Today: Omar Khalil

Omar Khalil’s portfolio is what happens when someone brings technical experience, visual polish, and a designer’s mindset together in one sharp package.

Based in the Bay Area and currently working as a test engineer at Meta, Omar’s actual background is in design and it’s were he wants to head professionally — and honestly, he’s making a very convincing case. His portfolio is clean, interactive, and shows a strong visual eye. You’d never guess from looking that he’s relatively early in his design journey.

Let’s take a closer look at what makes his portfolio click — and a few small adjustments that could level it up even further.

The Good

Polished Visual Presentation With Subtle Interactions

This is the kind of portfolio that makes you pause and say, “Yeah, that’s nicely done.”

The layout is tight. The visuals are clean. The details — like subtle motion or interactive elements — are clever without being overbearing. Whether it’s the photo carousel on the homepage that slides back into place, or the playful photo stacks on his about page, Omar brings small moments of delight that show off his care and precision.

He also showcases his actual design work well: animated flows, screen reels, and neatly segmented sections that break up each case study in digestible ways. The use of motion is tasteful and strategic — not just thrown in for flair.

If you’re wondering what “visually dialed in” looks like for a junior or transitioning designer, this is a strong example.

Storytelling That’s Engaging and Easy To Follow

Omar also has a solid handle on narrative structure. His case studies flow smoothly — no unnecessary jargon, no filler.

He gives enough context to help you understand the problem space, and he keeps you moving through the story with clarity and energy. Each project feels approachable and well-thought-out, and he never gets bogged down in over-explaining or padding things out.

Even if you only skim parts of his case studies, you still walk away with a strong sense of what the project was, what he did, and how he contributed.

The Potential

A Bit More Visual Polish and Typographic Consistency

Even though Omar’s visual sense is strong overall, there are a few places where polish could take his work to the next level.

Some examples:

• Typography in chips/tags on the homepage is too small and tightly spaced — it’s hard to read.

  

  These chips are quite hard to read

• Inconsistent heading alignment: Some headings are centered when they would be easier to follow left-aligned.

  

  Headings are best left-aligned in such a case

• Text contrast in dark mode: Body copy is sometimes too light, making it harder to read comfortably.

• Padding issues: In the Savvy Giving case study, small summary boxes break out of their container with no side padding, which feels like a bug.

  

  The (non-existent) padding here makes these boxes quite awkward

These are all small things — but they matter more when the rest of your portfolio is strong. Tiny inconsistencies tend to stand out when expectations are high.

Bring the Impact Forward (It’s Already There — Just Not Visible)

Interestingly, Omar’s resume talks a lot more about impact than his case studies do. That’s a missed opportunity.

In his portfolio, he focuses on the work, the process, and the visuals — all good — but we never hear what happened as a result. That’s something every hiring manager wants to know.

Even if the projects weren’t fully implemented (many were for nonprofits), there’s still value in talking about:

• What would success have looked like?

• What was the intended outcome?

• What kind of feedback did the work receive?

• Why wasn’t something implemented (e.g., budget, scope, timing)?

Adding a small “Results” or “Impact” section at the end of each case study would immediately give more weight to the work. And ideally, even the case study previews on the homepage could lead with this kind of detail, rather than just the project name or theme.

Final Thoughts

Omar’s portfolio is a great example of what a design transition can look like when it’s done with care, precision, and a strong visual instinct.

He’s already operating at a visual level that many juniors are still working toward — and he complements that with solid narrative structure and well-presented work.

With a little more attention to typographic consistency and a stronger focus on showcasing outcomes, this portfolio will go from impressive to irresistible for design teams — especially those who value visual polish and clarity of thought.

If you want a visual benchmark to aim for in your portfolio, Omar’s is a great place to start.

Omar’s portfolio was made 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.

It’s no surprise that Omar has used Framer to build his portfolio. Once I saw the nice interactions and details I knew this was likely crafted with it since it’s just so easy to get these things going with it.

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.

How I can help YOU

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