How can you use visual hierarchy and typography to enhance your UI design portfolio?

1 What is visual hierarchy and why does it matter?

Visual hierarchy is the arrangement and presentation of elements on a page or screen that convey their relative importance, order, and relationship. It helps users to scan, navigate, and understand the content and functionality of your web application. It also reflects your design decisions and style. A good visual hierarchy can make your portfolio look professional, organized, and engaging, while a poor one can make it look cluttered, confusing, and unappealing.

2 How to apply visual hierarchy principles to your portfolio?

Creating a visual hierarchy requires attention to a few key principles. Contrast is important for highlighting the most important elements, such as names, logos, and calls to action. Alignment should be used to create a consistent and balanced layout. Scale helps show the relative size and weight of elements, such as headings and body text. Proximity should be used to group related elements together and separate unrelated ones. All of these principles can be achieved by using different colors, sizes, shapes, fonts, positions, grids, margins, whitespace, font sizes, line heights, spacing, borders or backgrounds.

3 What is typography and why does it matter?

Typography is the art and technique of arranging and displaying text on a page or screen. It affects not only the readability and legibility of your web application, but also the mood, tone, and personality of your design. A good typography can make your portfolio look elegant, modern, and trustworthy, while a bad one can make it look amateurish, outdated, and unreliable.

4 How to choose and use fonts for your portfolio?

When choosing and using fonts for your portfolio, there are several factors to consider. To match your design style and target audience, you should use fonts that convey professionalism or originality. Additionally, you should use fonts that are easy to read and compatible with different devices and browsers, avoiding those that are too thin, ornate, or obscure. Furthermore, fonts should create contrast and hierarchy. Utilize different font variations (e.g. bold, italic, uppercase) for headings, subheadings, and body text to create a clear distinction and order. Additionally, use different font styles (e.g. serif, sans-serif, monospace) for titles, logos, or code snippets to create visual interest and diversity.

5 How to showcase your web application projects in your portfolio?

One of the main goals of your portfolio is to showcase your web application projects and demonstrate your UI design skills and process. To do this effectively, you should select the best and most relevant projects that match your design style and goals. Consider projects that are recent, completed, have positive feedback or results, are diverse, unique, or challenging. Additionally, describe your projects briefly and clearly, highlighting your role, responsibilities, and achievements. For example, include the name, purpose, and features of your web application, the tools and technologies you used, the challenges and solutions you encountered, and the outcomes and impacts you delivered. Furthermore, display your projects visually and interactively using screenshots, mockups, or live demos. Utilize high-quality images or videos that show the UI design and functionality of your web application or provide links or buttons that allow users to view or test your web application online.

6 How to optimize your portfolio for usability and accessibility?

Your portfolio is more than just a showcase of your UI design skills; it is also a reflection of your usability and accessibility standards. Usability and accessibility are the aspects of web design that ensure that your web application is easy to use and accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities, preferences, or devices. To optimize your portfolio for usability and accessibility, you need to follow the web design best practices and guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) or the User Interface Design Principles. This might include using clear and consistent navigation, labels, and feedback, providing alternative text and captions for images and videos, or using appropriate colors and contrasts for text and background. Additionally, you should test your portfolio on different devices and browsers with tools such as BrowserStack or Responsinator. This will help you check how your portfolio looks and works on different screen sizes, resolutions, or orientations; as well as how it performs on different browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. Finally, get feedback from your users with tools such as UserTesting or Hotjar. This could involve asking them to rate, review, or comment on your portfolio; or observing how they interact with your portfolio through surveys, polls, or heatmaps.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?