Keep it Confidential: How to Showcase Your NDA-Protected Design Work

Keep it Confidential: How to Showcase Your NDA-Protected Design Work

Are you struggling to showcase your best projects in your design portfolio because of NDAs? NDAs are usually signed between you, as a designer, and your employer. Maybe it's the details of the project, the work you've done for the project, or any kind of information around it. If not, you can always anonymize your projects and maybe just talk about the things that you've learned in general terms. You don't have to disclose the project specificities, but you can definitely talk about what you learned while doing the job for the project. If you're not sure about what is confidential and what is not, it's always best to ask your company or your client. For some clients, maybe just the name is confidential, but you can show the work.

NDAs and Design Portfolios: Shine Without Breaking Rules

NDAs, or Non-Disclosure Agreements, are a cornerstone of trust in the design industry. These legal agreements protect confidential ideas and information shared between clients and designers. This is necessary to foster a collaborative environment where creativity can flourish. However, NDAs often restrict the ability to showcase project details within a portfolio, which can create a dilemma for designers: how to balance confidentiality with the need to showcase your projects.

As much as it is frustrating not to be able to show the work you've done under NDA, don't treat NDAs lightly. How can I trust the person to respect the confidentiality of my projects if they don't with their employers? If the company really does not authorize you to show the work, you can still mention that you worked for them but that the work is under NDA. For example, that you learned how to use a design system in a very short period of time, and you can do this without talking about any specificities of the project itself.

The Take Away

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are important legal contracts that keep sensitive information safe—they are essential in design to foster innovation and trust between the designer and employers or clients. However, as a designer, you need to be able to showcase your best projects in order to advance your career. To do this, discuss with your employers or clients how to showcase your work without breaching the agreement.