Meet Uday

Uday is a third year student from the University of the Arts London, with a concentration in UX design. The concentration allows him to combine his childhood interest in architecture and sketching. “It’s like you’re designing a digital space based around people’s needs.”

The challenge

Portfolio Pains

As it comes time to refresh his portfolio, Uday started looking at web-building tools that let him focus on design and storytelling, without having to worry about coding.

His initial search led him to Squarespace, which feel limiting in expression. Then there are tools like Webflow, which provides more freedom but feel too complicated and take a long time to learn. Not to mention, these tools often come with a hefty price tag for a student budget.

“Webflow was really, really complex. There were so much happening, especially with the interface.”

As a result, creating a portfolio website for designers always felt like a chore—a long, compromise-filled experience. It's no wonder why so many people procrastinate on building theirs.

The journey

Unlocking expressions made easy

Luckily, Uday found STUDIO. As a visual learner, he loved how easy it was to use right from the start.

“The app was clear, simple, with all the tools I need clearly marked out. It was really easy to use.”

Uday’s concept for his portfolio was minimalism. Using the box layout (Auto Layout) tool combined with Live Preview, Uday was able to experiment with different placements, and iterate to arrive at a design he’s happy.

To enrich storytelling, Uday incorporated motion. “I wanted something that was quite simple, something that felt smooth.” Outright, there are various presets for quickly achieving popular appearance and hover effects. Additionally, advanced controls allow Uday to customize speed and motion in countless ways by simply manipulating handles on a motion curve.

“I had no idea how to animate before. I thought you will have to do all these different things and it is going to be so difficult. But it was actually again pretty straightforward.”

Once Uday was happy with the design, it now comes time to launching it as a real site. On STUDIO, it was a one-click process. He didn't need to know how to code or set up a server. And with the Free plan, he could host his site on a (yourname).studio.site domain without a monthly paid subscription.

The impact

Landing multiple interviews

Using the portfolio created on STUDIO, Uday was able to land multiple internship interviews at world-class agencies and startups. Speaking of advice he’d gave to his fellow students,

“I always recommend them to use STUDIO, because it’s really simple, and easy to use.”

Check out his portfolio at https://upaldesign.studio.site/.