The Portfolio Paradox: Showcasing Great Work—Behind NDAs

johnetta4
Jul 17
3 min read

As instructional designers, our portfolios are our calling cards. Yet so often our best work lives under lock and key—inside client LMSs, behind corporate firewalls, or bound by strict NDAs. Without visible proof, it can feel impossible to land that next contract.

For the past year, I’ve read articles, books, explored LinkedIn groups, Slack channels, and delved into ID forums, finding seasoned instructional designers sharing clever workarounds to this exact dilemma.

Below, I’ve compiled the top five strategies, each recommended by peers in our community, to help you build a portfolio that both respects your clients’ confidentiality and showcases your skills.

1. Charge an “NDA Premium”

Many designers I spoke with add a small fee for projects that can’t be publicly displayed. This “NDA premium” isn’t about nickel‑and‑diming a client; it’s simply a way to offset the marketing value you lose when your deliverables stay hidden.

How to introduce it:

In your proposal’s fee breakdown, include a line like:
“NDA handling fee (covers confidentiality management and portfolio restrictions): +2%”
Frame it as a service that covers administrative work (redacting, approvals, etc.), not a penalty.

2. Create Sanitized Case Studies

Across our Slack channels, folks recommended building high‑level narratives that spotlight your process and outcomes, without revealing any proprietary branding.

Peer tips include:

Swap real company names for “Client A” or “Company X.”
Blur logos or replace them with simple placeholders.
Emphasize metrics (“reduced onboarding time by 30%”) and your specific role (e.g., “I designed the knowledge checks in Storyline 360”).

A well‑crafted case study tells your story clearly, even when the visuals are anonymized.

3. Develop Generic Prototypes

Several LinkedIn posts suggested creating small, entirely fictional micro‑courses that showcase your design style, interactivity patterns, and visual polish—no client assets required.

Example prompt:

“Imagine this 5‑slide module on ‘Ergonomic Best Practices’ with click‑to‑reveal hotspots and a final quiz. That’s exactly how I’d approach your safety training.”

Since you own every portion of that prototype, there’s zero back‑and‑forth about approvals.

4. Use Placeholder Text + Process Notes

This hybrid approach came up in multiple Slack threads: duplicate your actual course into a portfolio version, swap out all proprietary text for generic Lorem Ipsum or invented scenarios, then annotate each slide with a brief note explaining the real‑world content.

How it works:

Copy your live module into a new “portfolio” folder.
Replace sensitive text with placeholders (e.g., “Lorem ipsum…”).
Annotate in a sidebar or footnote:
“In the client version, this slide walks new hires through our 5‑step compliance workflow. Here, we’ve used a generic scenario for demonstration.”

Peers say this strikes a great balance: viewers see your authentic design work, and you never risk breaching confidentiality.

5. Offer Gated, “Unlisted” Demos

Host full, unredacted samples behind a simple login or private links that don’t appear in public search results. That way, serious prospects can view the full, unredacted version without it being openly searchable.

What this could look like:

A password‑protected page on your site (e.g., yourdomain.com/secret-portfolio).
A “request access” form, so you know who’s viewing.

These gated demos allow you to reveal exactly what you've built, while still controlling who sees it.

Time‑Saving Tips from the Community

A common barrier to all of these strategies is time. You’re busy delivering client work and hunting for the next gig. Here are a few efficiency hacks fellow freelancers recommend:

Quarterly “portfolio sprints”: Block off 2–3 hours every three months to batch your updates.
Reusable templates: Maintain a Word or PowerPoint template for case studies, allowing you to swap in new details easily.
Light outsourcing: If you can, hire a VA or part‑time assistant to assemble screenshots, blur sensitive areas, and manage gated pages.

Bringing It All Together

No single tactic works every time, but by combining these approaches, you can:

Keep pitching visible, compelling samples.
Honor NDAs and corporate policies.
Preserve your peace of mind—and your professional integrity.

Pro tip: At the very start of a new engagement, ask your client:

“Which deliverables may I include in my portfolio, and what’s the approval process?”

Getting that alignment up front saves hours of revision—and avoids any future “surprise” requests to pull down your work.

Your turn: Which of these strategies have you tried? Any hacks I missed? Let me know in the comments—our collective wisdom is the best toolkit for navigating the portfolio paradox.