Hey and welcome back to a new week!

In this issue:

• Making the Most of Internships and Client Work: How to preserve the context, permissions, and evidence that can help real work support your portfolio later.

• The Winners of the Open Doors x Framer Student Challenge: We had a lot of amazing submissions but these ones stood out to us!

• Vivian's Portfolio: An extremely promising student portfolio from someone a bit earlier in their journey.

Thank you for reading!

🎖️ HERE ARE THE WINNERS OF THE OPEN DOORS X FRAMER STUDENT CHALLENGE

The challenge was a blast—here are the winners!

It was the first challenge I ever hosted and I couldn’t be prouder of the amazing work that students created in Framer and submitted for the challenge. This is the type of creativity I love to see and knowing that this challenge prompted it is super rewarding.

Speaking of rewards. I obviously want to showcase the top three and therefore winners of this challenge. Here we go!

🥇Jennifer Huang - The Dial

Jennifer’s The Dial won because of a mix of great execution, rationale, theme fit and love for the detail. The switch between light and dark mode couldn’t be cooler and the little details of the cursor switch inside the dial surface are making this one of the most intricate entries. I personally loved the rationale bit the most even as it is not only explaining the why but it is doing so with great care and nice visuals.

Jennifer is winning a Framer Creator Micro with her submission!

🥈Miffy Wang - Calm Petals

Miffy Wang’s submission is anything but usual and that’s exactly what I loved so much about it. It’s a long and calming interaction. You keep your mouse pressed to breathe and let the flower grow. So simple yet so genius. I also loved the way colors were layered here and became more vibrant as the interaction progresses.

Miffy is winning a Framer Mystery Merch Box with a few of the coolest new Framer Merch inside!

🥉Kathy Zhang - Film Moments

Kathy Zhang’s submission is all about going deep on a moment and changing perspectives. It’s as simple as it is enticing.

Kathy is winning a brand new set of chrome Framer mugs which are probably the coolest mugs I’ve ever seen.

Making the Most of Internships and Client Work 👀

An internship can be a huge unlock for your portfolio.

So can a freelance project, a co-op, a contract, a volunteer role, or a real project for someone who actually needs the work done.

You get something many early-career designers are missing: real constraints, real collaborators, real feedback, real users, and hopefully a real product that ships.

That is valuable. Hiring teams want to see that kind of work.

But there is a catch.

The work only helps your portfolio if you can tell a credible story about it later. And by the time you finally sit down to write the case study, you may no longer have access to the Figma files, the product, the research, the metrics, your manager, or even a clear memory of why a decision was made.

That is why the best time to make an internship portfolio-ready is not after it ends.

It is before and during it.

This is not about quietly taking things you should not take, breaking an NDA, or treating company work as your personal property. It is about being thoughtful while you still have access, asking the right people the right questions, and preserving the parts of the story you are genuinely allowed to use.

The goal is simple:

When the work is over, you want enough approved material to make one strong, honest case study.

Here is how to think about it before, during, and after the project.

Before: understand the shape of the opportunity

Before you start an internship or client project, you do not need a full case-study plan. You may not even know what you will work on yet. That is fine.

But a few early questions can save you a lot of pain later.

First, look at the paperwork you are signing. If there is an NDA, confidentiality clause, IP assignment, or client agreement, do not just assume it means you can never show anything. But also do not assume that everyone has the same interpretation of it.

Read it. Look for what counts as confidential information, whether portfolio use is mentioned, whether you can even name the company or client, and whether there are rules around screenshots, designs, data, or public announcements.

If the language is unclear, use the Open Doors NDA Portfolio Advisor to translate the practical implications, then check any uncertainty with the company. It is not legal advice. It is a way to arrive at a better conversation.

Then get a rough sense of the work itself:

• Do you know the product, client, or problem area you will work on?

• Is the product already public, or is it internal, unreleased, or under a strict client NDA?

• Are you likely to contribute to something that could ship?

• Who will manage your work, and who else will know what you contributed?

• Will you have access to the product once the role ends?

You will not always get clean answers. Some internships start with uncertainty. Some freelance clients change direction. Some work never ships. None of that makes the experience worthless.

The point is not to turn the interview into a negotiation about your portfolio. It is simply to understand what kind of story you may be able to build later.

If you already know the work will be confidential, that does not mean you should avoid it. It means you should be more deliberate. You may eventually need an anonymized story, a password-protected case study, a high-level summary, or permission to show only specific approved artifacts.

That is still far better than realizing after the fact that you never asked.

During: collect the story, not just the screens

This is the part that matters most.

A strong case study is not a folder of final UI. It is a story about a problem, your contribution, the decisions you made, the constraints you worked within, and what happened next.

The easiest way to lose that story is to trust yourself to remember it in six months.

You will not. Trust me, I’ve learned this the hard way.

Keep a light work journal

Keep one private place for light notes. Not a polished diary. Not something you need to update every day. A simple Notion page, document, or physical notebook is enough.

Once or twice a week, write down:

• What you worked on

• What problem the team was trying to solve

• What you personally owned or influenced

• The key decisions, feedback, and tradeoffs

• What changed because of research, engineering constraints, stakeholder input, or testing

• What you would want to remember when explaining the work later

Write more context than you will ever publish. Your notes are there to help you reconstruct the story, not to become the case study word for word.

For example, "I designed the new account flow" is not very useful later.

This is much more useful:

That gives you a problem, a decision, collaborators, and a constraint. You can later make it more general if numbers or specific details are confidential.

Capture your contribution clearly

Early-career designers often make a second mistake: they describe a whole team project as if they did everything, or they make their own role so vague that nobody can see what they actually did.

Keep a simple record of your part.

Did you lead the flow? Own the UI for a feature? Run a workshop? Build a prototype? Refine a design system component? Join research sessions? Work through edge cases with engineering? Prepare the handoff? Iterate after feedback?

You do not need to inflate any of it. A case study becomes more credible when it is precise:

• "I owned the mobile onboarding flow and partnered with a senior designer on the wider account experience."

• "I created the prototype used in usability sessions, then incorporated the findings into the final flow."

• "I was responsible for the empty, loading, and error states while the team designed the main dashboard."

Specific contribution is strong contribution.

Ask about portfolio use early, and be transparent

At some point, ideally before the final week, talk to your manager. The conversation can be simple:

This is much better than copying files without permission and hoping nobody notices.

Some managers will be cautious. Some will say no. Some will be very helpful. At a smaller company, a manager may be able to approve a clear plan. At a larger company, they may need to involve legal, marketing, or a client lead.

That is all normal.

When you get guidance, write it down. If practical, confirm it in an email or message: what you may show, what needs to be hidden, who needs to approve the final version, and whether the permission only applies once the work is public. Written clarity protects everyone.

Preserve approved visual evidence

To show design work, you will eventually need something visual. But "I worked on it" is not permission to export internal boards, download research, forward files, or keep private customer data.

Instead, ask what is permitted and collect only what has been approved.

Depending on the situation, that could be:

• Screens or prototypes that are already public and explicitly cleared for portfolio use

• A recording of a public product flow, if that use is allowed

• Approved before-and-after visuals

• An anonymized or redacted version of a design

• A few approved process artifacts, such as a low-fidelity wireframe or prototype

• Your own recreated diagrams that explain the decision without revealing confidential material

Public availability can make a conversation easier, but it does not remove the need to check. Your contract may restrict the internal context, your contribution, future releases, client work, or the way the work is represented.

And remember: a case study does not need every screen. A small set of clear, approved visuals is far more useful than a giant unstructured dump of Figma frames.

Keep a handle on impact without chasing forbidden numbers

Impact makes case studies stronger, but you do not need to walk away with an analytics spreadsheet.

Ask your manager, PM, or teammate: what were we trying to improve here? What did success look like? Did the work ship? What happened after it shipped?

You may not be able to share exact numbers. That is okay. You can often share a truthful, non-sensitive result with approval:

• The team wanted to reduce friction in an important setup flow.

• The design shipped as part of a broader release.

• Testing showed that users found the revised flow easier to understand.

• The project was paused because the company changed priorities, not because the work was bad.

• The work informed a future iteration, even if the final implementation changed.

Do not invent metrics, and do not take internal numbers with you. The useful thing is the direction, the target, and the honest outcome.

After: turn what you have into a useful case study

Once the internship, contract, or project ends, do a quick inventory.

What do you actually have?

Your notes. Approved visuals. A live public product. Permission details. Names of people who understand your work. A clear sense of your contribution. Maybe feedback, outcomes, or a quote.

Then curate. Do not try to show everything you touched.

Choose the work that gives you the best story and the strongest evidence of your skills. One focused project is usually more valuable than three rushed mini-case-studies.

Start with a simple structure:

1. What was the project and why did it matter?

2. What was your role?

3. What did you learn or discover?

4. What did you design or decide?

5. What constraints did you work with?

6. What happened in the end?

7. What did you take away from the experience?

That final point matters.

Your reflection is yours. Nobody can take it away through an NDA.

And by reflection, I do not mean, "I learned to use Framer" or "I improved my Figma skills." Those are skills. A real reflection is about how you changed your judgment:

• "I understood for the first time how much a design decision depends on engineering context."

• "I learned that stakeholder disagreement can reveal a real product question, not just slow a project down."

• "I became better at asking for context before jumping into screens."

• "I saw how quickly an idea can change once it meets real users, timelines, and constraints."

That kind of reflection makes a junior case study feel mature without pretending you had ten years of experience.

If you have already left and did none of this

You are not too late.

Do not assume that the project is gone forever because you did not collect the perfect material while you were there. Your first move is often just a friendly, specific follow-up to your former manager or client.

Keep it easy to answer. Say you enjoyed the experience, explain that you are preparing a portfolio case study within the confidentiality terms, and ask the most important questions in one message.

For example:

One useful, well-scoped message is better than several vague follow-ups. Managers are busy, but many are happy to help a former intern or freelancer when they understand exactly what is being asked.

You can also ask for a short testimonial from someone who worked closely with you. This is optional. A thoughtful one- or two-sentence quote can add credibility, but it is a bonus, not the foundation of your case study. The work, the story, and your contribution matter more.

The real asset is not just the final design

At the beginning of your career, every real project can become an important piece of evidence.

Not because every project will turn into a perfect public case study. Some will remain confidential. Some will not ship. Some will be too messy or too small to show.

But each one can give you something: a clearer story about your process, a stronger understanding of collaboration, an approved artifact, a manager who can speak to your work, a lesson you can articulate, or a more credible way to describe what you have done.

So while you are still in the room, pay attention.

Keep the story. Ask what you can show. Get clarity in writing where you can. Preserve only what you are allowed to preserve. And when the work ends, do not leave your best evidence behind with your old login.

That is how an internship becomes more than a line on your resume.

It becomes proof.

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👀 Portfolio Showcase

Today: Vivian Zhao

Vivian Zhao is still early in her design journey.

She has some time left before finishing her studies and is currently looking more toward internships than full-time roles. That puts her at a very different stage from some of the designers I’ve featured recently, many of whom already had several years of experience before returning to university.

But that’s also what makes this portfolio worth showing.

For where Vivian currently is, it sends extremely strong signals.

The work is considered. The portfolio is restrained. The case studies are already structured around the right principles. And while there are still areas that need polishing, the direction is absolutely right.

A good hiring manager looking at emerging talent is not only asking whether everything is perfect already. They are looking for signs of where someone could go with the right environment and support.

Vivian’s portfolio has plenty of those signs.

That’s it for this week—thanks so much for the support! ♥️

Do you want your own portfolio reviewed in-depth with a 30-minute advice-packed video review? Or do you require mentoring to figure out a proper strategy for your job search?

I got you!

• Book an in-depth portfolio or resume review with me

• Book a mentoring session with me

• Book a quick 15 min chat to ask a question and see if we vibe

Keep kicking doors open and see you next week!
- Florian