Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your ID Portfolio

Hiring managers don’t want a gallery of artifacts; they want proof you can solve real performance problems. We walk through a clear, house-style blueprint for building an instructional design portfolio that highlights your judgment, shows measurable impact, and makes it effortless to find your best work.

To help your work get found, we align language across your site, resume, and LinkedIn, weave in job-aligned keywords naturally, and create a light sharing plan. Add your portfolio to LinkedIn’s Featured section, include the link in your email signature, and send targeted notes that point to two relevant projects. Ask focused questions for feedback—“Is it clear what I do in ten seconds?”—and iterate fast. We wrap with a memorable reminder: start simple, refine early, and improve as you go.

If this helped you sharpen your portfolio, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review. It helps more instructional designers find the tools and confidence to land their next role.

🔗 Episode Links:

Please check out the resources mentioned in the episode. Enjoy!

Top 7 Principles for a Stand-Out Instructional Design Portfolio: A 15-minute video from Scott Schmitt through Delvin Peck’s ID Bootcamp on how to create a solid ID portfolio using seven key principles.

Portfolio House Blueprint: An interactive visual with hotspots for each step that you can reference at any time. 

Join PodMatch!
Use the link to join PodMatch, a place for hosts and guests to connect.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Episode Game Plan
• 0:35 The House Blueprint Metaphor
• 1:01 Laying The Foundation: Clarity
• 2:43 Using Program Competencies & ADDIE
• 4:10 Choosing Intentional Projects
• 5:15 Upgrade School Work Into Case Studies
• 6:04 Case Study Structure In Six Parts
• 7:00 Portfolio Structure & Navigation
• 7:39 Open House: Branding & Outreach
• 8:25 Example: Onboarding Redesign
• 9:37 One Action To Take Now
• 10:04 Recap, Quote, & Resources
• 11:04 Gratitude & Support Options

Transcript

Jackie Pelegrin: 0:00

Hello, and welcome to the Designing with Love Podcast. I am your host, Jackie Pelegrin, where my goal is to bring you information, tips, and tricks as an instructional designer. Hello, instructional designers and educators. Welcome to episode 99 of the Designing with Love Podcast. In this episode, I'll provide step-by-step strategies to create a portfolio that showcases your skills and lands opportunities. So, grab your notebook, a cup of coffee, and settle in. Because today we're building your portfolio like a house. We'll start with a solid foundation, then add the structure and finishing touches that make your work easy to showcase. And if you want a visual you can come back to later, I created a quick interactive portfolio house blueprint. It's a house graphic with hotspots for each step we'll cover today, and I'll link it in the show notes. Alright, so let's break ground with the first step, laying the foundation. Before you add anything to your portfolio, you need clarity, because a portfolio built for everyone usually connects with no one. First, decide who you're building this for. Are you targeting corporate learning and development, higher ed, K through 12, healthcare, or nonprofit? What space are you aiming for? Next, pick one or two job titles you're targeting. For example, instructional designer, e-learning developer, learning experience designer, curriculum designer, whatever fits your goals. Now, if you're currently completing a master's program in instructional design, here's the good news. You already have a built-in blueprint. Most programs have competencies and outcomes, and sometimes a framework like ADI that your portfolio can align with. Here's the simple move. Make a quick two-column list. Column one, your program competencies or outcomes. Column two, the artifact that demonstrates each one. And where do I need to create one additional artifact to fill a gap? And if your program uses ADI, you can organize your evidence by phase, like analysis documents, design storyboards, development samples, implementation plans, and evaluation tools. Then write one clean value statement for your homepage, something like I design learner-centered training that solves real performance problems with clear structure and measurable outcomes. And finally, choose three to five skills you want your portfolio to highlight. Now that your foundation is set and you've got a clear blueprint to build from, let's choose those projects that will become the main structure of your portfolio. This is where a lot of people get stuck because they think, I don't have enough experience yet. But the truth is, your portfolio doesn't have to start with perfect client work. It has to start with intentional projects. I recommend aiming for three strong case studies, not a huge gallery of random artifacts. Quality over quantity. To show range, pick projects that demonstrate different types of solutions. For example, one, something that's performance support, like a job aid or quick reference guide. Two, something that's a structured learning experience, like a short e-learning module or storyboard. And three, something bigger picture, like an onboarding plan, workshop outline, or blended learning design. And if you're in a master's program, here's a quick upgrade tip. Don't just post the assignment as is. Pull out the best parts, tighten the story, add a visual, and frame it as a case study. So it reads like professional work, not a class submission. And if you don't have client work yet, you can still create portfolio ready projects by redesigning something that already exists, like a messy onboarding document or a training that didn't work. You're showcasing how you solve problems, not just which tools you can click. And one more quick resource before we move on. I'm also linking a short video by Delvin Peck called Top Seven Principles for a Standout Instructional Design Portfolio. It pairs really well with what we're covering today, and it's a great companion if you want a second perspective after you finish this episode. Alright, now that you've chosen the right projects, let's turn them into something a hiring manager can understand quickly, your case studies. If your portfolio is a house, your case studies are what make it livable. This is where hiring managers understand how you think. Here's a simple, repeatable case study structure you can use every time. First, context. Who was the audience and what was the setting? Second, problem. What performance gap were you solving? Third, your role. What did you own and what did you support? Fourth, approach. What process did you use? Like Addy, Sam, Agile, or UDL. Fifth, solution. Show what you created. Screenshots, a storyboard, a snippet, a job aid preview, something visual. And sixth, impact. If you have results, share them. If you don't, share how you would measure success. And here's a quick tip that instantly levels up your case study. Include one short design decisions note that explains why you chose what you chose. Even one sentence like, I used microlearning because learners had limited time and needed quick task-based support. Now that your case studies have a clear story, we need to make sure the house is easy to walk through, because great work can still get overlooked if the layout is confusing. This step is all about structure and flow. How your portfolio feels when someone clicks around. Your portfolio should answer three questions quickly. Who are you? What do you design? And can I see proof fast? A clean structure usually includes a home page with your value statement and a couple of feature projects, a portfolio page where your case studies live, an about page that tells your story and your strengths briefly and confidently, and a content page that makes it easy to reach you. Now, if you're in a master's program that requires you to create a portfolio, you will want to follow the structure outlined by the program. And let me say this clearly: simple beats fancy. Hiring managers aren't grading you on special effects. They're asking, can I find what I need quickly? So keep it scannable. Use consistent headings, make your navigation obvious, and make sure it works on mobile. At this point, your portfolio house is built. Now we just need to stage it, connect it to your professional brand, and invite the right people in. This is the open house step, where you make everything feel cohesive and you actually put your portfolio in front of people. First, align your language across your portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn. Your headline, your summary, your key skills. Those should match the story your portfolio is telling. Next, add keywords naturally, especially the ones you see repeated in job descriptions you're targeting. Then create a simple sharing plan. Here are some easy wins. Add your portfolio link to your LinkedIn featured section. Include it in your email signature. And when networking, don't just say here's my portfolio. Instead, say, here are two projects that match the kind of work your team is doing. And finally, ask for feedback with one focused question like, is it clear what I do in 10 seconds? Or which case study feels strongest and why? And to make this feel even more concrete, let me share a quick real life example of what this can look like, even if you don't have client work yet. Let's say you're transitioning into instructional design and you don't have client work yet. You can still build something strong by starting with a redesign. Imagine a company has a confusing onboarding PDF that's 10 pages long, text heavy, and new hires don't actually use it. The information exists, but it's not truly supporting performance. So you redesign it into a simple onboarding experience, a one-page quick start job aid, a short microlearning module, and a manager checklist for week one. In your case study, you explain the context, define the problem, like errors happening in week one, then show what you built, why you built it that way, and how you'd measure success. So if you've been waiting until you have perfect experience to start your portfolio, let this be your reminder. You can start now with what you already know. If you do one thing after listening to this episode, do this. Choose one portfolio project and write a rough case study outline using the six-part structure. Context, problem, role, approach, solution, and impact. Once you have that outline, building the actual portfolio becomes much easier because you're not staring at a blank page. Alright, let's bring it home with a quick recap and a final thought to encourage you as you build. As we wrap up, remember, your portfolio is not about having the most projects. It's about showing your strongest thinking. Start with the foundation, clarity on who you serve and what you do. Build a sturdy frame with intentional projects. Add the walls and wiring with case studies that tell the story. Design the room so it's easy to navigate. And then host the open house so the right opportunities can find you. Here's an inspiring quote to close us out from architect Frank Lloyd Wright. You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledgehammer on the construction site. In other words, it's easier to refine your portfolio early while you're designing it than to rebuild it later. So start simple, iterate quickly, and improve as you go. And just a reminder, I've linked the interactive portfolio house blueprint and Delvin Peck's video in the show notes so you can reference them anytime. Thanks for spending this time with me today. If this episode helped, share it with a fellow instructional designer who's building their portfolio right now. Until next time, keep designing with love. Thank you for taking some time to listen to this podcast episode today. Your support means the world to me. If you'd like to help keep the podcast going, you can share it with a friend or colleague, leave a heartfelt review, or offer a monetary contribution. Every act of support, big or small, makes a difference, and I'm truly thankful for you.