How do you create a captivating case study for your product design portfolio?

Be careful of solving "fake" problems that don't exist or have already been solved. In order for the case study to be impactful, it's essential to find a high-impact problem space that focuses on actual problems that a substantial body of people experience today.

This is the most important part of design as I have experienced it firsthand. Defining the problem sets the rhythm of designing the solution straight. For a case study to achieve its purpose, Real problems should be defined.

Make sure you have worked in similar kind of product before. Showcase it to your portfolio. Focus on challenges you faced and how you gathered user insights. What was the method you conducted.

Creating a captivating case study for your product design portfolio is essential to showcase your skills, process, and the impact of your work. Here's a guide on how to craft an engaging and effective product design case study. 1. Introduction: Overview: Start with a brief overview of the project, including the client or company name, the problem or opportunity addressed, and your role in the project. 2. Context: Set the stage by providing context about the industry, market, or challenges the project aimed to address. 3. Problem Statement: Clearly articulate the problem or challenge that needed solving. Use data and insights to support the severity and relevance of the problem.

One thing I've found very helpful, is when you're defining your problem try to phrase it in a storytelling manner. By doing so you'll engage your audience and make the boring and complex part of your problem much engaging.

It is imperative to learn how to interview well. This includes establishing a friendly atmosphere and good rapport, giving your interviewee space to go down rabbit holes (some of the best stuff lives there), and avoiding wording questions in ways that push them to answer the way you hope they will.

In the process of shaping our design, we embarked on a comprehensive research journey that formed the bedrock of our approach. Our research methods encompassed a blend of user feedback, market analysis, and data collection. To delve deeper into user perspectives and behavior, we conducted user interviews and surveys, giving our users a voice in the development process.

An intriguing part of the design process is gathering data to support the problem you are solving through research. I particularly love these two approaches in the initial phase. The "Wizard of Oz" approach is one of the techniques that make it easier to carry out research effectively to validate the hypothesis. It's a very effective strategy that needs little to no investment and promises good outcomes in the first phase. The second one is called "The Mom Test," which assists in framing appropriate questions that would aid in gaining insightful information. It is crucial that you ask the appropriate questions when you locate the ideal client. Any attempt to find a homemade fix or workaround for the issue is especially intriguing.

Don't be afraid to show your failed designs and the iterations you worked really hard on. Explaining why you decided to let go of an idea although you were very interested in but the data or your usability tests showed otherwise only proves that you're data driven and you're solving for your users's problems rather than relying on your intuition and hypothesis.

Our job is relying on collaborating and communicating with different departments and/or people. And showcasing the communication and documentation you've carried out to make sure your design work is executed exactly the way you've imagined it, is necessary. Mentioning your discussions regarding tradeoffs and technical limitations and how they altered your final design work if at all, shows your collaborative side and your quick wit.

You've tested your designs on a small hand picked sample, but now it's out in the open world. Monitoring your design and figuring out what you've missed or maybe that you've not missed anything is such a great feeling. But your design has to also meet the business objectives and collecting and analyzing the business metrics is vital. So this part is really worth your attention in your portfolio it shows how effective and valuable your solutions are, and how they meet the business metrics and user needs.

most important part is to tell the story of how you made an impact with results. Tell the story from the recruiters' perspective or from the user.

You don't need to share a lengthy overview of your design process. Every designer and every company does it a little differently, just share your process throughout your case study.