Use it to establish your readers background knowledge before they move on to the details. The introduction contains all necessary elements: She provides an overview, introduces the team, the problem, and her role. Clearly indicate that this is an unsolicited redesign and that you have no affiliation with the company. Note : I skimmed through Shawn's Grubhub UX project case study. 5. Throughout his case studies, he used many of UXfolios built-in device mockups, so theres a feeling of coherence even between different case studies. Her portfolio website is satisfying to look at and those project thumbnails are definitely a statement, pulling attention immediately. Thats where you can utilize Shubhams technique: create a thumbnail template that can be used for any project with only a few tweaks. Choose student projects with realistic constraints and real business value. Google UX Design Professional Certificate, Meta Front-end Developer Professional Certificate, Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate, Google IT Automation with Python Professional Certificate, Preparing for Google Cloud Certification: Cloud Architect, DeepLearning.AI TensorFlow Developer Professional Certificate, Free online courses you can finish in a day, 10 In-Demand Jobs You Can Get with a Business Degree. Think about a problem in your own life you wish had a solution, or an app youd love to have on your phone. Those numbers leave no room for doubt about the quality of WebFX's services. 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. Audreys bio and introduction are extremely straightforward. In this blog post, I am explaining the purpose, structure, and best practices of a UI UX Design case study and portfolio. Its also worth noting how she includes the orange accent color and typography in her portfolio and CV, even though theyre separate: one is a website the other a downloadable PDF document. After all, this process is a huge part of user-centered design. Choose projects that are fun or interesting to you and that youd be proud to display in your portfolio. Throughout the previous years, long case studies have been the standard among UXers. In her case study, Phyllis is upfront about the constraints of the project, as well as what her team chose to focus on and why., Scope of work chart for the Autonomous Ridesharing case study, For example, the team decided to focus their efforts on solving two specific user pain pointsnamely finding the car and starting the ride without a driver. Then, he conveys everything he and his team did in detail and with relevant visuals. Most UX designers have worked on different projects that came with their own colors and styles. Be respectful of the original designers, and try not to insult their work. In case you need a tool to help build your portfolio quickly and easily, we made a great one: UXfolio. Itll make your job easier and itll help your audience too, as theyll know what to expect from your next one. You may also want to include a short bio and links to your social media accounts here. A case study should reflect a meaningful, learning or growth design experience where you worked with real stakeholders and created something of value for the customers. He uses case study level password protection on two. Most of her info is reserved for the About page, allowing her work to take center stage. Sketches, wireframes, and prototypes. The thumbnail generator takes your case studies hero section and your images (with or without device mockups) and offers you various thumbnail options. After the event, Yang even added an illustration showing how the app would bridge the gap between user experience and business value based on feedback from hackathon judges.. Rather than focusing on laying out their design thinking in long, formulaic case studies, they instead focus on simplicity. They may also need help with development and implementation (and the resources that go with it). The Storytelling Approach in UX Case Studies An essential part of the portfolio of a UX designer is the case studies that pack a showcase of the designer's skills, way of thinking, insights in the form of compelling stories. Christiaan managed to create visual consistency by showcasing his projects in mockups. 3. Roys Boulderr App case study has a good balance of visuals and texts. Felipe has three case studies in his portfolio. Focus on process over finished product. 4. Having roughly the same size for all of your projects will keep consistency in check. 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. Dont be afraid to use the same for your case studies. Present your design process step-by-step, from the beginning to the end. It is her case study thumbnails that tie the whole portfolio page together visually by featuring mockups on grey backgrounds. UX designersnewbies and experts alikewill often share a case study on a portfolio website as a great way to get hired. When recruiters and UX professionals look through dozens of applications they have only a few minutes. Its better to have 3-4 great case studies than 5-6 mediocre. Designing a few UX case studies for your portfolio is a powerful way to help you stand out among the crowd. Such narratives showcase designers' skills and ways of thinking and maximize their appeal as potential hires. High-fidelity prototypes from an unsolicited redesign of Houzz. Having your own hosted website can often be worth the extra expense. If youve worked on different projects, you can write case studies for the ones that call for it, while categorizing the rest of your work into collections. Roy has also created some additional visuals for his case study, to tie each of his sections together. It begins with a nice overview, detailing her responsibilities and the project goals. The UX portfolio includes some big names and extended case studies of the work he has done for them. Adobe Portfolio is free with most Adobe Creative Cloud plans and allows you to create a customized site that synchronizes with Behance. Victorias take reassures us that app concepts are perfect material for UX case studies, as they show even more of your personality and perspective on design. Mina does well on both ends. Salesforce Product Designer, Rachel used UXfolios thumbnail generator to create stunning thumbnails that match the style of the case studies theyre linking to. A particularly interesting example is the website design he did for a group of lawyers offering free legal aid to travelers at Dulles Airport in response to the Muslim travel ban in 2017., Homepage concepts for #DullesJustice project. Regardless of the platform you use, setting a password for your case studies doesnt take long. As leaders, its up to us to start fostering and empowering new design talent now. Theres a reason why UX designer portfolios are structured the way they are. A good intro section underpins the rest of your case study. His favorite medium is photography and he is a lover of UX because it means constantly helping people. Recruiters and readers don't have hours to review your portfolio, so feature only 3-5 of your absolute best projects. These primary users are not interested in your blog or social media. On top of detailed descriptions, she included plenty of photos and artifacts, making it easier for her readers to process all this information. Its hard to choose a favorite from her 4 fantastic case studies. How to write a UX writing case study A step-by-step guide to breaking down the UX writing approach of a user experience and improving upon it. Remember to keep it concise and precise, as hiring managers will typically scan this part of your portfolio. Experts discuss new best practices for leading creative teams where collaboration happens remotely & in-office. Depending on your amount of experience and personal preferences, you may also choose to include the following pages: Resume: Give it its own page on the site or link to it. The result speaks for itself. A UX designer is an advocate for the end-users of a website or product. Charlees portfolio is embracing variety while still keeping it focused. It comes with templates and a repeatable structure that you can use to knock out UX case studies and portfolios. Ux Portfolio. A good overview can consist of the steps of your design process. This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Including a course assignment or capstone project in your portfolio can demonstrate your ability to: Work with the constraints and challenges of a brief, Incorporate feedback into design iterations, Portfolio example: Phyllis Liu - Autonomous Ridesharing, Phyllis Liu, a Seattle-based UX designer who has worked for Facebook and Shopify, designed an autonomous car ridesharing experience as part of a project for a course at the University of Washington. 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. Just remember: When youre writing your UX case studies, show how your users influenced your design decisions. This way you can be sure that you won't be judged based on mediocre work. We had to pleasure of talking to some of the most innovative and influential UX designers in the industry, such as. Job Role: A UI UX designer is a professional who identifies new opportunities to create better user experiences. Also, pay mind to your introduction. Thats because Nicola experimented with the device mockups arrangement on each thumbnail. Build a beautiful portfolio quickly and easily. However, if you take the time to visualize your process and UX decisions, its more likely that it will get them interested. Of course, the number of iterations you present is not set in stone. UX Case Study Generators Generating UX/UI Ideas and Case Studies Watch on 1. You can use the steps in your process to create a navigation section, such as the one offered in UXfolio, to tie all parts of your case study together. He includes plenty of colorful visuals to showcase his process and reinforce his text, and he even includes a digital project report booklet where you can get an in-depth look at his research. If well designed, small illustrations, nice flowcharts, redesigned deliverables can elevate a case study immensely. The Prescription tracker case study uses UXfolios sticky navigation section to help the readers comprehension of the projects stages: interviews, user journey, sketch, iterate, prototype, release. Include any positive feedback from the judges, even if your project didnt ultimately win. a short but revealing sentence for subtitle. There is just enough text to act as preambles to each step of the process. Keep in mind that many nonprofits and small businesses may need more than just design. Linh used descriptive and straightforward case study titles that make you want to read more. Linh created a striking dusty-pink portfolio that places her introduction into the center via a simple yet eye-catching animated illustration. Adding pages like About/Bio, Contact, UX designer resum, and social links can make your portfolio more usable, revealing, and personal. In Danielles portfolio, the spotlight is on the UIs. Most of Rachels case studies are password-protected. Your Cover Page should include a hero image, as well as your name and current job title. Linhs Data Privacy Browser Extension case study is well-structured and engaging. 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. A case study is an important tool for designers to showcase their skills and approach in a story format, to recruiters, hiring-mangers, colleagues, or fellow designers. If you still need projects to fill the gaps in your portfolio, you have plenty of options. She starts by outlining the challenge she set for herself, then walks through the steps of her design process, with plenty of images to document her work.. Includes examples of real portfolios and advice for new researchers. Itll make the time and effort you put into it much more worthwhile. It is a much better option than forcing clashing colors and elements next to each other. Document your process and include visuals in your case studies. Sidney drops a relatable, personal paragraph about distraction then moves on to takeaways that shell be able to use in other projects too. A UX design portfolio consists of a series of case studies on previous projects. A typical mistake I see in UX portfolios is lack of content explaining their contribution to the effort, the images are only the final product and not the process to get there. 7. Meanwhile, the subtitle describes the scope of the project. In UXfolio you can set passwords on the portfolio level as well as the case study level: Denise has designed for various industries from real estate, e-commerce, advertising to healthcare. When your projects are so wide-ranging it can be hard to achieve visual consistency on your portfolio home page. There is no better way to show how much work and consideration is involved in the design process. Use emotive language to show empathy. In the end, we can try a working prototype, which makes the entire case study even more engaging. Remember, they were working with a brief and real-world constraints.. Our speakers were keen on conveying how important these case studies are, as recruiters won't simply take notice of your design outputs. Realistically, a product will continue to grow in an iterative process; explaining the direction the product is heading or talking about features that are coming up in future iterations is a great way to showcase this. Her portfolio contains both case studies and lots of samples of her work. These research-based design decisions are at the heart of user-centered design. With a bit of iteration and polish after the fact, you can transform these challenges (especially the take-home ones) into fresh material for your portfolio. Whats important is that you showcase your range through your best work. If you can tell an effective story while integrating human-computer interaction principles throughout, youll come across as a great UX designer that any company would like to hire. But they're not the same thing. Method or hypothesis for solving the problem, Design iterations (sketches, wireframes, low and high-fidelity prototypes). Like other proficient designers, Sagar showcases 3 case studies, the perfect number according to recruiters. Hiring managers want to be able to see the process, including times where you made design decisions and why. Of course the final design is important too, but they want to see how youve arrived there. Though their backgrounds are color-blocking, the thumbnails are tied together by the style and positioning of the screens on them. Youll find plenty of benefits to working as an interneven if youre unpaidincluding: Portfolio example: Ricardo Hernndez Prez, Adobe, Ricardo Hernndez Prez, a product designer with Google, got his start with an internship at Adobe. All case studies should include a section with learnings. As we know, the UX design process is not linear, and every design calls for a different methodology. 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. 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. Polish your hackathon project before presenting it as a case study (and acknowledge that you did so). Looking for any feedback on my portfolio as a whole, specifically the full case study for the Customer Loyalty app. We could look at this portfolio for hours (and we do come back to it from time to time) for a very simple reason: it makes us smile. Many interviews include a design challengean interactive test meant to show how you think. Besides brightening up the case studies, they create cohesion and connection through her projects. . Leslie Griffiths portfolio breaks with the tradition of one-note UX portfolios. Hyks is a very simple yet impressive portfolio home page, mostly because of his eye-catching thumbnails. It showcases the entire process in a step-by-step fashion. The takeaway from Maxs portfolio home page is that keeping your portfolio clutter-free will always be a winning strategy. The title reveals the purpose of the app/project. Felipe, whos a senior product designer, created a simple yet engaging UX designer portfolio. Youve landed your first interview for a UX designer role. Daley Wilhelm Jun 10, 2022 Writing effective agency case studies It's harder than it looks, and why film posters are a good start. Be sure to take photos of your work when completing a whiteboard challenge during an interview.. Therefore, they should always be in the forefront. During a hackathon, a group of designers and programmers get together to collaborate on a project. When reviewing candidates, design leads always check their portfolios first. Squarespace . The case study ends with the learnings. The first week is free. Refresh the page, check Medium 's site status, or find something interesting to read. Since she is a product designer, her showcased projects are all digital products. You can follow this structure, while still expressing yourself with colors, fonts, thumbnails, and other design elements. 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. She also elegantly solves the issue of how to present small projects that don't merit a full case . The difference between UX portfolios and UX case studies. But many designers abuse the format. and capitalize on it. Quentins was built on the less is more principle. 2. Its structure is fantastic. If youre looking for an exemplary UX case study, check out Notch by Sarah! These seven types of UX case studies make excellent portfolio material for UX designers looking to get their start in the industry. Pick an app or website that youre familiar with, and make it better through your design process.. Natalies case studies include illustrations that are similar in style. Give examples of great case studies + how to write one. On his case study thumbnails, he achieves visual consistency by showing mockups in front of bright, rectangular shapes. Check out our portfolio to learn how our digital marketing solutions drive results for clients! It definitely stands out from other portfolio layouts, while still utilizing the tried-and-true portfolio structure. In 2021 weve been seeing more and more dark UX portfolio examples. When presenting the outcome of your project, make sure to reflect back on the research findings you mentioned earlier. I have completed 1 full case study for my portfolio so far and I'm beginning the next. The course assignment 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. Sagars case study ends with a section about How is the app performing? and another one for reflections. UX content designer Nikki St.-Cyr's portfolio features several full-length case studies that are well-organized and detailed. 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. If you received feedback during your challenge, include it in your case study. This case study does an excellent job of laying out user research findings. He uses the same color for his headings and the visuals in the case study, achieving a very put-together feel. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals. I design products & brands." Hyk shows that there are more options to presenting UIs than device mockups: you can also experiment with placements and shadows. Bjorns hero section is simple and welcoming. However, we can get a glimpse of her storytelling skills in the BizTrip case study. Joshs portfolio is a great example of a project-focused portfolio. To get started, let's take a look at some general guidelines and best practices for your UX design portfolio. main. This is a level that many designers aspire to achieve, and so use these case studies as a source of inspiration and as something you can look up to. Joke made this classic UXfolio template unique, by adding his logo and harmonizing his thumbnails. UX heavyweight, 3.5yrs+ experience, with light UI. Tie your project to business results if possible. Consider including hidden talents, interests, and anything else that is not design related that shows who you are as a person. When choosing projects for your portfolio go for impactful ones that. Resist the urge to simply redesign the interface. If you aim to be a generalist, choose projects where you worked on all elements of the design process. His case study includes his research methods, market analysis, detailed user persona, user journey map, and lots of early sketches and website iterations. Heres the proof that you dont have to overthink your UI/UX portfolio to achieve something great. If you dont want your portfolio to be public, you can set a password for your entire portfolio. They also ensure that the end-to-end journey with their products or services meets desired outcomes. Work through the entire process, including user research (your friends and family can be your first test subjects). Another way to add real client work to your UX portfolio is to complete one or two small projects pro bono. 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.. Hi there! User research is useless if it doesnt influence your design decisions. Check out these sites for opportunities: -Get matched with a nonprofit project on Catchafire. Yet, each contains a nice balance of text and visuals. Nuwanthi prefers her case studies on the shorter side. Two UI/UX case studies for your portfolio Up to 5 design screens. Emi Lantz Emi Lantz's portfolio website opens with a simple statement, "Hi! Her teams challenge was to design an app to help college students better connect with their classmates. We all know that UX goes beyond pretty screens. Include a section outlining next steps if you were to continue the work. This way you can be sure that you wont be judged based on mediocre work. Our ambitions were to create a strong foundation that embraced a rapidly evolving business and more diverse user base. And we could go on and on, as UXfolio offers an array of features that were chosen with UX designers and researchers in mind. If you only have time for one, we recommend checking out Manage Billing and Subscriptions as it showcases how you can create a fantastic case study from your UX designer internship project. Avoid signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for unpaid work. 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. While the project thumbnails are quite large in size their content is way smaller. Feel free to link externally to any documents that may be too lengthy for your portfolio site. How did you end up in design? Mina uses password protection for her case studies to ensure complete control over who can access them. The case study includes. We dont understand the copy in Hyks Moje Osiedle case study, but we can see that he included plenty of visuals alongside the text to help his readers comprehension. For her thumbnails, Marthe opted for the same mockups to create visual consistency. Phill applies his storytelling sensibility in presenting the case studies, outlining his thorough process step-by-step. Outline that problem and how you went about solving it in your case study.