Level Design

Robby Leonardi built his portfolio as a Super Mario World level. You jump through it in HTML5, navigate platforms, collect coins that represent skills. It’s playful and intricate and absolutely works as a statement: if you want a designer or programmer who can think sideways, here’s proof.

He was at Fox News looking to escape, maybe toward something in design or code where the work wasn’t just feeding the machine. The interactive portfolio was his shortcut past the noise—past the thousand PDFs and Figma links that all look the same, past the filtered photos and testimonials nobody reads.

Most people applying for jobs send exactly what they’re supposed to send. Something professional, acceptable, forgettable. The application process rewards that. It’s efficient. It’s also why most portfolios don’t stick with you. Leonardi solved it not by being more professional but by being less professional—by making something that felt like it came from someone who actually thinks about how things work, how they’re experienced.

Years later I still remember it. Not because it’s flawless design, but because it’s the rare portfolio that made me curious about the person. That’s all it needs to do.