Visual Design is important, but it’s not the only thing that matters

How to present your work when it isn’t visually stunning

Photo by Thirdman: https://www.pexels.com/photo/light-person-holiday-vacation-6533509/

“I’m not sure what to do. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on Visual Design,” a designer complained, reminding me of where I struggled years ago.

There’s no getting around it: many organizations nowadays prioritize visuals. Applying to specific jobs often requires showing high-quality and beautifully designed visuals in your portfolio.

But that emphasis leaves some of us, myself included, wondering how to present our work.

My first projects weren’t visually interesting. My design work revolved around fixing form fields and upgrading 30-year-old visual interfaces.

I’m sure this design really gets interviewers excited

If you’re suffering from the same issues I was, you must first understand why businesses focus so much on visuals.

Aesthetics, usability, and tangible outputs around design

After working as a UX team of one for a lot of my career, I’ve found that a few things drive demand for high-quality visuals.