Sample/portfolio work in existing products

Question

I am putting together a portfolio and some sample documents that I will use in my job search. I have several samples of work I did for features of desktop applications. These features are currently available in the products.

I would like to create a document that describes the process I used to create the feature design. I would also like to use a sanitized version of the design document. Can I do something like this?

Secondly, how can I sanitize the documents when, while looking at the document and my resume, one could easily tell what work came out of each job? For example, I helped design a learning management system, but I've only worked for one educational institution. Anyone could tell that sample/portfolio item came from that job.

Last, how do I handle work that is available on the web, but is behind a wall that requires membership and/or payment to view? Can I include screen shots of that work?

Answer 1

Have a look at this site http://betteruxportfolios.wordpress.com/ really good advice here from jason mesut.

Answer 2

Check your contracts for each project and make sure you have the right to publicly display the work. It is also good form to ask each employer if it is OK to include screenshots of their products in your portfolio. Moving forward, it is also a great practice to write and own the contracts you use, so you can have some control over what you can display in your portfolio in the future.

When I am looking to hire designers, I generally appreciate portfolios that include some copy with each image or set of images explaining exactly what that designer did on the project. These days, I never assume one person is responsible for an entire site or app, so I want to know exactly what the designer did. I also like to see the artifacts that preceed final designs, such as user flows, concept models and wireframes. This tells me a lot about the designer's process as well as final polished designs.