Today: Jackson Ringger

Jackson Ringger’s portfolio is a masterclass in clarity, craft, and control.

A recent graduate now working across contract and freelance projects, Jackson’s portfolio feels anything but junior. Every inch of it is deliberate — from how he greets you on the landing screen to how he guides you through complex case studies. It’s the kind of portfolio that instantly makes you think, “I’d like to work with this person.”

What stands out first is the feeling of polish. Jackson positions himself as a product and visual designer, and that balance holds true throughout. His work is beautiful without being overdesigned, functional without being flat. He understands hierarchy, motion, and restraint — three things that even many senior designers still struggle with.

It’s rare that I look at a portfolio and can immediately imagine a range of teams wanting to reach out — from SaaS products that need clarity and control, to consumer apps that want style and charm. But that’s where Jackson’s work lands: right in that sweet spot of taste, maturity, and execution.

The Good

Impeccable craft and interaction quality

Jackson’s portfolio is one of those rare examples where motion, hierarchy, and tone all work in harmony. The first impression — the hover interaction in his hero section where each colored word isolates and expands with a subtle fade — sets the tone perfectly. It’s confident, but not loud; playful, but intentional.

This care carries through everything else. Each scroll feels considered. The transitions are fluid, the typography sits beautifully in space, and the visuals themselves are well-balanced — clean, consistent, and clear. He knows when to let the interface breathe and when to highlight detail.

Even better: he doesn’t overdo it. The portfolio doesn’t rely on flashiness to hold attention. The small, elegant interactions complement the work instead of competing with it. It’s the mark of someone who not only knows design tools but also understands presentation as a craft.

It’s hard not to feel impressed by the total experience — it gives you the quiet confidence that this is someone who would elevate any team they join.

A seamless blend of disciplines

After the product design section, Jackson dedicates space to his graphic, motion, and 3D work — and he does it with taste. The presentation is restrained, curated, and perfectly positioned after the main body of product design projects.

What this does is simple but powerful: it rounds out his profile without diluting it. You get the sense that Jackson’s visual instincts would directly strengthen any interface or brand he touches. And crucially, it doesn’t feel like filler or experimentation — it feels like mastery.

If you’re a designer considering adding side skills to your portfolio (like 3D, branding, or motion), this is exactly how to do it: not by overloading your portfolio with mixed disciplines, but by showing a few well-selected, refined examples that support your main story.

The Potential

Refine the focus and prioritize

Jackson’s portfolio includes six product design projects before moving into his visual design section. That’s simply too much. Not because the work isn’t good — it is — but because attention is finite, and every project you add risks diluting the overall narrative.

The first three projects — Restore, Project MOA (FAA), and Breeze Airways — are excellent. They show end-to-end product thinking, complex interaction design, and strong real-world relevance. They’re the backbone of his story.

The other three, while still visually strong, tell less of a product story. Leland in particular feels more like a visual design compilation than a case study. It lacks a clear problem–solution narrative and doesn’t communicate his impact as clearly. The other two site redesigns also fall more into the “web design” space — impressive to look at, but not essential to understanding Jackson’s strength as a product designer.

If he wants to keep them, he could move them below the main projects or group them under a smaller “Web & Visual Work” section. But ideally, I’d reduce the main grid to his three strongest projects. That focus would make the portfolio sharper and more aligned with the kind of design work he’ll get hired for.

Strengthen the narrative through headings

Jackson’s storytelling is already strong — he writes clearly, avoids fluff, and uses headings to guide the reader. But this is an area where small improvements could elevate his case studies from great to truly top-tier.

In his FAA project, for example, early sections like Organizing complex user workflows show how headings can carry meaning. But later, the headings become more generic: The results, The problem, The solution. These don’t do justice to the sophistication of his work. Instead of describing structure, headings should describe insight.

For example, rather than The solution: Addition of robust decision support tools, he could write Designing a decision layer to simplify pilot workflows. It’s a small change — but it helps the story carry even if someone only skims.

There’s also a visual hierarchy issue: some sections draw the eye to the wrong place due to mismatched heading sizes or missing body text. Adjusting those details would bring the clarity of his writing in line with the clarity of his visuals.

Verdict

Jackson’s portfolio is a rare combination of taste, precision, and storytelling. It feels mature, calm, and deeply competent — the kind of portfolio that quietly impresses you the more time you spend with it.

His craft is evident in every decision: what to animate, what to highlight, what to leave out. With a bit more curation and slightly stronger narrative framing in his case studies, this could easily be one of the best early-career design portfolios of the year.

If you want to see what “ready for hire” looks like — especially for a designer blending product, visual, and interaction craft — look at Jackson Ringger’s portfolio. It’s a benchmark.

Yeah, this portfolio was done with Framer.

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.

One thing I praised in Jackson’s portfolio were the interactions. Crafting these was not tough as Framer makes it as easy as it can be to set things like that up.

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.

• Plenty of learning support: Framer Academy is packed with free tutorials, videos, and guides to help you go from zero to published.

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

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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