User Experience Design Portfolio Requirements | College for Creative Studies

Portfolio Requirements

The graduate studies program in User Experience (UX) Design seeks students with the maturity and discipline to engage in an intensive, two-year commitment to prepare for a fulfilling career. Candidate’s submissions will be reviewed for clarity of intentions, structure of thinking, and demonstration of discipline and process. Critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity are essential. Point-of-view about user experiences and interaction design and self-awareness as to career aspirations, which may not be fully formed, are also important.

Portfolios and/or other forms of evidence such as dissertations and thesis projects, may display experience from a wide range of domains, including but not limited to interaction design, product design, industrial design, interior design and architecture, software design, and graphic design; even expertise in engineering, computing, technology, psychology, social sciences, and humanities are welcome. However, they must reflect one or more of the following.
- Design skills: user research, conceptual organization, disciplined process
- Systems skills: holistic viewpoints and systemic modeling in order to understand complex situations and needs, and to design for their improvement.
- Technical skills: evidence of manual dexterity, whether in physical materials, software interfaces, or human interactions, including iteration, refinement, and convergence toward the exploration of ideas.
- Visual thinking skills: evidence of the ability to visualize ideas and systems, and prototyping using images, plans, diagrams, and physical models.
- Technological awareness: Familiarity with new and emerging technologies in AI, AR, robotics, HMI, HCI and mobility systems.

Applicants from non-traditional design and visual arts backgrounds will need to develop competency in Adobe® visualization software (Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) before commencing the program.

Added consideration will be given to applicants who possess one or more of the following optional skills:
- Professional experience with design or implementation teams in any of the domains mentioned above
- Empathy for social, economic, and global challenges, including but not limited to energy, natural resources, income disparity, and social justice
- Implementation of web, app, or other general coding skills for front-end, back-end, platforms, cloud, and APIs
- Proficiency in toolsets for 2D, 3D, animation, and prototyping of all kinds.

All submissions are subject to CCS’ Academic Integrity Policy. Works submitted must be your own original works; reference and inspiration images should be labeled as such.

Portfolio Requirements

Portfolios and/or other forms of evidence such as dissertations and thesis projects, may display experience from a wide range of domains, including but not limited to interaction design, product design, industrial design, interior design and architecture, software design, and graphic design; even expertise in engineering, computing, technology, psychology, social sciences, and humanities are welcome. However, they must reflect one or more of the following.
- Design skills: user research, conceptual organization, disciplined process
- Systems skills: holistic viewpoints and systemic modeling in order to understand complex situations and needs, and to design for their improvement.
- Technical skills: evidence of manual dexterity, whether in physical materials, software interfaces, or human interactions, including iteration, refinement, and convergence toward the exploration of ideas.
- Visual thinking skills: evidence of the ability to visualize ideas and systems, and prototyping using images, plans, diagrams, and physical models.
- Technological awareness: Familiarity with new and emerging technologies in AI, AR, robotics, HMI, HCI and mobility systems.

Applicants from non-traditional design and visual arts backgrounds will need to develop competency in Adobe® visualization software (Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign) before commencing the program.

Added consideration will be given to applicants who possess one or more of the following optional skills:
- Professional experience with design or implementation teams in any of the domains mentioned above
- Empathy for social, economic, and global challenges, including but not limited to energy, natural resources, income disparity, and social justice
- Implementation of web, app, or other general coding skills for front-end, back-end, platforms, cloud, and APIs
- Proficiency in toolsets for 2D, 3D, animation, and prototyping of all kinds.

All submissions are subject to CCS' Academic Integrity Policy. Works submitted must be your own original works; reference and inspiration images should be labeled as such.