Today: Siddharth Hardikar

Illustrated, animated, and built with love — Siddharth’s portfolio makes that promise right at the top, and the moment you dive in, you can tell he means it.

Currently pursuing his master’s in HCDE at the University of Washington, Siddharth is still early in his career, but his portfolio carries the confidence and craft of someone much further along. With a Google apprenticeship already under his belt and a range of thoughtfully executed case studies, he’s managed to strike a rare balance: playful, personality-filled presentation that still feels curated and professional.

I first came across Siddharth’s work while browsing through student portfolios — and his stood out immediately. Not because it’s loud or flashy, but because it’s unusually well-composed. Small animations, subtle interactions, and moments of delight run throughout the site, but never tip over into distraction. It feels joyful and carefully made — which, in a sea of portfolios that often look interchangeable, is no small achievement.

But beyond surface polish, what really makes Siddharth’s portfolio shine is how he tells stories through visuals and how he connects his design work to impact. Let’s take a closer look.

The Good

Visual storytelling that keeps you engaged

Siddharth doesn’t just lean on paragraphs of text — he uses visuals everywhere to guide the reader through his work. Animated walkthroughs, GIFs of key flows, color-coded sections, and themed highlights break up the scroll and make his case studies far more scannable than the typical wall of text.

Even better, the visuals aren’t arbitrary. A project with a green palette carries that through its supporting boxes and metrics; another with a different scheme uses complementary tones. It’s subtle, but it makes each case study feel distinct and cohesive. These cues keep attention where it should be — on the story and the work itself — while also making the experience memorable.

Impact that feels real — or thoughtfully projected

One of the most striking things about Siddharth’s portfolio is his attention to outcomes. In projects like Spark, he surfaces concrete metrics clearly and boldly — exactly what hiring managers want to see.

But even when those results weren’t available, Siddharth didn’t stop at “the project ended here.” Instead, he outlined what he would measure, how he’d think about success, and why those outcomes would matter. That kind of forward-thinking reflection is rare, especially at this stage of a career, and it makes his work feel more intentional and mature. It shows that he understands design isn’t just about producing flows or screens — it’s about driving business and user impact.

The Potential

Curate more, show less

If there’s one thing Siddharth could improve, it’s restraint. The visuals are strong, but there are simply too many of them. Case studies sometimes flood the page with dozens of screens or large Figma canvases that add little to the reader’s understanding.

The problem isn’t quality — the screens themselves are good. The problem is scannability. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t spend minutes on a case study; they spend seconds. If the key story gets buried in a sea of flows and screenshots, it risks being missed altogether.

The fix? Curate more aggressively. Reduce eighteen screens to four by showing flows in short recordings. Replace sprawling Figma noodles with one polished prototype mock-up. Cut redundant content and let the strongest visuals breathe. Siddharth has already proven he can craft delightful case studies — now it’s about editing them down so the signal shines through without the noise.

Positioning that makes the most of his strengths

Siddharth introduces himself as a “UX designer researcher who loves designing end-to-end experiences that are fun and meaningful.” It’s true enough — his portfolio is fun and meaningful. But it doesn’t say much about where he fits best, or what type of role he’s aiming for.

Looking at his body of work, a few themes emerge: he has strong mobile design chops, experience at a big tech company, and a knack for visual storytelling that resonates with consumer-facing products. That’s a powerful profile — but it isn’t reflected in his positioning.

Tightening this up could make a huge difference. Whether he leans into being a product designer focused on consumer mobile experiences, or frames himself as someone who balances playful design with rigorous research, the key is to move beyond a generic “fun and meaningful” and highlight the skills and contexts that set him apart. With the work to back it up, a sharper positioning statement would make Siddharth’s portfolio impossible to skim past.

Final Thoughts

Siddharth Hardikar’s portfolio is one of the most impressive student showcases I’ve come across this year. It radiates personality, joy, and polish — while also demonstrating the kind of craft and impact focus that most early-career designers are still chasing.

Yes, there’s room to refine. A lighter editorial hand in his case studies and a clearer positioning statement would make his already-strong portfolio even sharper. But the foundations here are outstanding.

If you’re a hiring manager looking for a designer who can combine playful, engaging presentation with thoughtful, impact-driven work, Siddharth is someone to watch closely. He’s already operating beyond the level of a typical student portfolio — and with a bit more curation and clarity, he’ll be ready to compete with designers much further into their careers.

You probably could tell but yeah, Siddharth’s 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.

Siddharth has one of the most playful and interaction-rich portfolios I’ve seen in a bit and I know for a fact that it wasn’t incredibly hard to facilitate these with Framer.

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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