Having a strong design portfolio is so important for students who are looking to jumpstart their design careers. We strongly believe that design students should have access to the tools they need, regardless of whether or not they can afford them. That’s why, from today on, Webflow is free for students studying at school, college, or an approved online course. 

We’ve collected some amazing student design portfolios from the Masters in Human-Computer Interaction students at Carnegie Mellon University. It’s amazing to see so many different styles come out of just one class — it pays testament to the great professors and the creative ingenuity of the students. 

"The Master of Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University is a rigorous one-year program and we must prepare our students to quickly transition from their academic work to industry at a very rapid pace. Webflow allows our students to make something very quickly. They can take their idea, create it, deploy it, and test it in a very brief amount of time. Webflow is very accessible and responsive. Some of our students use the tool to create their MHCI Capstone project websites or their professional portfolios."

- Jennifer McPherson, MHCI program coordinator 

Check out these professional digital student portfolios

Learn what defines a strong student portfolio, and get some design inspiration for your own.

1. Andy Wilbourn

Andy’s portfolio website is a joy to browse. It has a clean and simple layout, but uses tiny, engaging interactions and animations throughout. The homepage features scroll-triggered animations along with appealing hover interactions that differ depending on the type of button or click required. These design nuggets draw the visitor into Andy’s work and keep them hooked. 

The individual project pages in Andy’s portfolio are very visual-first, allowing visitors to immediately understand the type of designer they are, as well as the process they took in each design project. The timeline in each project feature is a lovely touch, and highlights their ability to deliver projects on time.

2. Jane Lee 

The second you reach Jane’s online portfolio, you know exactly what they do — no guesswork required. Jane’s portfolio acts as both a project showcase for their amazing design work and a professional resume. Employers and potential clients want to quickly see as much information as possible — and Jane’s portfolio delivers. As you scroll down the homepage, enjoyable scroll animations keep you engaged and wanting to check out the projects.

My favorite aspect of Jane’s portfolio is the fantastic takeover menu that emerges when you hit the hamburger icon. Jane keeps you interested all the way to the bottom of the homepage, where they use the CTA “Ready to have me join your team?” This creative CTA shows that Jane is open to new opportunities, which encourages employers or clients to get in touch. 

3. Aaron Lee

Aaron’s portfolio is filled with enjoyable interactions and animations. The homepage features a cursor that types out their different roles — UX researcher, UX designer, and programmer. Aaron aims to create intuitive experiences that cater to users and their portfolio demonstrates this very well. The site experience is seamless. 

The way that Aaron uses a toggle switch to allow the visitor to choose between viewing “Papers” and “Projects” on the homepage is genius, as it allows them to save vital real estate. The project pages are extremely descriptive and differ slightly depending on the project. They provide two buttons at the bottom of each project, allowing you to toggle back and forth between project pages without needing to go back and select a new one. 

4. Ije Okafor

Ije is a UX designer and an industrial engineer who introduces themself in the hero section of their homepage. The dynamic text in the headline gives visitors insight into the type of person and designer that Ije is before diving into past projects. ‍

Ije's portfolio homepage shows a curated list of their best work with eloquent descriptions of what role Ije played. Each project starts by highlighting the problem that Ije was trying to solve, and then delves into the skills Ije used to succeed in each one. The project pages do a great job of highlighting how they’ve used the skills that employers are looking for in the design field right now. 

5. Onye Nwabueze

Onye’s portfolio greets you with a signature and a waving hand emoji, immediately giving you an idea of her playful personality and personal brand. Onye is an educator-turned-designer, with UX playing a strong role in each of her projects so far. Scroll-triggered animations smoothly update content as you scroll through the page. Using black and white as the base for her website allows Onye to easily shift our focus to her projects, which show up as colored images. 

The asymmetrical projects layout on Onye’s homepage and fun hover interactions are a reflection of her playfulness. Having a consistent theme throughout your portfolio — like Onye showing off her personality — can work wonders for showing a future employer what kind of person you are, and how you’ll fit in on their team. 

6. Isabel Ngan

Isabel’s portfolio makes great use of white space, ensuring that visitors are directed to her amazing work. Using white space allows site visitors to focus on the projects and written content. And the soft lilac color used throughout Isabel’s portfolio really makes the project images, design process screenshots, and copy stand out. 

The homepage also acts as her “projects” page — allowing visitors to immediately view the content they’re there for. Scrolling through the homepage is a joy thanks to the tiny hover states and micro-interactions that encourage you to keep scrolling down. When you click into any of Isabel’s projects, you’ll see some of the most detailed processes. Each page showcases the steps Isabel took to get the end result in each project. 

The footer of Isabel's portfolio provides all of her contact information and links to social media. Keeping contact information in the footer makes it easy for future employers to get in touch. 

7. Aziz Ghadiali 

Aziz’s homepage acts as a simple introduction that explains who they are and what they do. By providing three buttons — learn about me, view projects, and download resume — Aziz allows visitors to jump to the content they’re most interested in. 

Aziz’s work background is super diverse, which is reflected in the fantastic projects they’ve delivered. Their projects are laid out like case studies — a title, a paragraph about the work Aziz did, and a CTA to learn more and visit the full project page. 

The “About me” page acts as a resume, diving deeper into who Aziz is as a person and as a designer. Aziz communicates why they are a passionate designer and why potential employers should work with them. 

8. Lauren Hung

Lauren's homepage immediately paints a picture of who she is, and what she does best. The different fonts in this portfolio provide a hierarchical structure to Lauren’s content, which makes for a delightful browsing experience. 

The big, takeover project descriptions on the homepage immerse visitors in Lauren’s work, inviting them to learn more. Having her resume act as a CTA in the navigation shows that she is open to new opportunities, and encourages potential employers to get in touch. 

Lauren’s "about" page includes a paragraph titled “where I’m going.” This section gives potential clients great insight into her personal and professional aspirations, along with where she could fit within a team. Personal touches like this are often overlooked in portfolios, but can prove to be extremely personable. 

9. Akshaya Madhavan 

Akshaya’s homepage is simple and shows off their impressive work. The project pages do an excellent job of outlining exactly what Akshaya’s role in the project was, the skills that they used, and the software that helped the project to come to life. Akshaya also includes how many people were involved in each project, which is an excellent way of showing they’re a team player. 

Akshaya’s portfolio is extremely focused on helping them find the right employer. It’s a great example of using past work experience and personal touches to attract potential clients and employers. 

10. Cydney Vicentina

When you reach Cydney's portfolio website, you’re presented with a playful updating heading, which immediately grabs your attention. Cydney gives the visitor two ways to access their projects — by scrolling through the single page website or using the hamburger menu to select specific projects. 

On the homepage, each project has a short title and quick summary of the project along with the design skills Cydney used to create it. Cydney writes in the first person, which allows them to tell the story of each project in a personable way. This is a really unique feature of Cydney's portfolio, and showcases their ability to tell stories through design.  

Ready to build your own portfolio?

If you’re feeling inspired after checking out these amazing portfolios, but don’t know where to start on your own — don’t worry! There’s a whole course on Webflow University aimed at teaching students how to build portfolios quickly, without code. Check out the 21-day portfolio course to get started. 

You can also browse Webflow's template marketplace to see tons of free and low-cost templates that you can use to power your new web design portfolio. The Showcase is another great resource if you’re looking for some design inspiration. Phenomenal designers at every stage of their design careers post their portfolios and projects to the Showcase, and lots are cloneable so you can try them out for yourself and learn how they were built.