Long Hung

My UX Case Study Template for Interviews

Oct 2, 2024

Hi friends,

Recently, a few designer friends of mine shared that they were laid off and now have to start job hunting. Reflecting on my own interview experiences over the years and the time I’ve spent as an ADPList mentor, I realized I may not be an expert, but I do have a few insights to share about presenting design portfolios in interviews. So, here goes!

Let’s start with timing. Most portfolio interviews are about an hour long, which can be split into 45 minutes for presenting case studies and 15 minutes for Q&A. Ideally, you’ll want to cover 2–3 projects in those 45 minutes. This means you only have about 15 minutes per project. If you’re showing 20–30 slides per project, your storytelling skills and ability to focus on the most important parts will be key.

Now, let’s talk about storytelling and content. The interviewer might be hearing about your work for the first time, and they may not be familiar with the industry or context. Jumping straight into user problems or solutions can confuse them. On the other hand, if you focus too much on the research process, the key takeaways might get lost. I suggest you first organize all the project information (below, I’m sharing a simple case study template that I created using ChatGPT and input from various UX designers and experienced professionals). Use this template to organize your thoughts, then start drafting your story. I recommend beginning with the final product. Explain your role in the project, what the product is, and who was on the team. From there, work your way backward—talk about the company, its business model, the project background, the problems, the goal, your design strategy, and the solutions you developed. Finally, show the design process, the outcomes, and your reflections. Once the draft is ready, put the content into slides, add visuals, and review each slide to make sure it conveys your key points.

After you finish the first version, ask your friends to review it. It’s okay if they don’t have a design background; the goal is to make it simple enough for anyone to understand. Try to think from the interviewer’s perspective: they want to see your design thinking, the process you followed, and how you collaborated with your team. Use these key points to adjust and refine your presentation. Every interview is also a great opportunity to improve. Take note of where interviewers ask questions and think about whether anything was missing in your script or if the visuals need more clarity. In past interviews, I’ve made many versions of my presentations and used post‑it notes on each slide to remind myself of questions I was asked.

Once you’ve prepared 3–4 case studies, you can also adjust the order based on the company and product type you’re interviewing for. Since you only have 15 minutes per project, you may want to lead with a project that aligns with the company’s product. Then, in the second project, you could highlight something unrelated but with strong visual impact, showing off your aesthetic style. Or, if the company focuses on project impact, but not all of your projects have impact metrics, you can adjust the content accordingly.

I hope this advice helps you! I’ve also started documenting my ongoing and past projects using the template below for future reference. After using it a few more times, I’ll probably make some adjustments and share my reflections with everyone. Until next time!

Here’s the case study template I wanted to share…

Case Study Template

  1. Overview
    • Company & Industry
    • Customers
    • Business Model
    • Success Metrics
  2. Project Background
    • Project Origin
    • Goals
    • Your Role
  3. Problem & Objectives
    • Problem Definition
    • Research & Data
    • Target Audience & User Journey
  4. Strategy & Design Process
    • UX Strategy
    • Challenges & Constraints
    • Exploration & Research Methods
  5. Execution & Outcomes
    • Initial Solutions & Iterations
    • Final Deliverables
    • Results & Impact
  6. Reflection
    • Key Challenges
    • Personal Growth
    • What I’d Do Differently

Long

嗨 讀者朋友：

最近有一些設計師朋友跟我分享他們被裁員了，現在需要開始找工作。這讓我回想起自己面試的經歷，還有作為 ADPList Mentor 的心得。雖然我不覺得自己特別厲害，但還是想分享一些面試作品發表的要點。

首先，來談談時間分配。作品發表的面試通常會有一個小時的時間，建議將其拆分為 45 分鐘的案子發表和 15 分鐘的問答環節。通常，能在 45 分鐘內分享 2–3 個案子是比較理想的安排。換算下來，一個案子大概只有 15 分鐘左右。如果按照一分鐘兩頁的速度來看，每個案子大概有 20–30 頁的簡報，這就要求簡報的內容和講故事的技巧要非常到位。

接下來談講故事的技巧。面試官可能是第一次聽這些案子，甚至對產業背景也不太熟悉。如果一開始就直接跳到使用者問題或解決方案，可能會讓他們感到困惑；而如果只講設計研究的過程，重點也容易被模糊掉。我建議可以先整理好案子的所有資訊（上面提供了一個簡短的範本，這是我綜合多位 UX Designer 和前輩的建議，並結合 ChatGPT 整理出來的範例）。整理好資訊後，就可以開始編寫故事和講稿。我習慣從最終成品開始說明，介紹自己在這幾個月內的角色、產品的定義、團隊成員，然後再倒敘介紹公司背景、案子背景、遇到的問題、設計策略和解決方案，最終再回到設計過程、成果以及反思。寫完講稿之後，再將內容放入簡報並加入視覺，逐頁檢視是否清楚傳達重點。

完成初版後，可以找朋友幫忙看看簡報，朋友不一定需要有設計背景，因為目的是讓內容簡單易懂到他們能理解。也可以站在面試官的角度去想：面試官想看到的是你的設計思考、流程，以及你如何與團隊合作。每一次的面試都是改進簡報的機會。記下面試官在哪些頁面提問，思考是否稿子遺漏、或視覺需要更清楚。過去面試時，我常做不同版本，還會在每頁貼上便利貼，記錄被問到的問題與反思。

當你準備好三四個案子後，還可以根據面試的公司與產品調整發表順序。因為每個案子只有 15 分鐘，你可以先講一個與公司產品相近的案子；第二個案子則選擇一個視覺效果強烈的，展現你的美感與風格。若公司在意影響力，但你的案子未必都有數據，就可以適度調整內容。

希望這些分享對你有幫助！我也開始用下面的範本整理正在進行與已完成的案子，之後用得更順手會再調整，並分享我的心得。下次見！

案例研究範本

  1. 概覽
    • 公司與產業
    • 使用者
    • 商業模式
    • 成功指標
  2. 專案背景
    • 專案起源
    • 目標
    • 你的角色
  3. 問題與目標
    • 問題定義
    • 研究與數據
    • 目標族群與旅程
  4. 策略與設計流程
    • UX 策略
    • 限制與挑戰
    • 探索與研究方法
  5. 執行與成果
    • 解決方案與迭代
    • 最終產出
    • 成效與影響
  6. 反思
    • 核心挑戰
    • 個人成長
    • 下次會怎麼做

Long

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