Today: Debodyuti Biswas

Debo’s portfolio feels more mature than a lot of early-career portfolios.

That makes sense. He has already worked for around three years and is now doing his master’s in Information Experience Design at Pratt. So yes, he has more experience than many students or recent grads I usually feature here.

But that also makes the portfolio worth studying.

Because you can see what a few years of practice can do. The work feels considered. The structure is calm. The presentation is confident. And across the portfolio, there is a clear sense that Debo knows what to show, what to hold back, and how to create a strong impression without overexplaining every decision.

There are still a few things I would refine, but the foundation is strong.

The Good

Strong curation that creates a cohesive first impression

The first thing that stood out to me is the curation.

Debo’s portfolio does not try to win by overwhelming you. It wins by showing enough of the right things.

The intro is light. The motion is subtle. The first impression feels polished without trying too hard. You get a quick sense of who he is, where he has worked, and what kind of designer he might be.

That sounds simple, but it matters.

Early in your career, it can feel uncomfortable to put names, experience, internships, or education in that first section. It can feel like bragging. But if you studied somewhere, worked somewhere, completed an internship, or had a meaningful early role, it belongs there.

You did the thing. Show it.

Debo does that in a restrained way.

The project previews also work well. They show the vertical, the type of work, and the impact without becoming overloaded. You quickly see that he has worked across health, healthcare-adjacent products, B2B, B2C, and design challenges, but he does not box himself into one narrow label.

That is smart.

He could position himself as someone focused on healthcare design, because a lot of the work points in that direction. But doing so might narrow the way a hiring manager reads the portfolio. If someone is hiring for legal tech, fintech, or another B2B product, “healthcare designer” might feel less relevant than it needs to.

Instead, Debo lets the work show the context while the case studies focus more on the transferable design problems: retention, complex workflows, user needs, product impact.

That gives the portfolio more flexibility.

He also uses the “more work” area in a way that mostly rounds out the picture. Smaller flows, interaction patterns, and additional projects help show range without all demanding full case studies.

And the testimonials section at the end is a nice touch. If former colleagues and managers have said good things about you, use that. Debo presents those quotes with a small interaction that reveals company context, and it adds credibility without becoming heavy.

Overall, the portfolio feels curated, calm, and credible.

Visual storytelling that makes the case study easy to follow

The second standout is the visual storytelling, especially in the Proactively case study.

A lot of case studies lose people by turning into walls of text, process artifacts, and unreadable FigJam screenshots. You scroll, see a giant board full of stickies, and learn almost nothing from it.

Debo avoids that.

He tells the story through a user’s perspective and gives the case study a clear thread to follow. Dr. Angela becomes the anchor. Instead of describing the problem in abstract terms, he makes the situation tangible through a person, her workflow, and the friction she faces.

That immediately gives the story shape.

The small interactions help too. The patient-file interaction, for example, communicates a concept in a second that would have become a boring paragraph if explained only through text.

That is where Debo’s case study works best. He takes things that could have been dry and makes them visible, interactive, and easier to understand.

The text hierarchy is also strong. The headings carry meaning. The paragraphs are short. Important details are highlighted. If you only skim the headings and visuals, you can still understand the story.

That’s exactly what case studies need to do.

He also handles synthesis well. Instead of dropping in a huge research board or a cluster of sticky notes, he turns the insight work into something digestible. That is not only better for a portfolio. It is also how you should communicate to stakeholders in a job.

The case study has rhythm.

It doesn’t hit the same note over and over. There are sections with interaction, sections with visuals, sections with short text, sections with synthesized research, and sections that push you toward the product itself.

That rhythm keeps people engaged.

The Potential

More video would make the work feel much stronger

The biggest opportunity is video.

Debo already uses video in places, so this is not about introducing a completely new idea. It’s about using it more consistently.

There are several moments where the work would benefit from being shown in motion: homepage previews, product flows, transitions, interaction patterns, and especially projects that already look like they were designed to be experienced dynamically.

Static images can work, but they often undercut interaction-heavy work.

If you designed a flow, show the flow.

If you designed a product interaction, show the interaction.

If you designed something that lives through movement, don’t make people imagine the movement from four still screens.

This is especially true for the Proactively case study. The product is shown partly through a slideshow, but most people will not sit there and wait for every slide. A short, well-edited product walkthrough would do much more.

The same applies to the homepage previews.

A static thumbnail can be fine, but a short loop or interaction recording can instantly make the work feel more premium and more tangible. It helps people understand the work faster, and it makes the portfolio feel more considered.

Even if there are NDA limitations, there are ways around that. You can blur sensitive details, edit around certain screens, use prototypes instead of live products, or create obfuscated demo content.

This one change could have a large impact on how the portfolio is perceived.

Debo clearly has strong product and interaction work. I just want to see more of it behave.

The gallery needs sharper boundaries

The second opportunity is the gallery.

I like that Debo has one. I like that he uses it to show additional range. But right now, the gallery feels a little too much like a place where extra work went because it didn’t fit cleanly elsewhere.

He even frames it as a “dump” of other work, and I don’t think that helps.

Some of the projects in there are too substantial to be treated that way. One has a full case study with outcomes. Another is a full app. Some pieces feel like they could belong in the main work grid. Others feel more like what you would expect in a gallery or playground: smaller interactions, studies, experiments, or exploratory pieces.

That mix creates a small curation issue.

A gallery should extend the picture of what you can do. It should show range that does not warrant a full case study. It should not become a holding area for work you weren’t sure how to place.

So I’d make a decision.

Either move the more substantial pieces into the main work area, or cut them from the public portfolio for now. Keep the gallery for smaller experiments, interaction patterns, studies, and supporting work that adds texture without asking for too much attention.

This is a high-level critique because the work itself looks strong. But curation is not only about choosing good work. It is also about deciding where each piece belongs and what deserves someone’s full attention.

Sometimes the strongest portfolio move is subtraction.

The Verdict

Debo’s portfolio is strong, mature, and very well put together.

It gives a clear first impression, shows a thoughtful level of curation, and uses visual storytelling in a way many designers should study. The Proactively case study especially shows how to build a case study around a human thread instead of dumping process artifacts onto the page.

The main opportunity is to show more of the work in motion. Debo already has enough craft and interaction thinking for video to make the portfolio feel noticeably stronger.

The second opportunity is gallery curation. Some pieces deserve more prominence, and some may need to be removed or reframed so the gallery feels less like overflow and more like intentional range.

But overall, this is a very strong portfolio.

Debo already shows the judgment, storytelling, and polish that should take him to good places after Pratt.

If you’d like to craft a similarly impressive portfolio Framer is likely your best choice.

Still struggling to get your portfolio off the ground?

Don’t want to spend weeks learning yet another tool? Framer is my top recommendation for building your portfolio — fast, clean, and without the usual headaches.

If you’re just starting out (or even if you’re not), I think Framer is a perfect fit. Here’s why:

• Flat learning curve: The interface feels familiar if you’ve used Figma — plus, there’s a plugin to bring your designs straight in.

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• A huge template library: Tons of high-quality (often free) templates in the marketplace to help you launch quickly without starting from scratch.

• Free if you are a student: Although Framer already offers a generous free plan for everyone, if you are an enrolled student you can get Framer Pro completely for free!

And that’s just scratching the surface. I wrote more about why I recommend Framer here—but honestly, the best way is to try it for yourself.

Affiliate disclaimer: I only recommend tools I personally believe in. Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase — at no extra cost to you.

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