maintain visual consistency in formatting, spacing, and hierarchy to guide users’ attention. Use bold colors thoughtfully to convey professionalism without overwhelming the interface.
Usability Enhancements
Small improvements to layout and interactivity can significantly improve the user experience and encourage deeper exploration.
Make key call-to-action buttons like “Contact” and “Work With Me” highly visible and easy to click. Break dense content into scannable sections using headings, bullets, and visual cues. Ensure terminology is consistent throughout and avoid vague or redundant phrases.
How did I do? After exploring some more, let me know!
How I Grew as a Researcher...
Skill Learned
I learned how to run and analyze card sorts, conduct heuristic evaluations, moderate usability tests, and create personas and journey maps. I also got hands-on experience using heuristic checklists and digital tools like OptimalSort and Proven by Users to structure and validate my findings.
Methodological Growth
I had to learn all these new skills quickly and apply them in real time, which taught me how to adapt under pressure. I also gained experience recruiting participants and reflecting critically on my research process to improve both execution and analysis.
Design/Strategy Principle
The way a portfolio looks, is in andof itself an argument for hire. Every visual and structural decision should reinforce professional credibility, clarity, and user empathy.
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Personal Discovery
Usability is about more than just applying best practices. It's about understanding people and designing in a way that delivers authenticity—by balancing unique content with strategies like visual-to-text balance, color contrast, and skim-friendly structure.