NMIX6012 Case Study: Portfolio Redesign

A fully redesigned personal portfolio that showcases my work, process, and evolving creative identity through a thoughtfully structured website experience.

Date: Spring 2026

Role: Web Developer

Project Overview

This project focused on a complete redesign of my personal portfolio, transforming it from an outdated, project-specific layout into a cohesive, strategic representation of my work and personal brand.

You can view the transformation here:

• Before: haileykwak.com/old-portfolio/uga-miracle
• After: haileykwak.com

The goal was to create something that felt more aligned with where I am now as a creative, while also serving as a stronger tool for jobs and future opportunities. My original portfolio was built using WordPress, while my redesigned site was developed using Visual Studio Code, giving me more flexibility and control over both the design and functionality.

Old Portfolio | New Portfolio

The Problem

At the beginning of the semester, my portfolio made it difficult for viewers to quickly understand who I am and what I bring as a creative. The mix of projects lacked a clear structure and hierarchy, which created friction in navigation and made the overall experience feel unclear. As a result, the portfolio wasn’t effectively communicating my skills or process to its intended audience.

This project aimed to redesign the site with a stronger focus on usability, organization, and storytelling, creating an experience that allows users to easily navigate my work and understand both what I’ve created and how I think.

Solution

The redesign began with stepping back and evaluating my portfolio through peer review workshops. Getting feedback from others helped me identify usability issues and gaps in communication that I hadn’t noticed before. It pushed me to think less about what I liked visually and more about how others experienced my site.

Workshops with Peers

From there, I began defining my personal brand. I created a style guide that established consistent colors, typography, and overall tone, which became the foundation for the entire site. At the same time, I worked on refining my voice. One exercise that stood out was creating a “This But Not That” list, which helped me better understand how I wanted to present myself. I defined my brand as playful but not unprofessional, collaborative but not dependent, versatile but not unfocused, and organized but not inflexible. This influenced both the visual design and the way I wrote about my work.

Personal Brand Style Guide

I then began redesigning key sections of the site, starting with the homepage. My original homepage was minimal and limited by WordPress templates, lacking personality and flexibility. In the redesigned version, I introduced interactive elements, including a feature that allows users to draw on the screen as a reflection of my interest in art and creativity. A horizontal curtain interaction reveals the “About” section, adding a sense of movement and engagement. These elements were intentional choices to make the experience feel more dynamic and reflective of who I am.

Interactive painting element on homepage

I also rewrote my “About Me” from scratch. Instead of treating it like a resume, I approached it as a narrative. Using exercises like the About Me worksheet, I focused on telling a story about what drives me, my interests, and where I’m headed.

About Me Worksheet

To build on that, I was very intentional with the structure of the page. I didn’t want it to feel like a long paragraph or a traditional bio that people might skip over. Breaking it into smaller sections with clear headers allows viewers to quickly scan while still getting a deeper sense of who I am. I also wanted it to feel more personal and conversational, so it reads like a story rather than a list of facts. This approach makes it easier for someone to connect with me beyond just my work.

Old “About Me”

New “About Me”

Another major part of the process was rethinking my projects section. Instead of including everything I’ve done, I focused on curating work that best represented my current skills and the kind of work I want to do moving forward. I thought more intentionally about what I would want to talk about in an interview and what projects told the strongest stories.

Projects: Before and After

I wanted to be intentional about the hierarchy, order, and layout of my projects. Since I want to go into roles that are related to Advertising/ Marketing and Creative Strategy, I put this group of projects first. Initially, my old portfolio had a lot of random work and categories. With this, I came up with creating project pages that have projects appear on scroll and each project is clickable to view as a pop up case study.

Case Studies: Before & After

I also developed a consistent case study format for each project. This made it easier to present my work in a clear and structured way while still allowing room for personality. Each case study highlights the process behind the work, not just the final outcome, which was something my original portfolio was missing. It also maintains a consistent format across all projects showing tools, client, overview, challenge, process, outcome, and photos.

Old Resume Page > New Resume Page

For my resume section, I designed it to be clean, accessible, and easy to skim, while still aligning visually with the rest of the site. In my previous portfolio, the resume felt more like a standalone element that didn’t fully match the overall design and required more effort to read through and find key information. The layout lacked strong hierarchy, which made it harder for viewers to quickly pick out important details like experience, skills, and accomplishments.

In the redesigned version, I focused on improving both readability and structure. I used clear hierarchy, spacing, and typography to guide the viewer’s eye and make the most important information stand out immediately. I also made sure the design felt consistent with the rest of the site, so it reads as part of a cohesive experience. This allows recruiters or collaborators to quickly scan my background while still getting a sense of my overall brand and attention to detail.

Old Contact Page > New Contact Page

For the contact page, I wanted to keep it simple but intentional to make it as easy as possible for someone to reach out while still maintaining the overall tone and personality of the site. In my previous portfolio, the contact information felt more impersonal and wasn’t clearly emphasized, which wouldn’t appeal to those trying to connect.

In the redesigned version, I streamlined the layout and made contact options more visible and accessible. I focused on reducing steps and presenting information clearly, so users don’t have to search for how to reach me.

Results

The final portfolio is a complete redesign that focuses on clarity, consistency, and storytelling. The site is more intentional in how it presents my work, with a stronger visual identity and a more cohesive structure throughout. More importantly, it feels like a more accurate representation of me, not just what I’ve made, but how I think and create. This project changed the way I think about portfolios. Instead of seeing it as a collection of projects, I now see it as a way to communicate my perspective and process.

The biggest takeaway for me was how much clarity matters. By focusing on structure, audience, and storytelling, I was able to create something that feels more professional and more personal at the same time. It also showed me the value of iteration. Peer feedback, revisiting ideas, and being willing to start over were all essential in getting to the final result.

This portfolio is something I’ll continue to build on as I take on new projects. Because I now have a clear structure for case studies and a defined visual system, it will be much easier to update and expand over time. In addition, this redesign gave me a stronger foundation moving forward. It feels like a true representation of my work and sets me up to continue growing as a creative.