Imagine you're a developer tasked with creating a new website for a local coffee shop. They want something eye-catching, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.

Now, when potential employers or clients look at your portfolio, they're not just interested in seeing pretty designs or lines of code. They want to know how you like these and what kind of results you delivered.

Employers want to see how you tackle problems because that's where your skills truly shine.

This is where case studies come in. They're like storytelling sessions where you get to walk your audience through your project journey step by step.

You explain the problems you encountered, the decisions you made, and the solutions you implemented.

For that reason, to truly stand out in the competitive tech industry, you need to master the art of writing compelling case studies.

So, let's dive in and learn how to create case studies that will make your portfolio shine!

What is a Case Study?

• A detailed examination of the creative process and results of a specific project
• A relation between efforts and impact
• As professional communicators, we should be able to weave stories with words and visual compositions.
• With a solid case study, you can educate people, explain how you solve problems, and encourage leads to convert all in a single document.
• The case study is the perfect way to give clients/employers access: to give them a “free preview” of what it is to work with you!
• It’s about showcasing your work and framing it in the context of helping others.

What’s the difference between Case Studies and Portfolios?

Why do people even read case studies?

• To start down a user experience exploration, it’s important to understand the user’s motivation
• To make the client/employer feel assured

Potential clients are always looking for one of these:

1. Payoff

Win lies in the problem being solved, results achieved, and investment returned

🫵 Ask Yourself

• Did you get the ? Actual business Results?
• How did you measure the project’s success?
• What was the project’s ?
• How did you them in a meaningful way?

2. Aesthetic

Acknowledge the impact of aesthetics

🫵 Ask Yourself

• Do you do the look they are looking for?
• Do you have a specific style?
• Do you understand the that they want to create?
• Have you done work that looks like their points of reference?

3. Process

Invest most of your time in your process

🫵 Ask Yourself

• What is it like working with you?
• How do you arrive at insights and conclusions?
• Are your results derived from magic?
• Or is it a repeatable game plan than can help my business?

4. Proof

Referrals are the easiest way to find new business

🫵 Ask Yourself

• What do other people think about working with you?
• What level of contact did you work with?
• Are you a good partner/developer?
• Did they enjoy the process?
• Would they hire you again?

5. Prestige

Regardless of your current experience level, find ways to communicate the size and importance of your clients and their projects

🫵 Ask Yourself

• Were you trusted with a similar project?
• Do you work with brands on their “level”?

6. Expertise

Clients want to know that you have experience in their industry or with their specific problem

🫵 Ask Yourself

• Do you have experience in their industry?
• Are you experts in providing a specific deliverable?
• Do you have prior knowledge that you can bring to the table to help solve their problems?

How to Write a Case Study?

• The headline/title

  Your title should curiosity.

  Give enough information so that the user can decide if it’s worth a click.

• The summary

  Draft a short but complete and overview.

  Make sure that readers can get everything they need from the summary section.

  Insight

  💡 Write your summary section once the rest of your case study is finished. That way you can simply scan over the main points of each section and summarize them into a one or two-paragraph synopsis.

• The Mission/Challenge

  Provide your prospective client/reader with a detailed description of the that led to the creation of the project

  Three main elements:

  • Background and Description

    Contextual information for the project, including timelines, budgetary constraints, etc

  • The Problem

    The “Why” and focal point for the project. Explain the problem that led to the onset of the project.

  • Goals and Objectives

    Include any quantifiable metrics known at the project's onset. Ex., optimized/responsive website, increased conversion rates, etc.

• The Process

  Whatever you did. Show off your skills!

  Elaborate on your process, creative concept, and insights that let you make your design & development decisions.

  Walk your reader through your work's , workflow, and interactions.

  Illustrate how you got from the challenge to the .

  Put effort into crafting descriptions that complement your visual assets.

  Truthfully, people love to see how it’s made.

  Insight

  💡 Don’t limit yourself to screenshots alone. Incorporate interactive elements - animations, video, transitions, or anything else - that accurately represent your work to really wow your prospects.

  Include both process and final visuals to explain the journey better

  Process Visuals Ideas:

  • People in action (discovery meetings)
  • Sketches, wireframes, and notes
  • Post-its, whiteboards, reference material
  • Infographic, illustrations
  • Prototypes, animations, time-lapses

  Final Visuals ideas:

  • Animated UI graphics
  • Video walkthrough of Project flow
  • Isolated designs

  Readers should read about your approach and ideas, which ultimately resolved the challenge.

  Insight

  💡 This section should focus mostly on images in chronological order. Bring in the visuals to paint a vivid picture of the whole project’s journey. Always provide a direct link to the website itself.

• The Results/Impact

  Did your efforts go well? Provide metrics

  Cover the and success metrics from your project.

  It should address the objective you established in the Mission/Challenge section.

  In addition to, or instead of, quantifiable metrics, consider including one of in this section.

  Testimonials are another great tactic for boosting the confidence of your prospects. Keep them short and sweet.

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