🎯 Make your portfolio bio stand out, finally | Practical guide
UX career goodies
By anfisign.design
Join more than 8000 designers to learn about the most working job application strategies, portfolio inspirations, and design events recommendations.
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Hey, UX friends! Happy Tuesday.
If we haven't met yet, my name is Anfisa—senior product designer at MEWS by day. By night, I help UXers to stand out in a crowded market inside the IntoUX Community. Oh, and I’m also raising a 1.5-year-old (hi, all working moms).
Let’s be real, in a market where jobs are scarce and designers are plenty, standing out isn’t optional - it’s essential. And that starts with ditching the vanilla intros like:
“I craft user-centered experiences.”
(because honestly, who doesn’t?)
So the real question is: How do you communicate what makes you different — in just one sharp, scroll-stopping line?
After hundreds of mentoring sessions, portfolio reviews, and deep dives with designers, I’ve landed on two practical strategies that can help you write a one-liner that actually says something:
1️⃣ Abstract your past background experience ✨
Don’t just name the industry you've worked in - zoom out.
Look at the kinds of problems you’ve repeatedly solved.
E.g. Worked in fintech?
You’ve likely dealt with complex systems, strict regulations, limited user access, or data sensitivity. That’s not just “experience” — that’s a strength. You’ve built resilience in ambiguous, high-stakes environments.
A punchier bio might say:
"I design for highly regulated markets."
It’s short, but packed with implications. It tells a hiring manager you’re
comfortable with legal constraints, ambiguity, legacy systems, and all the slow-moving chaos that comes with those industries.
2️⃣ Use your quirks 🧠
Every designer thinks differently — and that’s gold.
Your personal “thinking patterns” are often what make your work stand out.
Recently, one community member (hi, Thomas 👋), told me how he drew
inspiration from the Sims game when solving a UX challenge. That signals abstract thinking, creativity under constraint. Super relevant to many tech challenges — and definitely not something every candidate brings.
A possible bio for Thomas could be:
"I solve complex product problems using gaming-inspired systems thinking."
Here is my personal example.
I tend to overthink. It’s a quirk that used to feel like a flaw — until I realized it helps me think systemically and reduce long-term design risks. Suddenly, it becomes a strength in the right team.
3️⃣ [Guide] Here is what you can do now, too:
Reflect on what your backgroundtaught you, not just where you worked. What patterns of problems you’re good at solving now?
Think about what people say when they describe how your mind works.
Draft some one-line bio variants, asking yourself: How can I turn that into a memorable one-liner that sparks curiosity and connection?
Ask ChatGPT to refine your one-liner, making it personality-induced.
Then ask ChatGPT to take the role of a hiring manager using this prompt: You're a hiring manager at [X] company, looking at the portfolios. You're reading this [Paste your liner], before checking out the case studies. What does it tell you? What are your first thoughts and ideas about the designer?
👇 Here is the feedback I've got from AI
🎥 Need a TL;DR?
Watch this video where I’m sharing 2 ideas based on hundreds of mentoring sessions:
IntoUXCommunity is your shortcut to breaking into UX with confidence. Instead of figuring it all out in the dark, stay ahead in a competitive market— and enjoy the process. Here is what awaits you inside:
