Case Study Format | Portfolio Series - 100 Days of Writing, Design & Emotions

The following is a format for portfolio case studies that solves the problem of documenting projects with different outcomes: apps, websites, ad campaigns or videos etc. It's the format I'll be using for my portfolio as it lets me show the UX and design thinking skills I used in non-design specific projects.



If, like me, you're transition into UX design from a role which used similar skills or involved design but didn't necessarily result in the standard UX design artefacts, you'll find the format useful.



A special thank you to Lauren Pleydell-Pearce who took the time to share the format and a mountain of great advice <3. I've combined the structure she shared with tips from Semplice's case study guide.



Format





1) Strap-line: begin with a question to tee-up the reader's interest

(Leave the case study name to later in the page)

→ e.g. for roborace: Can autonomous, electric vehicles covert fuel-loving motor-heads to their audience base?



2) Essentials & Role

• name of project

• role

• client

• year



3) Challenge

• what is it: what's the product?

• challenge: what's the problem that the project is trying to address / 'what challenge did you set out to solve'

• background: what's the context and 'did you have a certain idea or expectation for the project when you began?'

• insights: what are the key insights?

↳ insights based on primary or secondary research e.g. interviews, desk research or findings from previous work

• opportunity: based on the insight our opportunity is

• solution/idea: what's the solution to the overarching challenge?

↳ e.g. ad campaign, product or service



4) Methods

• How did the project come to life?

• What did you explore?

• What tools did you use?

• From Semplice: "explain how you worked through the project.

↳ Why did you choose that approach?

↳ Did you take a unique angle or notice some surprising insight?

↳ Ask yourself “why” a thousand times, and then answer those questions.

• From Maxim (@round): What are ideas that didn't work & why?

↳ What are directions you did not take but explored?

↳ How would you do it differently next time?

↳ Semplice: "a case study should ideally be a success story. If it's not, tell us why it's meaningful and what you learned from it."



5) Impact

• Results

↳ From Semplice: "What happened? Did you feel proud of the results"

• Metrics

↳ e.g. "Did it increase the client’s sales by 2000%?" - Semplice



That's it! A versatile case study format.



Content comes first. So, I'm going to start by writing out the case study before thinking about layouts (but let's not lie, I already have a vague layout idea).

Notes-to-self & reminders

Ultimately hiring managers are asking:

• Do you have ideas, are you someone who works with people? Can you see opportunities in the insights?

• Can you identify challenges, do the research and find the solutions?

• The solution can be a product, service or campaign. If you can do the above, the output is far more flexible



The case study will demonstrate:

• You can understand the challenge → be insightful enough and smart enough to find the solution

• You are able to solve strategic challenges through design



What experience do you want the reader to have:

• Show your personality by using your speaking voice and including imagery. If you're fun and relaxed, be fun and relaxed. You don't need to edit your personality out of the case study.



Readers want to skim:

• Give them labels so they can have more time and focus on the content. It also helps to have a standard format for this reason.



Finally, remember, all you need to show is you have insight and great idea you're able to share.



Good luck! 🙏 I'll be building out my temp folio over the next 4 weeks. Join me if you're working on yours. And if there's any way I can help, let me know.