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Screenshots are so Last Year: How to Write a Case Study That Wins You Clients
Fifty-six percent of all hiring managers are more impressed by a candidate’s personal website than any other personal branding tool — however, only seven percent of job seekers actually have a personal website.
Of this minority, very few actually present case studies that include more than a boring screenshot of their most recent work. Yet case studies are a vital tool that help designers build trust and credibility with prospective clients.
Most clients aren’t looking to hire a designer just because they want their site or app to look pretty. They’re hiring a designer to help them meet a business objective. Good case studies prove that you’re a designer, who understands the big picture and the details.
In this post, you’ll learn the five key elements of the best design case studies and get inspired by a few prime examples.
5 key elements of good design case studies
1. Executive summary
This is a general overview of the project. It should be short and sweet for the skimmers because only a few conscientious prospects will actually read each project’s case study.
The content in this section should detail a high-level overview of the other sections, including:
- Main problem: The reason they hired you.
- Solution: How you solved the problem.
- Key results: What were the deliverables or KPIs?
Productivity Tip: Write this section last, after you’ve written all the content for the other sections.
2. Context and challenge
Next, you should give prospects context into the problem you were hired to solve. You can do this by answering the following questions.
a) Project background description: What context information do you have for this job?
b) The problem: Why did they hire you?
