Writing mobile-first styling tells us that you like writing the smallest amount of code needed. Want to go beyond that minimum threshold? Then have your CSS written mobile-first. This tells us whether you give consideration to the plethora of devices your site could be browsed on. Want to know what many reviewers’ favorite thing to do with your portfolio is? We love opening your website and then immediately adjusting the browser window width back and forth. All of this will be proven in your projects, anyway. Just quickly tell me what you’re learning and what you feel confident in. You say you are 85% proficient at Angular? What does that mean? How does that compare to your 80% skill at Node? Most reviewers are only going to understand three skill levels:ĭon’t worry about the first one. One trend that has plagued portfolio sites for years has been skill progress bars. Before writing any styling, make sure your HTML is accessible. Tip# 1: Some members of your target audience will have disabilities. If your eyes are not trained to watch out for low contrast yet, refer to the Center for Persons with Disabilities’ Color Contrast Checker. I thought I was being hip!īut I quickly learned in the industry that users with low vision struggle to read text with poor color choices. I used to love putting white text on yellow backgrounds. If that’s not possible, I know that the applicant doesn’t have accessibility on their mind.Ĭolor contrast for text is also a big factor. One of the first things I physically do with a portfolio is to try to navigate it without using my mouse. Always remember keyboard and contrast accessibility.Īccessibility was the biggest mistake made throughout the review. There were some common mistakes that were absolute no-no’s. This doesn’t mean everyone’s portfolio was perfect, though. I think that speaks to how dedicated the community members are to their craft. Truth be told, the r/webdev community did a lot better than my studio’s overall applicant pool. If you have a different goal or audience for your work, this article may not be applicable. Note that this post is specifically talking about front end developers who want to join a design studio. In the end, I was able to recognize some common patterns and high/low points across the board. And these kept coming for three days straight. I would play a round of Rocket League, and then there would be one or two portfolios to review. I kicked things off by extending my services for free to the 120,000 people who read the subreddit.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. So one day, I thought it’d be fun to unofficially review the portfolios of anyone who requested a critique. And I also often ask for feedback on my own designs on Reddit’s webdev subreddit.

I’ve always enjoyed critiquing applicants’ portfolios at the design studio where I work.

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