Today: Lana Farkas

Lana Farkas is a Carnegie Mellon HCI graduate with a portfolio that, quite literally, takes off into space.

Yes, the surface is playful. Yes, there’s stardust that follows your cursor. Yes, there’s a subtle cosmic theme running through everything.

But the real strength of Lana’s portfolio isn’t the surface.

It’s the substance.

And more specifically: the case studies.

Let’s get into it.

The Good

A masterclass in case study storytelling

If you want to study how to structure and present a case study in 2026 without overwhelming the reader, Lana’s portfolio should be on your list.

She has four primary case studies, plus smaller side projects that are treated with care rather than as throwaway experiments.

What stands out immediately is not just the work itself, but how it’s told.

Each case study opens with an engaging visual. They’re not identical in structure, and that’s fine. Some show the product UI more directly. Others set context through motion or environmental framing. The important thing is that each introduction feels deliberate and crafted.

Then the storytelling kicks in.

Lana uses headings strategically. You can almost read just the headings and highlighted phrases and understand the arc of the project. That’s not accidental. That’s intentional narrative design.

She highlights key phrases in color, sparingly. Two per paragraph at most. That restraint makes scanning incredibly efficient. You don’t have to hunt for meaning. It’s guided.

Her visuals are treated as design artifacts, not pasted screenshots. Images feel placed. Framed. Considered. Often styled like photos laid out on a table rather than raw exports dropped into a page.

There’s one moment that stood out in particular. In a founding designer case study, she opens with a subtle time-lapse video of her and her co-founder working in a meeting room. It does what the infamous “wall of stickies” photo tries to do — but better. It feels real. It feels grounded. It signals effort and iteration without cliché.

Even when she explains a complex problem, she does it elegantly. One or two sentences. A subtle animated visual. In one instance, she represents the problem space as a constellation of moving stars — reinforcing her cosmic theme without being loud about it.

That’s restraint.

That’s cohesion.

And it makes even heavy topics feel engaging.

The mini projects at the bottom are also handled correctly. They are smaller, yes. Less depth. But they show range — and some of them could easily be full case studies in other portfolios. Lana frames them appropriately without diluting the main work.

In a world where people debate whether case studies are dying, Lana proves something simple: when they are this well crafted, they are still incredibly powerful.

Subtle playfulness carried through with discipline

The space theme isn’t a gimmick.

It’s controlled.

It shows up in the homepage interaction. It shows up in motion details. It shows up in micro-animations inside case studies. And it even shows up in how she handles unfinished work.

When you try to access her NASA mini project that isn’t ready yet, instead of a generic “Coming Soon,” you get:

“Almost ready for launch.”

And then a small, space-themed mini game to play while you wait.

It’s simple. It’s on theme. It makes you smile.

Normally, I advise not to show unfinished projects. But if you’re going to do it, this is how you do it.

It reinforces the meta-story of the portfolio. It makes the theme feel intentional rather than decorative.

The stardust interaction that intensifies as you move your cursor faster is another example. It’s playful, but not distracting. It adds atmosphere without hijacking usability.

Many portfolios have interactions.

Few carry a coherent narrative identity from macro to micro like this.

Lana does.

The Potential

Positioning: she’s underselling herself

This is the biggest opportunity.

Lana describes herself as:

That sentence is safe.

Too safe.

It hides something important.

Lana is not just a product designer. She is operating at the intersection of design and engineering. She clearly understands code beyond surface-level vibe coding. She doesn’t just generate. She modifies. She understands structure.

That’s rare.

In today’s market, especially in early-stage and high-velocity environments, that’s valuable.

She could credibly position herself as:

• A product designer who builds

• A designer blending engineering and interaction craft

• A design engineer

• A systems-focused front-end thinker

Right now, none of that shows up in her intro.

The moment you explore her portfolio, you see it. But the intro should plant that seed immediately.

Similarly, she likely thrives in early-stage or complex technical environments. That’s not stated clearly either.

Her positioning doesn’t match her capability.

And when you’re this strong, you don’t want to leave that on the table.

Impact needs to be sharper and more business-aligned

Her case studies are beautifully told.

But impact is the weakest part of the narrative.

For example, in one case study she lists:

• 30% fewer steps in operator workflows

• 12 high-fidelity prototypes tested

• 20+ stakeholders validated task flows

• Blueprint adopted into roadmap

Only the first and last truly communicate business or user impact.

The prototype count and stakeholder count are process metrics. They matter internally. They don’t matter to hiring managers.

What’s missing is stronger framing around:

• What needle was moved?

• What user friction was eliminated?

• What business opportunity was unlocked?

• What outcome became possible?

Even if she doesn’t have hard performance data, intent matters. Showing that she can articulate:

“This is what would move the needle, and here’s how I designed toward that.”

That’s what makes hiring managers lean forward.

She hints at this in other case studies — especially where she discusses projected impact. That’s good. That thinking needs to be more central.

Case study titles could also shift slightly toward outcome framing rather than project framing.

Less:

“Smarter support for ABA therapy.”

More:

“Reducing friction in ABA workflows by X% through…”

That shift changes perception immediately.

The Verdict

Lana Farkas has one of the strongest case study portfolios I’ve seen in a while.

Her storytelling is disciplined.

Her visuals are intentional.

Her thematic cohesion is rare.

Her technical ability is understated but obvious.

Where she can level up is in positioning and impact articulation. Not because she lacks capability — but because she hasn’t fully claimed it.

She’s stronger than she says she is.

And once that positioning catches up with the quality of her work, it becomes very difficult to ignore her profile.

If this portfolio has flown under the radar, it shouldn’t stay there for long.

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.

• 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.

• 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.

How I can help YOU

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