Aneta Kmiecik

Sr. UX Designer | Helping designers link UX projects with UX portfolio stories

I help designers create careers they love & earn more.

After 14 years in the creative field, including 7 years in UX and a background in architecture, I’ve coached over 1,000 designers on how to stand out, get hired, and grow with purpose. So far, 500 designers built portfolio with my course.

Most designers don’t struggle with design itself, they struggle with direction, communication, and positioning. That’s where I focus.

Through my UX Portfolio Course and content, I teach practical ways to:
• Build a portfolio that tells a clear story
• Navigate job searches with strategy, not luck
• Grow a career that feels aligned, not overwhelming

If you’re ready to take your design career from “uncertain” to “intentional,” let’s connect.


💌 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀:
• Instagram: instagram.com/ux.aneta
• Newsletter: beyourowndesignteam.beehiiv.com/subscribe
• Community: be-your-own-design-team.circle.so/c/be-your-own-design-team/

UX Designer

Do junior designers always have junior portfolios?


Not really 🙅🏻‍♀️

I get these questions all the time:
↳ What’s the difference between a junior and senior designer?
↳ How does a senior present their portfolio?
↳ And how is that different from a junior?

I’m not surprised. Every designer looks for a reference point. Something to compare themselves to, or a signal of how far they “should” be.


After helping 1500+ designers over the last 5 years with portfolios, resumes, and job strategies, I’ve learned one thing: 

Your title or years of experience don’t define you ✨
Don’t marry them. They won’t help you grow, so aim higher.


I’ve seen Senior Designers with junior-looking portfolios
And Junior Designers with senior-level portfolios
✅ Both are completely normal. Everyone grows at a different pace.

What matters is understanding what works in your favor (and what doesn’t), so you can:
↳ grow your skills
↳ earn more
↳ feel more fulfilled
↳ navigate your career with confidence


Tomorrow, in my newsletter Be Your Own Design Team, I’ll break down how any designer, regardless of title or years, can position their portfolio like a senior, mature designer.

Join for free here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dp8Dgp9d

💬 What's your take?
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—
Senior-level portfolios featured in the carousel:

chengsuchen.com by Chengsu Chen
garri.design by Garri Tonakanyan
anjalirajeev.com by Anjali Rajeev
laraekdesign.com (my student, theoretically a junior :)) by Larae Kale
Portfolio by Riccardo ♦︎ Buzzotta
dousanmiao.com by Dousan Miao


#JuniorUXPortfolio #SeniorUXPortfolio

Portfolio clarity before Christmas at uxportfolio.co

Junior vs Senior UX Portfolio

I have a confession to share…



I’m not intentional all the time. My first UX portfolio was poor, not every product I design looks ideal, my website also has weak points, I make mistakes daily and I also use my instinct sometimes instead of any concrete evidence. Not because I don’t know that I should be intentional, but because sometimes things happen.

But whenever I am intentional, I often get bette results. And I want the same for you 💸

You’ve worked on a project for 6 months, put a lot of hear into it and now all for this one mistake in your UX portfolio where you
↳ Report what happened
↳ instead of explaining 🤷🏻‍♀️

You say:
↳ I run 5 user interviews
↳ I made the button bigger
↳ I simplified X for users

Cool, we all do it and what?

↳ What shaped those decisions?
↳ Why those decisions were better?
↳ What was the reason?

The biggest reason portfolios fail → that one I’ll share in my next post 😛
But the second biggest is this: they report instead of explain.

I’m sending a breakdown of how to find your “why” this Friday in my newsletter. Join for free here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dp8Dgp9d


💬 Do you design more with instinct or evidence?
🏷️ Save this post for later
📤 Share it with your UX buddy

#DesignDecision #UXPortfolio #UXDesigner #JuniorUXDesigner

Reporting vs Explaining in a UX Portfolio

Your portfolio can be good and still get ignored. The reason?


Relevance

It’s not only about what and how you designed, but also who you designed it for and in what context. That context shapes the design challenges.

B2C work feels completely different from B2B work. These are different pace, expectations and complexity. Recruiters can spot the mismatch instantly. One project can look perfect for one team and totally irrelevant for another.

This is the 3rd post in the series where I break down real examples that fit specific company types, so you can choose projects with intention.

In today’s post: B2C vs B2B companies


Example of what to highlight if you’re targeting:
B2C
✅ Conversion challenges
✅ Mobile-first experiences
✅ Simple flows
✅ Large audience
✅ Supporting personal goals
✅ Lightweight + visual interfaces
✅ About emotion + delight
✅ General user behaviour
✅ Rapid decision-making

B2B
✅ Efficiency challenges
✅ Multi-platform experiences
✅ Multi-step flows
✅ Smaller, specialised audience
✅ Helping get work done
✅ Data-heavy interfaces
✅ About reliability + accuracy
✅ Domain-specific workflows
✅ Layered decision-making


💬 Want another relevance comparison? Tell me what I should cover next: Fintech vs Entertainment? You tell me!
🏷️ Save this post for future reference
📤 Share it with your design buddy
➡️ Check previous posts in this series:
↳ Startup vs Product organisation portfolios: https://shorturl.at/fcdyh
↳ Agency vs Enterprise portfolios: https://shorturl.at/CXHMt

—-
ℹ️ Presented portfolios can also be relevant for other organisations. The selected images give a top-level overview of how these characteristics can appear in a portfolio.

🔗 Portfolios featured in this post:
omnagarkar.com
majroth.com by Martin Merschroth
caiguangxi.com
johnyvino.com
anjalirajeev.com by Anjali Rajeev
miggyfajardo.com by Miggy Fajardo
byjmm.com by Jessica Malheiro
eldar.design
ludovicdelmas.com by Ludovic Delmas
ivanageev.com
toan.framer.website 
nicolearoberts.com
elvisobanya.com
durojaiyes.design by Durojaiye S.

#UXPortfolio #B2CDesigner #B2BDesigner #DesignPortfolio

B2C vs B2B Design Portfolios

14 years in design taught me this the hard way.


Most of us were taught a very narrow idea of how a design career should look.
➡️ Pick a role
➡️ Learn a tool
➡️ Follow the ladder
And then real life happens.

3 different design careers later (architect → graphic designer → UX designer), I can tell you this: a lot of what I was taught didn’t match the real world at all.

✅ Your title doesn’t shape your career
✅ Your toolkit doesn’t make you senior
✅ You won’t always design from scratch

Businesses hire designers. But what they really want are inside entrepreneurs who think in systems, understand trade-offs, and create value.

Design careers aren’t linear. They’re a mix of choices, trade-offs, experiments, and environments that either grow you or hold you back.


This carousel is simply my version of the “real world” after 14 years in design.
Take what resonates, ignore what doesn’t, and shape your own path.

💬 Which truth hit you the most?
🏷️ Save this post for later
📤 Share this with a designer who needs to hear it


#DesignCareer #UXDesigner #Architect #GraphicDesigner

I wish someone told me this

If you think I don’t feel imposter syndrome after 14 years in design…


I do a lot.

Every day I scroll past posts from people saying things like:
↳ “I’ve reviewed a million portfolios”
↳ “This is the kind of portfolio I want to see”
↳ “Only top-notch visual designers get hired”
↳ “You’re not there because…”

And suddenly I start shrinking. I hide, my confidence drops, and I start questioning whether I even belong in this industry. Whether I did enough work. And if I did a lot of work, like… wtf did I even do?!

But then I remind myself: everyone and everything is different. It’s ok to not know everything, to not have done it all, to not have all skills nailed.

You pick what works for you, and also what you want to do. And sometimes you just don’t want a certain goal, and that’s ok too.

That’s why I created this carousel: to share with you some things I’ve realised that aren’t talked about enough.

Which slide resonates the most?

🏷️ Save this post for later
📤 Share it with your design buddy

#DesignCareer #UXCareer

10 Truths about portfolios, job search, design career

How to design a portfolio hero portfolio?

I used AI and Framer to do it


Here’s my full process:

1️⃣ I opened Framer, my go-to tool for designing and publishing websites visually

2️⃣ Then I jumped into ChatGPT to write my elevator pitch. Then I tweaked the copy to make it sound like me.

3️⃣ Back in Framer, I opened Design Pages. They work like Figma, giving me a flexible canvas to ideate.

4️⃣ For visuals, I used AI again. I generated a few abstract images in Midjourney that matched my style and added them as backgrounds to selected layouts

5️⃣ For project visuals I used Shots to polish them and Screen Studio to record walkthrough


Links to all resources:
- https://lnkd.in/dE69zurq
- https://shots.so
- https://www.midjourney.com
- https://screen.studio
- https://www.uxportfolio.co


💬 Which portfolio section should I ideate on next? 😎
🏷️ Save this post for later
📤 Share it with your design buddy

#FramerPartner #BuildWithFramer #UXPortfolio #DesignPortfolio

These are the portfolio shifts that kept popping up in 2025 ⬇️


The ones I saw in portfolios of top designers, designers who get hired, and portfolios that repeat the same patterns recruiters mention again and again.

When I created the UX Portfolio Course earlier this year, snapshots were just starting to show up. Now they’re everywhere. Positioning used to be a buzzword for personal brands, not portfolios. Now every second post talks about it.

I’ve been observing, chatting, saving, reviewing and I believe these are the things we will see even more in 2026.

Should implementing all of these trends guarantee a job? Of course not.
But knowing these global shifts will help you make clearer, more intentional decisions for your own portfolio.

A few trends might surprise you, some might confirm what your gut already knew, and a few might open a new direction for how you present your work.


➡️ Build a UX portfolio ready for 2026: https://lnkd.in/dtiHiKpb
↳ Learn portfolio skills inside the UX Portfolio Course
↳ Try the brand new Storyline Framer Template

🎁 30% off for Black Friday until December 1

What do you think about portfolio trends? What are your observations? 🙂


—-
🏷️ Save this post for your reference in 2026
📤 Share it with your design buddy

🔗 Portfolios featured in this post:
rachelchen.tech by Rachel Chen
miggyfajardo.com by Miggy Fajardo
danield.design by Daniel Destefanis
jasonkim.me by Jason Kim
yihui.work
durojaiyes.design by Durojaiye S.
adasilv2.framer.website 
sujankhadgi.com by Sujan Khadgi
soon.work
wking.dev
jackiehu.design by Jackie Hu

#UXPortfolio #DesignPortfolio #ProductDesignPortfolio #UXPortfolioTrends2026 #JuniorUXDesigner #SeniorUXDesigner

Patterns I keep seeing in portfolios that engage

I’m a designer and I’m not the most creative person.

Sometimes I simply need to look at real sites to understand what’s possible.

I still remember building my first website in Photoshop and watching a developer try to code it in WordPress. It was painful. I just wanted a live site that looked like my design.

Today it’s different. Tools like Framer let you experiment, iterate and publish fast. 

If you want inspiration for your next portfolio or website, check these website examples built with Framer:

• groteskly.xyz
• perplexity.ai/comet
• whyson.com
• valentinlauzier.com
• unito.shop

➡️ Check out Framer at framer.com
🏷️ Save this post for later
📤 Share with your design buddy


#FramerPartner #BuildWithFramer #WebDesigner

Your portfolio might be great, but irrelevant. Fix it ⬇️


Relevance isn’t just about the work you’ve done.
It’s also about the environment you did work in.

Agency work feels completely different from enterprise work. And recruiters know that.

Different pace, expectations, challenges. That’s why the same project can feel “perfect” for one company and irrelevant for another.

This is second post in this series, where I’m breaking down real examples of portfolio projects that match different company types, so you can be more intentional with what you show.

In today’s post: Agency vs Enterprise companies

Example of what to highlight if you’re targeting:
Agency
✅ Range + variety across projects
✅ Visual craft
✅ Brand + visual direction
✅ Creative concepts
✅ Working fast
✅ Style guideline / Small system
✅ Working with clients

Enterprise
✅ Large + scalable solutions
✅ Systems thinking
✅ Complex user journeys
✅ Process improvement
✅ Working with constraints
✅ Design system at scale
✅ Stakeholders management


💬 Tell me which relevance criteria I should cover next!
B2B vs B2C
Fintech vs Entertainment
you tell me!

🏷️ Save this post for future reference
📤 Share it with your design buddy
➡️ Check previous post in this series: Startup vs Product organisation portfolios: https://shorturl.at/fcdyh

---

ℹ️ Presented portfolios can also be relevant for other organisations. The selected images give a top-level overview of how these characteristics can appear in a portfolio.

🔗 Portfolios featured in this post:
ruby-wu.com by Ruby Wu
jessrobinson.design by Jess Robinson
andreirybin.com by Andrei Rybin
patrickmorgan.org by Patrick Morgan
ericsin.com/ by Eric Sin
justux.framer.website by Justina Geller Kovacs
vigram.framer.website
toan.framer.website by T T
miggyfajardo.com by Miggy Fajardo
ebrumarangoz.com by Ebru Marangoz
todorrusanov.com by Todor Rusanov
https://lnkd.in/dJFUXzSH by Sierra (Sisi) Ching 🐝
faizur.com by Faizur Rehman

#DesignPortfolio #UXDesigner #DigitalDesigner #Agency #Enterprise

Agency vs Enterprise Design Portfolios

Are you tired of AI tools that generate generic UI design?

Lately I’ve been using AI to get draft screens fast.

A starting point for my next iterations. So far I was generating different concepts. Recently UX Pilot AI added a feature I wanted to try: the ability to bring your own design system into the flow.

1️⃣ I start by opening design system in Figma
2️⃣ Then run the UX Pilot plugin
3️⃣ I click import components straight from Figma
4️⃣ I can import as many as 500 components from Figma
5️⃣ In UX Pilot I pick a screen and swap the styles

Same layouts but now with the product design system. Normally I would have to replace things manually, component by component. 

Having AI drafts already using my design system makes the screens more contextual, so I can evaluate ideas faster and iterate with more clarity.


If you want to try the same flow, check out UX Pilot for free ➡️ Link in comments

Do you use AI to prototype your ideas? I’m curious how you approach it 😊


 #UXPilotPartner #UXPilot #AIDesign

Steal this hover trick for any website. 

I used Framer to design an engaging website card.

Here’s how I built this hover effect with an illustration. The same one from uxportfolio.co.

Created in Framer with a few simple tweaks and custom visuals from Figma.

1️⃣ Head over to Framer
2️⃣ Create a card, add text, and a default visual
3️⃣ Turn it into a component, then add a hover state
4️⃣ Change the stroke, add a soft shadow, and adjust the layout
5️⃣ Open Figma and create a few simple illustrations that match your style
6️⃣ Add the illustrations to the hover state, and hide the default one
7️⃣ Set up a smooth transition: ease in and out for a clean motion

➡️ Go to framer.com try it yourself
🏷️ Save this post for later
📤 Send this post to your UX friend

#FramerPartner #BuildWithFramer #WebDesign

San Francisco State University, Lam Family College of Business

The Lam Family College of Business has a career center to serve the students in the college's ten concentrations and career paths. 
As the Center for Career Services & Professional Development director, I build bridges between the knowledge generated in the classroom and the spaces students will occupy beyond the classroom. I'm in charge of partnerships between the college and employers, whom I collaborate with to create internship opportunities, job training, and workshops. 
I developed and run the advising program to optimize job search strategies; I also manage the Commercial Real Estate Fellows Program, design workshops for professional development, and have trained staff on advising duties. Additionally, I build and maintain professional relationships with employers and on-campus stakeholders.

Director of Center for Career Services and Professional Development

For the past nine years, I have been a researcher in the Lam Family College of Business in creating an optimal curriculum that meets industry needs. I helped build the current business communication course and a second-semester writing course that merges business principles with an introduction to the written mediums of the professional world. 

I am currently researching students' preferences for online versus in-person classes for the near future when we have, hopefully, turned a corner on Covid's severity. As we speak, I am collecting data and gauging the direction of higher education's future.  

Meanwhile, I have created research projects relating to the role and efficacy of authority in classroom settings and explored new avenues for student engagement using Daniel Pink(2009)'s framework for Motivation 3.0. 

Each semester I lead classes in ethnographic research, where students explore a company's "culture" and the ways this culture impacts daily communication practices. I also facilitate qualitative research on international business etiquette and how professionals must alter their communication practices to adapt to cross-cultural communication.

I am a two-time recipient of the Athlete's Choice award, where student-athletes on the Dean's list choose a professor influential on their academic careers. It has been an honor to watch my students go on to work at Tik Tok, All Birds, Etc.

Professor of Business Communication | Curriculum Researcher

Foothill College

While at Foothill College, I have collaborated with the local Plumbers/Electrician Union in researching the daily communication practices that their jobs involve. We conducted ethnographic research methods in gleaning the daily praxis of the apprentices on the job. We were able to connect these forms of writing (blueprints, invoices, assessments) to Foothill College's writing requirements, allowing the apprentices to earn an AA degree, which will help them in the managerial side of their future trades. 

I also evaluate courses on Canvas, the college's learning management system, for user accessibility and to ensure that the user interface is accessible and user-friendly for all students. This involves a framework of equity and a sense of how equity can inform user experience.

I am currently working with a cohort of STEM students in creating a writing course that is interlinked with the principles of their science and technology-based majors.

Professor of Vocational Writing| Pipes Trade Research Committee

The Barron Review 

The Barron Review is a non-profit consultation organization helping communities recognize and connect with stakeholders for substantive impact on livability and civic engagement. 

Since June, I've been working on The Barron Review's "Neighborhood Faces" project as a researcher, conducting user interviews with local stakeholders about their relationship to work and its connection to broader communities. I've also analyzed and coded the data using a hybrid method of inductive and deductive coding techniques.

User Researcher

Associated Students, San Francisco State University

Associated Students is the branch of university government run by students and intended to serve students exclusively by offering free groceries, entertainment, and representation for PoC and those from LGBTQ communities. AS wanted to ensure that its site was usable for its primary stakeholders, the students. Therefore, they launched a UX project to ensure that the Associated Students website was student-centered and its abundant resources were accessible to students.


I was brought into the project as the UX research lead. I have been working with the head of marketing for AS and two interns in creating a Qualtrics Survey, screening procedures, methodologies, and the research protocol. As the project continues, I will oversee the user interviews, utilizing a talk/think-aloud protocol to get a sense of our participants’ thoughts. After the project, we’ll compile our data and make recommendations to the Associated Students design team.

Lead Researcher

Research Bookmark

My cohort and I explored the various methodologies and skills necessary for making a successful pivot into UX  Research, and we even designed a study, and we are now gathering data which we will analyze and present to stakeholders.

Apprentice

San Francisco State University Dept. of Student Success

Each summer, I work with the College of Business's Student Advising Center to create an accessible program that helps incoming freshman and transfer students select classes and map a path to graduation.

Faculty Ambassador 

SFSU WAC/WID(Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing in the Disciplines )

All students at San Francisco State must take a writing course that is specific to their major. I mentored instructors from the College of Ethnic Studies and biology in creating a writing curriculum informed by these fields' needs.

Interdisciplinary Research/Mentor

Cognella

After researching vocational writing and integrated reading-&-writing (the theory that writing and reading are both compositional processes with a complementary relationship) for several years, I wrote a textbook combining these two areas. My hope for Business Communication for Professionals was to give instructors a way for business students to optimize their writing by becoming attuned to the processes they employ in reading and writing and paying particular attention to their audiences and circumstances.

Author

Contra Costa College

I began my community college career helping the wonderful students at Contra Costa College, located in San Pablo, CA. Many of the students at Contra Costa College entered the classroom with anxiety about their place in a classroom but I watched them strive and move towards their goals.

Lecturer

San Francisco State University

Lecturer| Department of English

As Director of Career Services and Professional Development, I am equal parts product manager, project manager, and ambassador. I establish relationships with employers and introduce them to students, designing workshops and panel discussions to operate as conduits to bridging these stakeholders. I also manage the Lam Family College of Business’s career advising program, where students get assistance with their LinkedIn profiles, resumes, job search strategies, etc. 

Before my role in Career Services, I was a professor of Professional Writing, where I taught Business Communication and Technical Writing, helping to develop spaces where stakeholders could strengthen their ability to become adept communicators and collaborators. 

In designing material for Career Services, I take a design-thinking approach, utilizing my experience with user research to optimize the usability of our product. I’ve conducted UX research on student preferences for online versus in-person education and the usability of TikTok for populations over 34. I have proficiency in methodologies such as user interviews, talk-aloud protocols, and ethnography. 

I’m also a writer, and in a past life, I wrote for a music magazine where I interviewed people like Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg. I also authored a textbook, "Business Communication for Professionals."

I'm an avid traveler, reader, film enthusiast, and surfer in my free time. I'm also working on my first novel.

Proficient in:
Microsoft, Google, and Adobe Suites (Excel, Illustrator, Photoshop, PowerPoint, etc.) 
Miro 
Looppanel

taplio

The Battle

Aneta Kmiecik

Paul Glanting, MA

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