We are looking for a dynamic UI/UX designer who will be responsible [] Jon Aizlewood May 19, 2022 Working methods, best practices, tips and tricks, Unique insights, design stories, the impact of design, How to Write a UX Case Study: Template and Examples. But each section is important for an effective UX case study. Remember to keep it concise and precise, as hiring managers will typically scan this part of your portfolio. In this article, well walk through seven types of portfolio case studies you can add to your portfolio that dont require you already having a job. Whats more, some design decisions are hard to understand, so illustrations could be good crutches. Limiting your portfolio to three main sections will help keep it focused and showcase your UX design techniques in the most effective manner. Linhs Data Privacy Browser Extension case study is well-structured and engaging. The case study walks through the projects user research, product design iterations, validation through user testing, and user journey map before wrapping up with key takeaways and lessons learned.. Jared Bartman. Documentary is, after all, a quintessential form of user research. Quentins was built on the less is more principle. While the introduction of the Riley Hospital case study is quite short it does have all the details necessary to understand what comes next: Sometimes its hard to summarize a long project but it really pays off to shorten and minimize the text you write. Portfolio example: Tammy Taabassum - Wish Design Challenge. This case study does an excellent job of laying out user research findings. Though the projects come from different fields, Gabriels portfolio still looks consistent, because he used the same template for his thumbnails. Her custom thumbnails use the same mockup styles, yet they dont feel repetitive at all. Give riders more control over their time and money. Emi Lantz Emi Lantz's portfolio website opens with a simple statement, "Hi! With a pretty impressive portfolio, Arshad Wala uses a case study on the UX of the Xbox to demonstrate his problem-solving and design skills. This can be more challenging than an unsolicited redesign, as it lacks the inherent structure and constraints of an existing product. Melysias case studies showcase what a difference a well-chosen accent color makes. He presents interaction coupled with details on what caused problems for users and how this problem was solved. And we could go on and on, as UXfolio offers an array of features that were chosen with UX designers and researchers in mind. This is a common theme in the best UX portfolio examples. Make clear that this was a design challenge so recruiters are aware of the limitations, such as time constraints. Experts discuss new best practices for leading creative teams where collaboration happens remotely & in-office. It showcases the entire process in a step-by-step fashion. Of course, the number of iterations you present is not set in stone. High-Quality Case Studies. Itll make the time and effort you put into it much more worthwhile. Theres a reason why UX designer portfolios are structured the way they are. Sagars Strategic Design for Misas Spectracase study walks us through his process from the challenge to research, ending with reflections. Portio Hugo is well organized, well-formatted, and named accordingly so it's easy to change any and all of the design. Nicolas UX design portfolio is a love letter to minimalism. Adding pages like About/Bio, Contact, UX designer resum, and social links can make your portfolio more usable, revealing, and personal. If youre ready to take the next step toward a career in user experience design, consider enrolling in the Google UX Design Professional Certificate on Coursera. A good overview can consist of the steps of your design process. Sarah arranged the case study into 5 main sections: Under each section, we get further details, arranged into smaller sections. Many designers believe that the more youve worked in the industry the more case studies you need in your portfolio. His favorite medium is photography and he is a lover of UX because it means constantly helping people. Its hard to choose a favorite from her 4 fantastic case studies. To begin, break your case study into these main sections: The bulk of your material will be in section two, when you talk about your process. The difference between UX portfolios and UX case studies. Check out these sites for opportunities: -Get matched with a nonprofit project on Catchafire. Play an active role in our thriving, inspiring, and fun UX Design practice and culture. Its not rocket science, but there are certain guidelines to follow to make your portfolio a success. During an interview with the e-commerce platform Wish, Tammy Taabassum completed a four-day design challenge where she was asked to improve the app in some way. Whats more, Sarah included lots of visuals such as information architecture maps, sketches, low-fidelity prototypes, brand application guidelines, and even slides from her final presentation. Great case studies combine the following ingredients: While your home page and case studies are the most important elements of your portfolio, you should take it a step further. Include a positive testimonial from your manager, supervisor, or peers from your time at the company. This isnt exactly the case. If youd like to protect only certain case studies, you can set a password for those projects only. She also discusses how she would test and iterate with more resources, giving her interviewers a preview of the value shed bring to the company. Pixpa is an all-in-one portfolio building tool, offering modern, pixel-perfect templates, an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, customisable gallery layouts to showcase your work, and affordable pricing plans. Its because he used the same text styles and naming formulas on each. Her project choices share this quality as they showcase nothing but digital products. This is the heart of user-centered design and the best way to articulate how you will be a valuable asset to any hiring company. On a similar note, remember that your case study describes your project, so feel free to let your individual personality shine through in your writing. Ability to discuss and explain your design decisions and back them up by applying customer insights and business metrics. The best way to get your visitors to read your case studies, where they can see your skills in actions, is to grab their attention. Competitive UX analysis. Sometimes one sentence, an image, and a clear navigational menu is enough., Your About page is the place to go into a bit more detail about who you are and how you got started in UX, especially if youve switched from another career., Early on in your UX journey, you may not have a ton of design work to include in your portfolio. But many designers abuse the format. Join Khrys to learn more! Valeries is a good example that your thumbnails can diverge from the color scheme of your showcased projects if those dont fit together on your home page. Here is where you can show how you are able to take your research and apply it to your design. Just remember: When youre writing your UX case studies, show how your users influenced your design decisions. She started her career as a tech recruiter, so she knows a thing or two about portfolios, which is obvious from the looks and copy of her own UX portfolio. Hyk shows that there are more options to presenting UIs than device mockups: you can also experiment with placements and shadows. Using UXfolios thumbnail styles, Quentin made sure that the case study titles appear on hover only. Bjorns hero section is simple and welcoming. UX/UI Portfolio: Designing Amazing Case Studies Patricia Reiners, UX/UI Designer // Innovation // Watch this class and thousands more Get unlimited access to every class Taught by industry leaders & working professionals Topics include illustration, design, photography, and more Lessons in This Class 33 Lessons (2h 42m) 1. Think of the introduction as your time to capture your readers attention in a concise, articulate manner. We recommend checking out Melysias B&D case study. He paired these descriptions with rough sketches trying to solve those particular challenges. User Experience Strategist @userfocus. This is a common problem for beginning UX designers looking for their first paying job. Kurt still shares all the necessary details, but succeeds in making it visually engaging. Bjorns case study thumbnails dont follow an obvious color story, yet they work together perfectly. Our job at UXfolio includes talking to world-renowned design leaders to find out what theyre looking for in portfolios. I'm feeling discouraged and like my work doesn't measure up. So many portfolios are grid images on a white page, and while there's nothing wrong with that approach, Jared's portfolio stands out for its light grey background and use of color in general. Itll make your job easier and itll help your audience too, as theyll know what to expect from your next one. Dont skip steps. One important feature is the "Back to Top" button on the right-hand side of the case study pages. So please don't think of a case study as . Include any positive feedback from the judges, even if your project didnt ultimately win. A good intro section underpins the rest of your case study. Sign up and start building your portfolio for free! While theres no hard and fast rule about the number of projects to include in your portfolio, consider featuring three to five in-depth case studies. Include as many visuals in your case studies as possible: wireframes, personas, user flows, sketches, and even doodles if you please! All UX case studies should include relevant visuals as too much text can be intimidating for readers. Meta Front-end Developer Professional Certificate: Throughout this program, you'll manage a project in GitHub using version control, Git repositories, and the Linux terminal. Job Role: A UI UX designer is a professional who identifies new opportunities to create better user experiences. UXfolio gives you the power to set up passwords on the portfolio and the case study level. A UX design portfolio is a collection of design case studies that showcases your skillset and your approach to the design process as a whole. This is a good way to encourage visitors to get in touch. We created it specifically for UX professionals, so its packed with powerful features thatll help you through the portfolio-building process. In her Love, Bonito project, Valerie summarizes the case study by indicating the steps she took in order to reach the final outcome. All Rights Reserved. Featured Case Study: HydroWorx 131% increase in organic contact form submissions 236% increase in organic sessions Ongoing monthly SEO strategy Custom website redesign Comprehensive social media strategy Read Case Study +131% Lead Increase He uses case study level password protection on two. An unsolicited redesign gives you the structure of an existing product to start withincluding an established target user basewhile allowing you to put your user experience skills to work. Shubnhams Tax Planner case study is the perfect mix of visuals and text. If you are making a career change make sure your projects reflect your desired position so you wont confuse recruiters and UX professionals what sort of work you are actually looking for. In her Bubs case study, we get a walkthrough of all the projects stages. What is even better that he still shows some final UIs or design elements on the thumbnails so you can get a sense of his overall work even though you cant peek further. In her UX/UI case studies, Jaclyn gives honest and straightforward accounts mixed with well-crafted visuals to tell her design stories. Some of her projects are full-fledged case studies, the others are collections of iconography, and logos, storyboards, etc. In summary, your UX design portfolio should contain 3-4 UX case studies and some information about yourself. Writing a case study is the way a UX researcher demonstrates their value. Before we dive into the anatomy of a case study, its important to understand the role of case studies in your online portfolio and where they fit in. This is your opportunity to articulate which user research methodologies fit into your design process. The client feedback part is especially powerful, as it uses quotes instead of a summary. Getting started with Pixpa is relatively simple. But, since they are under his own domain name on a dedicated website made with UXfolio, they have a more portfolio-ish aura to them. Many UX designers use it to ensure that the data in their case studies remain confidential. Be respectful of the original designers, and try not to insult their work. The goal, of course, is to showcase the skills you used on the project and help potential employers envision how you'd use those skills if you worked for them. How are they different from UX portfolios? Daley Wilhelm Jun 10, 2022 Writing effective agency case studies It's harder than it looks, and why film posters are a good start. Sagars home page features large thumbnails with illustrations of similar style. Contact: This doesnt have to be its own page, but be sure to give recruiters a way to get in touch after youve wowed them with your work. And only a very few portfolios have that effect. Sarah put together a beautiful UX portfolio that emphasizes case studies above all else. If you have to sign an NDA, make your case study password protected or keep it general, focusing on the early ideation. Outline your role in the project and who else contributed. He begins by setting the scene: we learn about his role, the problem, tools, and his approach/ideas. What do you love most about design? Mina uses password protection for her case studies to ensure complete control over who can access them. You can follow this structure, while still expressing yourself with colors, fonts, thumbnails, and other design elements. You need to share design stories. You'll learn the skills you need for an entry-level role in less than six months, no degree or prior experience required. More or less, the case study . User research and personas. This is where you get to show your personality and briefly talk about your history. . They add a touch of personality to your case studies and also some credibility. New Best Practices for Leading Hybrid Creative Teams, The Time Is Now to Empower Emerging Designers with a New Approach to Design Education, Translating User Research into User Experience Design, How Julia Feld Uses UX to Help Immigrants & Refugees, Do not sell or share my personal information. After all, the point of a case study is to reveal your process, through which your readers can better understand you. Nuwanthi prefers her case studies on the shorter side. Whats more, she tied all her elements together, achieving visual coherence by using yellow as the accent color. Throughout the case study, we get personas, a hand-drawn journey & flow, wireframes, as well as prototypes to help us visualize the findings Quentins design process. Just because the front page is traditionally for projects dont be afraid of including a separate page for a longer introduction or some extra details you might see fit in your portfolio. You may also want to include a short bio and links to your social media accounts here. These seven types of UX case studies make excellent portfolio material for UX designers looking to get their start in the industry. Each case study starts with a title and a concise description of the UX project. A service that uses plant care as a method to empower users to cultivate (and talk about) their own mental health., User journey map from the Cultivate case study. Hi there! I'm a former teacher transitioning into a career in UX. 1. Nobody wants to look at a cramped portfolio and as much as you want to squeeze everything into a thumbnail you need to make some cuts to keep it simple. And through case studies you can show it to them. On top of detailed descriptions, she included plenty of photos and artifacts, making it easier for her readers to process all this information. Show your design process in action through photos, sketches, and screenshots. In 2021 weve been seeing more and more dark UX portfolio examples. Figma Experience; Demonstrate a UX-focused Product Design portfolio with multiple case studies of products you worked on. Thus, it is a great template for you if you dont feel like creating separate sections for the research insights or simply want to showcase final UIs as soon as possible. Her case study thumbnails from cohesion and her choice of shades make the entire portfolio look very professional. Include 3 to 4 Relevant UX Case Studies Your UX design portfolio should contain 3-4 relevant UX case studies to sufficiently demonstrate your abilities. Designing a few UX case studies for your portfolio is a powerful way to help you stand out among the crowd. You can also create a GIF to showcase certain user flows like this: Or, feel free to take a simple approach with mockups like this: After you blow the reader away with your impressive final design, you can address the next steps in your design process. And that reason is their audience. Showcasing your process is the most important part of a UX design case study. Mention what tasks you worked on. Recruiters and readers dont have hours to review your portfolio, so feature only 3-5 of your absolute best projects. This is particularly important when giving background on the problem you set out to solve. Sometimes, the first project to go into your portfolio will be a UX project you worked on as part of a design course, UX bootcamp, or degree program. This way you wont have to leave out anything from your portfolio, but you wont clutter it either. Choose a project you care about. While case study best practices are great pointers, ultimately it is the project at hand thatll determine your case studys structure and content. Where teams create the worlds best experiences at scale, powered by the leader in creative tools. You may not have a huge budget (or any budget at all) when working on a passion project. Sidneys My Fave Places case study contains a fantastic Lessons Learned that wraps up everything in the best possible way. Focus on process over finished product. Of course the final design is important too, but they want to see how youve arrived there. These should be your best work, and you can always swap them out for new case studies as you gain experience. If you dont want your portfolio to be public, you can set a password for your entire portfolio. Case studies are an essential part of a UX portfolio. Make sure to link this section from your introduction at the top of your case study in case your readers want to jump straight to it. Such thumbnails alongside a concise and intriguing introduction make for a winning combination. The case studies in Jokes portfolio are on the shorter side. Showcase your process, not just the finished product. Felipe, whos a senior product designer, created a simple yet engaging UX designer portfolio. In case you need a tool to help build your portfolio quickly and easily, we made a great one: UXfolio. Dont be afraid to use the same for your case studies. When in doubt, you can always rely on semi-realistic mockups, that have similar borders and shadows. 11.1K Followers. The Pain Points and User Motivation section gives a detailed description while remaining easy to follow thanks to the content structure. 15 UX portfolio website examples Youve seen some of the best portfolios and youve probably realized that they share many similarities. Side projects or other work: If you have case studies or graphic design work beyond your few highlighted projects, give them a separate section where those who would like to see more can find them. UX Portfolio Case Study template sections Project Title & Subtitle (A headline and subtitle that indicates the name and goal of the project) Client/Company/Project type Project date (When did you work on the project) CarbonMade : Andrea Azcurra: Andrea is a seasoned UX writer and content strategist with a love of design thinking and user experience.