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The Top 11 UX Design Challenges to Add to Your Portfolio

When you have to build a portfolio without work experience, UX design challenges come to the rescue. They are perfect for filling up your portfolio, especially since you should have at least three projects in there. This article will review the best UX challenges and help you turn them into persuasive UX case studies. Let’s get started!

What is a UX design challenge?

A UX challenge is a task that prompts designers to design a solution to a problem or scenario. UX design challenges are great for practicing UX design skills, design thinking, and whiteboarding.

Can you add challenges to your UX portfolio?

Challenges are a welcome addition to your portfolio if you aim for an internship or junior position. But it’s all about presentation. These projects have to shine twice as much as regular projects for the same recognition.

Participating in UI/UX challenges is a sign of your dedication to and investment in your craft, and your willingness to polish your skills even without a project’s pressure and time restraints.

Quote: Participating in challenges shows that you take this seriously.

It’s true that people will always gravitate toward real-life projects. The reason is that those require collaboration and other soft skills, which companies look for in candidates. But in the end, when they open a case study, their attention is still preoccupied with the deliverables.

It’s all about presentation

So, the secret to showing challenges in your portfolio is that you must go the extra mile to make them look fantastic. If you’re putting half-assed work into your portfolio – let that be a challenge or a real-life project – it’ll reflect on you negatively.

But if you take the time to polish those deliverables, the content, and the presentation, people will overlook the fact that it isn’t an existing product. Stunning visuals mixed with good content have the power to sway people off their feet. So, don’t underestimate them!

How to showcase UX design challenges in your portfolio?

There are two ways to showcase challenges in your portfolio:

1. Compilation project

This is best for UI design challenges that ask you to design or re-design a few screens with a short prompt. Since these are smaller tasks, they would look weird in separate projects. It would give off the impression that you are trying to bulk up your portfolio.

Instead, you should present them in a compilation project. A compilation project is a case study that includes many smaller projects, each separated into sections with visuals and a short description.

The golden rule of compilation projects is that they have to be extra structured : use plenty of headings, subheadings, and whitespace to indicate where one project ends, and the other begins.

As for content, you should give some basic details for each section. Share the prompt, the time frame, what tools did you use, your constraints, and the biggest challenges.

Once you have that sorted out, two top-priority tasks are left:

• in UXfolio, on Dribbble, or Behance.
• The best is to use a variation of the same thumbnail layout for all your projects.
• That your home page looks visually consistent, and
• Your bulk project blends in with the rest of your projects.
• My Best Designs
• Selection of My Favorite Designs
• Showcase of My UI/UX Skills

If you present compilation projects with care instead of just throwing some UIs on an empty page, it won’t feel out of place in your portfolio. It’ll be a project that you can be proud of. Also, if you continue doing challenges, you can add your new best work to the top of the page.

2. Individual projects

When using a brief generator or working on a full-fledged UX challenge, you’ll have enough material to create an entire UX case study. Only a few differences exist between a case study about a real-life project and a UX challenge case study:

In both instances, you begin with an overview, present your process and the outcome, and close with learnings. But when it comes to a challenge, you don’t write about the team (unless you participated in a challenge with a team), and the parts about stakeholder feedback are absent.

The overview is where you’ll see the most significant deviation: instead of introducing the project, you’ll introduce the challenge.

• What was the imaginary product?
• What was the prompt or problem statement?
• Where did you get the prompt from?

The rest of the case study’s structure doesn’t change when you’re writing about a UX challenge as an individual case study.

11 Best UX Design Challenges

1. uxdesigncontest – as close as it gets to a real-life project.

• Prompt type: long
• Status: inactive
• Complexity: 8/10

Though it has been inactive for a while, UXdesigncontest has the most detailed prompts for UX/UI design out of all challenges. Thankfully, the details of past contests are still available on their site. And if you’re looking to make a detailed case study out of a challenge, you should head over and check them out.

Every contest has the following details: context, problem, challenge, and opportunity. You also get a list of the desired outcomes, and criteria like divergent thinking, UX/Interaction design, data-informed decisions, visual design, and case study. These criteria were added for judging purposes, but even without that part, they’re great to give some focal points to your design.

What’s more, you also get a list of tool suggestions for the stages of the design process:

• Diagrams & Wireframes,
• High-Fidelity UI Design, and
• Prototyping

Currently, there are 16 project briefs available on the UXdesigncontest website . Since each contest has been closed already, you can see the best submissions. So, inspiration is covered as well.

We can’t recommend UXdeisgncontest enough, even in its current, inactive state. Let’s hope that they will make a triumphant comeback!

2. Crowwwn – quick UX design challenges

• Prompt type: short
• Status: active
• Complexity: 3/10

Crowwwn releases UX design challenges that are part of a weekly competition. The project was started by brothers Alex and Cameron Barker as an opportunity for designers to practice, get inspired, and improve their skills.

Every week they release a prompt like these:

• “When I buy gifts for the holidays, I want to be able to select multiple present options, so my friends and family can pick the gift that best fits their needs.”
• “When I watch the world cup, I want to be able to see where I can watch games and which teams are still in, so I can be informed going into each game.”
• “When I have vending machines in multiple locations, I want to see which products are running low in each machine, so my machines are always full and making money.”
• “When I am on my computer, I want to be able to record parts of my desktop, so I can send clips of what I am working on to my team.”
• “When I have an idea for a startup, I want to allow people to invest in my idea in exchange for equity, so I can get the money that’s needed to start.”

The prompts are usually timely. For example, they’ll release a prompt about gifts around the holidays. Also, their challenges have a nice variety. One week it’s a product for the masses, next it’s for internal use.

Since Crowwwn’s challenge is an actual competition, you can submit your design to compete. Submissions are evaluated by the Barker brothers or a guest judge.

Besides submitting your design, you can also give feedback on other submissions (even if you don’t compete in that week’s challenge. The winner, runner-up, and the best feedback author all receive a price.

However, you don’t have to compete to use Crowwwn. You can just use their prompts to turn out projects for your portfolio. You can also use past prompts and check the winning submissions for inspiration.

3. Sharpen.design – Google’s UX challenges

• Prompt type: very short
• Status: fixed
• Complexity: 5/10

Sharpen.design is the design challenge generator of companies like Google, Shopify, and Amazon. Former Google designers founded it in 2017, and today it’s actually licensed by Google for their UX Design Certificate at Coursera.

The tool is straightforward. You choose a category (branding, marketing product/UX) and you hit ‘New challenge’ until you get something that can be turned into a case study. Each prompt has 2 or 3 elements:

• This can range from a UX flow, a full-fledged product idea, to a title slide for a presentation
• The can be a very particular group of people (e.g., a gardener in Brussels), a business (e.g., magic shop), or even a brand (e.g., Taco Bell).
• It can be something like “and try Brutalist styling,” “make it minimalist,” or “and tweet us the results.”

If you’re not happy with an element of a challenge, you can lock the element you like, and re-generate the other one.

Our only complaint is that sometimes the prompt is not product design/UX related even if we select that category. But still, with a few clicks, you can generate some nice ideas for small or bigger-scale projects.

4. UIcoach – UI with more direction

• Complexity: 7/10

Most companies are looking for UI/UX designers, and we all know that the best way to polish UI design skills is through practice. However, the freedom that comes with going with your own idea – choosing the theme, fonts, color palette, and so on – can be numbing for some. That’s when a tool like UIcoach comes in handy.

UIcoach will generate three things:

• A project idea,
• a color palette (5 colors), and
• a font pairing.

That’s a great starting point for a smaller-scale UI design project. We’ve used many of their prompts in the past, and their specificity is very inspiring . Here’s an example:

• “Design a different social networking app that will help you plan meet-ups with your selected friends or people. It will have an integrated option to find places to meet and/or events to attend. It can even suggest you new plans based on your group’s social preferences.”

If you don’t like a challenge, you can generate a completely new one. But also, let’s say, you like the prompt and can also work with font pairing, but you loathe the color palette. In that case, you have the option to re-generate the palette only.

5. UXtools – practicing UX methods

• Prompt type: mid-length
• Status: fix

Another great resource for a compilation project is UXtools. Unlike the other challenges, they approach prompts from the UX methods . If you want to build and flex an impressive UX toolbox, these are the challenges for you.

They have 18 challenges in total. Each one is assigned to a UX method like card sorting, user interview, user persona, design system, and more. The challenges have three elements:

The scenarios are pretty detailed and the asks are straightforward. With each challenge, you’ll clearly understand what’s expected of you. The tool suggestions seem to be affiliates of the site, but nevertheless, they are tools that UI/UX designers regularly use, such as Figma, Miro, or Airtable.

If you feel like you lack experience with UX methods and this hinders your chances on the job market, this is the challenge for you. But be prepared to put in the extra work for recruitment.

6. DailyUI – the go-to UI practice

“Become a Better Designer in 100 Days” is DailyUI’s tagline. Indeed, if you design a UI every day for 100 days, you’ll become a better designer. This challenge has been around for a while, and it’s been cosigned by brands like Amazon, Airbnb, and Disney.

You’ll receive the day’s challenge in your inbox. Each challenge has a title, a hint, and a free resource. The hints (prompts) are open-ended most of the time. Here’s an example:

• “Create a sign up page, modal, form, or app screen related to signing up for something. It could be for a volunteer event, contest registration, a giveaway, or anything you can image.”

That’s all you get. This can be very good for exercising your creativity, especially when it comes to UI design. But you can also use this as a starting point for UX design. After all, sign-up pages need good UX to work. This is also a great opportunity to research what pioneering brands do and to build a repository of design inspiration.

All in all, DailyUI is amazing if you’re looking to build up your UI skills. Their challenges are perfect for a compilation project.

7. Drawerrr – one issue at a time

• Complexity: 6/10

Another inactive, yet still topnotch UX challenge collection is provided by Drawerrr. Their challenges are focused on environmental, health, and social inequality issues. All three topics are extremely relevant in 2023, so no complaints about the selection.

You can choose from 6 smaller topics: commuting, diet, groceries, household, shopping, and travel. We’d suggest you go with commuting, household, or maybe travel, as the other topics have been a bit overused in UX education.

The next step is choosing from 5 prompts connected to your general topic. For the commuting topic, you get prompts such as:

• “Design a search filter for a job seeking app to help people find jobs with green commute routes from their homes.”
• “Design a gamified competition feature for a smartwatch app to encourage people from one office commute to work on foot or cycle.”
• “Design a chatbot for a messaging app to help office workers request a remote day.”

Each prompt is broken down into a 7-day challenge. Drawerrr was just generous with time; it doesn’t actually take a day for each step. Here’s how the challenges are broken down:

• Day 1 – Problem
• Day 2 – Audience
• Day 3 – Products
• Day 4 – Solutions
• Day 5 – Storyboarding
• Day 6 – Test
• (Day 7 – Submit your work)

As you can probably guess, many of these steps can be done in less than a day. For example, audience and competitive research (day 2-3). So, depending on your pace, a challenge would take around 3-4 days to complete.

To help with your quest, Drawerrr has also prepared a few references for you. These are articles from various publications addressing the topic at hand.

8. UXchallenge.co – whiteboard exercise prompts

UXchallenge.co offers 15 prompts on topics like fintech and smart homes. The prompts are extremely open-ended , leaving plenty of room for your creativity to shine. If you’re the type of designer who thrives on total freedom, these are the challenges for you.

Most of them are inspired by whiteboard exercises given by companies during the interview process. Here’s an example:

• “Friends keep us company through the ups and downs of our lives and help us grow. But as we grow older, our fear and social anxiety can keep us from making new friends. How can you help people who has social anxiety step out and make new friends?”

However, based on our research, most designers like more direction in their challenges. When a prompt is extremely vague with no expectations or pointers to guide you, it’s easier to get lost in the details. Still, UXchallenge.co can be a great practice, especially for whiteboard.

9. Designercize – classic prompt generator

• Complexity: 4/10

Designercize has digitalized the UX design prompts of Kate Rutter and Laura Klein. These prompts “help designers improve whiteboarding, interviewing, and design thinking skills”. This retro-fun site will generate easy, medium, or hard prompts based on your preferences.

We’ve tried it many times and are confident that not even the ‘hard’ prompts are too hard (unless the generator goes crazy). Each prompt has three elements:

• Design (what should you design)
• For (app/product description)
• To help (target audience)

The harder you go, the more specific details you’ll get from the generator. Here’s an example from the hard setting:

• Design: a user profile view
• For: a habit-tracking app
• To help: foodies

However, as mentioned, sometimes the generator gives rather weird prompts:

• Design: an onboarding process
• For: a music platform that generates new singles by splicing together top 40 hits
• To help: families of ICU patients

We suggest that you keep generating ideas until you find one that’s viable and you’re interested in.

10. 100 Days of Product Design – the whiteboarding veteran

100 Days of Product Design is another long-standing UX design challenge focusing on whiteboard exercises. You probably know that whiteboard exercises are common during UX design interviews , so it’s worth practicing them. But, just like any other design prompt, they can be used for creating complete designs.

100 Day of Product Design has ten challenges, each consisting of two parts:

• Call to action (what you’ll do)
• Scenario (company, audience, problem statement, feature request)
• Considerations (more specificity)

Here’s an example:

• “Help our employees find their cars in the parking lot.”
• “We have over 15,000 employees and all of their cars in our main campus. Employees have been “losing” their cars in the lot. They forget which of the 5 giant parking lots they parked in and are wandering around clicking their door alarms in order to find their cars. The noise pollution at the end of the day is terrible. We already have a company app. We want to add a feature that will help employees find their cars.”
• “Couples often swap cars when driving to work. What if the employee has more than one car s/he drives to work?”
• “This feature should be prominent on the app–but the home screen is already full. How will you make it fit without removing something?”

As you can see, the considerations are what make the prompt special . All ten challenges are unique and good mind-breakers. They have the potential to be turned into complete UI/UX projects, but they’re also great if you’re just looking to prepare for an interview.

11. UIrecipes

Though its title says UI, UIrecipes covers both UX and UI. Every week they publish a recipe for a UI/UX challenge with tons of pointers and inspirations . The challenge contains both UI- and UX-related instructions , but how you approach it is up to you.

All challenges are based on real products. For each, they “collect hundreds of screenshots from the most popular apps, reverse engineer design them to find common patterns, analyze them from a usability standpoint.” Based on this research, they provide the following details:

• User task (prompt)
• specifying what elements and patterns you should focus on.
• how existing applications and websites solved the same task
• trends that should influence your design
• a set of features that need to be included in your design

As you can guess from this, UIrecipes prompts are very detailed. You can use them to practice wireframing, create intricate designs, or prepare for whiteboard challenges . You can also subscribe to their newsletter to receive the recipes in your inbox every Wednesday. Our only complaint is that past recipes are not available on the site.

Showcase your challenges in a stunning portfolio

If you’re ready to showcase your challenges, try UXfolio! UXfolio is an intuitive portfolio platform that’s designed for UX professionals. It gives you a stunning template, so all you have to do is drop your deliverables and other content. Special features include text ideas, case study writing prompts & guiding questions, built-in mockups, sleek galleries, fast proto embed, and more. Check out UXfolio in action for free!

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7 Best UX Case Study Generators (and how to use them)

If you're looking for UX case study ideas, topics or challenges, these UX case study generators can help you create portfolio pieces and improve your UX/UI skills. Here are some of the best ones and the pros and cons of using them.

What is a case study generator?

A UX Case Study Generator is a tool that serves up hypothetical UX design project ideas, problems, challenges or exercises that you can complete on your own to practice your UX skills or use to create UX Case studies and projects for UX/UI portfolio.

UX Case Study Generators

1. UX Challenge

UX challenge provides prompts and exercises that allows you to practice your problem-solving skills and create one-off projects for your portfolio. The Challenges presented here have been created by UX Designer Yachin and are based on real-world problems.

You can browse through a few different industries or categories on the homepage and then view the details of the project brief.

With more than 15 millions prompts available, there are lots of UX/Product Design prompts to choose from. To start, click on 'Product/UX' and then Click ‘New Challenge’. If you like certain elements of the brief you can lock those in place and then click New Challenge again to regenerate the unlocked parts until you find something you like.

3. Designercize

This fun arcade game-like interface lets you choose the level of difficulty and gives you a timer so that you can test your speed. While this tool doesn’t allow you to select a specific category, you can regenerate exercises until you find one that appeals to you.

4. UX Tools Challenges

If you need practice creating specific UX deliverables or applying certain user research methods this is a great option. You can browse through a number of UX prompt cards and click on a UX challenge to view a hypothetical scenario, instructions and tutorials on how to approach the challenges.

5. Uplabs Challenges

Uplabs hosts open design challenges that you can enter for prizes. They have deadlines in place and submissions are reviewed via voting. Check out their active listings to see on-going challenges and see the submission details and requirements. You can also view past challenges and try using them as practice on your for use as UX case study ideas.

6. 100Daysofproductdesign

100 Days of Product is a series of design challenges that help you learn to tackle specific problems that arise in UX and product design roles (such as running a design sprint) and prompts you to create deliverables around them. There is also a separate set of whiteboarding challenges that you can take in preparation for interviews.

7. DesignerUp

Our Product Design course is home to one the best UX and Product Design case study creators you can find...yourself! You get to ideate on original concepts yourself from scratch, is completely unique, perfectly suited to who you are as a designer, shows your process and ensures you stand out from the crowd. You also get free access to our portfolio builder for Notion that has helped our students easily create product design case studies and land their dream roles!

UX Case Study Usage

There are 4 main ways we recommend applying these generator prompts and challenges based on your goals:

Option 1: Self-Practice - Use these as practice for yourself to develop your problem-solving skills, thinking on your toes, learning to manage your time and refining your workflow. You don’t need to show it in your portfolio but you can share it on social media and other places to get some feedback and get into the hang of doing projects and getting to know your own timing and process.

Option 2: UX Case Study Creation - Use these for your UX portfolio to create UX case studies . Give yourself a deadline, deliberately choose a project and document the process as you go. Be mindful of the projects you choose and make sure that they align with your own unique positioning as a designer and with the opportunities you want to attract.

Option 3: Whiteboard Challenge - Work on the prompts in 45 min sessions using a whiteboard like Figjam to show and tell your process. Record your screen so that you can replay it and share it with others for critique. This video could even be an incredible addition to your portfolio to showcase how you think and solve problems on the fly.

Option 4: Take-home Exercise - To simulate an interview take-home challenge or test, you can tackle a prompt or brief over the course of 8-10 hours.

Pros and Cons of Using UX Case Study Generators

There a few pros and cons about using case study generators that you should know about:

If you can do them, so can everyone else

Firstly, remember that if you have access to these design challenges and briefs so do all the other designers. That means that there is a good chance your work might end up looking similar to their work if you’re not careful. If you want to stand out, try customizing the prompts and challenges and adding your own unique spin.

Treat them as real UX projects

If you plan to feature these UX case studies in your portfolio, make sure to treat them as real UX projects; not just hypothetical exercises. Conduct actual research, analyze your findings and document your process. This will go a long way in helping you differentiate yourself from those that simply complete the challenge at face value.

Not consider real-world experience

Keep in mind that these generated UX case study projects and prompts are not considered 'real-world or ‘real- work experience’ by employers, but rather self-directed projects. They are a good first step for new UX designers to start practicing their problem solving skills on their own and refining their UX design process, but you'll have to go the extra mile if you want to use them in your portfolio to impress during interviews.  

Choose the right one

If you are looking to use these ideas as UX Case studies in your portfolio, I reccomend reading this article on how to choose which case studies you should do and how to Create a Magnetic UX Case Study that will actually get you noticed and hired.

Move into doing real projects

These projects are also no substitute for doing real-world projects such as things you design and build yourself, freelance jobs, client work or open-source projects. Generated prompts and challenges cannot introduce the ambiguity of business requirements, changing stakeholder needs and team dynamics that are most sought after in a hirable UX designer. So think of these as a stepping to help you jump into the real thing as soon as possible. Here are some examples of stellar UX/UI and Product Design portfolios that we love!

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11 Inspiring UX Case Studies That Every Designer Should Study

A UX case study is a sort of detailed overview of a designer's work. They are often part of a UX designer's portfolio and showcase the designer's skill in managing tasks and problems. From a recruiter's perspective, such a UX portfolio shows the skill, insights, knowledge, and talent of the designer.

Therefore, UX case studies play an important role in the recruitment and demand for designers.

What Makes a Powerful Case Study

Building a UX case study includes showing the design process through compelling stories. They will use plain language to demonstrate how they handled key design issues, offering a comprehensive view of their process. Well done case studies often include:

• A  problem statement and solutions with real applications.
• Relevant numbers, data, or testimonials to demonstrate the work and efforts.
• A story that directly connects the problem to the solution.

Any competent UX professional will know that creating a stunning UX case study is about the little details.

11 Best UX Case Studies for Designers

The best way to understand what a good case study looks like is to go over other examples. Each of these UX case study examples shows a designer's insights, basic skills, and other designers' lessons learned through their experience.

1. Promo.com web editor

For this video-creation platform , UX designer Sascha was brought on to revamp v2.0, adding new features that could work alongside the existing UX design. The point was to work on interface details that would help create a user friendly platform, and that users could find simple enough to use.

User personas mapped by the UX designer revealed the most common confusion to be the process of inserting particular features into the video, such as subtitles. The designer's goal, therefore, was to create a platform with improved editor controls.

The designer then used a common text-editor layout to include top and side navigation bars that made it easy to access and implement text editing.

Key Learnings from Promo.com

This case study focuses on addressing a particular problem that customers were currently facing. Its main theme is to show a problem, and how the product designer addressed this problem. Its strength points include:

• clearly highlighting the problem (i.e. inaccessible and limited video-text editor options)
• conduction research to understand the nature of the problem and the kind of solutions customers want
• implementing research insights into the redesign to create a platform that actively served customer needs

2. Productivity tracker app

The main concept behind this UX case study is to address a pre-existing problem through the design of the app. Immediately from the start, the study highlights a common pain point among users: that of a lack of productivity due to device usage.

This UX case study example addressed some of the main problems within existing productivity apps included:a poor UI and UX that made navigation difficult

• a poorly-built information architecture
• limited functions on the mobile application

Key Learnings from the Productivity app case study

The case study highlights the simple design process that was then used to build the app. Wireframes were created, a moldboard developed, and finally, individual pages of the app were designed in line with the initial goals.

3. Postmates Unlimited

This case study clearly identifies the improvements made to the Postmates app in a simple overview before jumping into greater detail. The redesign goal, which it achieved, was to improve the experience and other interface details of the app.

The problems identified included:

• usability that led to high support ticket volume.
• technical app infrastructure issues that prevented scalability.
• lack of efficient product management, such as batching orders.

A UX research course can help understand the kind of research needed for a case study. The app redesign involved bringing couriers in and running usability testing on improvements. The final model, therefore, had input from real users on what worked and what caused issues.

Key Learnings from Postmates

The Postmates redesign works as a great UX case study for the simple way it approaches problem-solving. Following an overview of the work, it addresses the problems faced by users of the app. It then establishes research processes and highlights how changes were made to reduce these issues.

4. TV Guide

Addressing the fragmentation of content across channels, this case study sought to redesign how people consume media. The key problems identified included:

• the overabundance of content across various TV and streaming platforms
• the difficulty in discovering and managing content across all platforms

To deliver on the key goals of content personalization, smart recommendations, and offering cross-platform content search, the design process included conducting interviews, surveys, and checking customer reviews.

The design of TV Guide enables users to get custom recommendations sourced from friends' and family's watchlists.

Key Learnings from TV Guide

Like previous UX design case studies, this one tackled the issue head-on. Describing the research process, it goes into detail regarding the approach used by the UX designers to create the app. It takes readers on a journey, from identifying pain points, to testing solutions, and implementing the final version.

5. The FlexBox Inspector

Designer Victoria discusses how she developed the investigator tool for the Mozilla Firefox browser. Surveys into understanding the problems with the existing CSS Flexbox tool revealed a need for a user-friendly design. Interviews with a senior designer and other designers helped developers understand the features design-focused tools ought to have. A feature analysis revealed what most users look for in such tools.

The final result of the development process was a design that incorporated several new features, including:

• a new layout
• color-coded design
• multiple entry points to make workflow management efficient

Key Learnings from the Flexbox

This UX design case study starts with a clear goal, then addresses multiple user needs. It clearly defines the design process behind each feature developed by the time, and the reasoning for including that feature. To give a complete picture, it also discusses why certain features or processes were excluded.

6. The Current State of Checkouts

This Baymard UX design case study looks into the checkout process in over 70 e-commerce websites. Through competitive analysis, it isolates problem points in the UX design, which, if addressed, could improve the customer's checkout process.

The study found at least 31 common issues that were easily preventable. The study was designed and conducted on a large scale, over 12 years, to incorporate changing design patterns into the review.

Recommendations based on findings include:

• prominent guest checkout option
• simple password requirements
• specific delivery period
• price comparison tool for shipping vs store pickup

Key Learnings from Checkout Case Study

Each identified issue is backed up by data and research to highlight its importance. Further research backs up each recommendation made within the case study, with usability testing to support the idea. As far as UX case studies go, this one provides practical insight into an existing, widely used e-commerce feature, and offers practical solutions.

7. New York Times App

Using a creative illustration website, the designers proposed a landing page feature "Timely" that could counter the problems faced by the NYT app . Its major issues included too much irrelevant content, low usage, and undesirable coverage of content.

The goal behind Timely was to improve user incentives, build long-term loyalty, and encourage reading. Design mapping for the app covered:

• identifying the problem
• understanding audience needs
• creating wireframes
• designing and prototyping

The end result was an app that could help readers get notifications regarding news of interest at convenient moments (at breakfast, before bed). This encouraged interaction and improved readability with short-form articles.

Key Learnings from NYT App

The UX case study proposes a problem solution that works with an existing information architecture, instead adding custom graphics to the mobile app. It leads from a simple problem statement to discuss the project that could address these issues without changing was customers already loved.

UX case studies focused on redesign include the FitBit redesign, which started off by understanding personas and what users expect from a fitness tracker. Developing use cases and personas, Guerilla usability testing was employed to assess pain points.

These pain points were then ranked based on their importance to users and to app performance. They were addressed through:

• Highlighting essential parts and features of the app
• Changing easily missed icons to more recognizable icons
• relabelling tracking options to guide users better to its usage

Key Learnings from Fitbit

While the case study maps user experiences and offers solutions, it does not begin with an intensive research-based approach. The prototype is successful in testing, but problem factors are not identified with research-based statistics, meaning key factors could have been ignored.

9. Rating System UX

The designer behind the rating system UX redesign sought to solve issues with the 5-star rating system. Highlighted issues included:

• the lack of subjective accuracy of a 5-point rating system
• the issue of calculating the average of a zero-star rating
• average ratings are misleading

Better alternatives include:

• 5-star emoticon rating that relates the user experience
• Like/dislike buttons that make approval/disapproval simple

The final design incorporated both these styles to make full use of the rating system.

Key Learnings from Rating System UX

The UX case study stemmed from insight into the limitations of the existing rating system. The new design addressed old issues and incorporated better efficiencies.

The Intuit redesign was focused on making content readable, more engaging, and accessible. Looking into product personalization, the content was found to be lacking aesthetic value, as well as being hard to find. The goal was to create content that was easy to find, clear, and consistent.

The implemented solutions included:

• increased readability with increased body text and header spacing
• table of contents on the sidebar for easier navigation
• visible and prominent search bar
• illustrations and designs for pretty visuals

Key Learnings from Intuit

The Intuit case study approaches the problem from a practical point of view. It begins with isolating problems with the interface, in particular with the content. This is an example of a case study that breaks down problems into broader categories, and solves each problem with a practical solution.

This UX case study about a social platform tackles a commonly-faced problem from existing platforms. It addresses the issue of recognizing non-monetary user engagement, to help creators identify their user base.

The case study addresses the problem statement and establishes the design process (building wireframes and prototypes) as well as conducting user testing. The final result is to develop "Discover" pages, engaging layouts, and animated interactions to increase usability.

Key Learnings from Jambb

The study goes into detail regarding problem identification, then moves on to propose solutions that take into account the perspective of all stakeholders involved. It then explains why each design decision was made, and proves its efficacy through testing and prototyping.

Key Takeaways

Developing good UX case studies examples is as much about the details you include as the ones you leave out. Going over UX courses can give you a better understanding of what your case study should look like. A good case study should provide an overview of the problem, include numbers and statistics, and offer practical solutions that directly address the problem. The above-discussed UX case studies provide a good example of the dos and don'ts of a well-structured UX design case study that should be part of every UX portfolio .

Additional Resources

Check out these resources to learn more about UX case studies:

8 UX Case Studies to Read

UX Design Case Study

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Top 22 Stunning UX Case Studies You Should Know in 2022

An immersive yet well-structured UX case study helps UX professionals show off their design talents in portfolio websites, and let them communicate better with employers, designers and others easily.

However, as a UX designer , how can you write a perfect UX case study to easily get hired or communicate with others better?

Mockplus has handpicked 22 of the best UX design case study examples in 2022 to help you get inspiration, improve your portfolios and make your own things with ease. A step-by-step guideline about how to create a UX case study is also followed.

What is a UX case study?

A UX case study tells the story of how you create a great website or app and, in particular, what you do to improve the UX of the site. UX designers—newbies and experts alike—will often share a case study on a portfolio website as a great way to get hired. Just like sending a resumé. 

So, it is a lot more than just a copy of everything you've done while designing the project. To really showcase your design talent and the breadth of your abilities, you need to make sure the following are all included:

• A full description of your role in the project;
• The biggest challenges you've faced;
• The solutions you've chosen, how you chose them and why;
• How you communicate and collaborate with others; and
• The outcomes and the lessons you’ve learned.  

To this, you should feel free to add any further information that you think would help you stand out from the crowd. 

It is also worth remembering that UX case studies are a good resource for UX design beginners to learn more practical design skills and to gain from the real experience of others in dealing deal with difficult or urgent problems.

22 Best UX case study examp le s you should learn

Whatever stage you’re at and whatever you are writing your case study for, these 22 top examples are bound to inspire you. 

1. Perfect Recipe -UX design for cooking and shopping

Designer s : Marina Yalanska and Vlad Taran

Case Study : Perfect Recipe

This is a mobile application that enables users to search for food recipes and to buy what they need to cook different dishes.

Why d id  we choose this  one?

This case study illustrates the entire UX design process is very simple, plain language. Many aspects of the process are included, along with some really inspirational ideas, such as product personalization, challenges and solutions, animated interactions, and other interface details.

Extra tips :

This example is from the Tubikstudio blog, which is very popular among designers. It regularly shares different branding, UI, and UX case studies. We would strongly recommend that you follow this blog to keep yourself up to date with the latest and most creative case studies.

View details

2. GnO Well Being - Branding, Web Desing & UX

Designer : Marina Yalanska and Olga Zakharyan

Case Study : GnO Well Being

This is a creative illustration website that presents and sells a weighted designer blanket that helps you get a good night’s sleep, the first step to good health and a better life.

Why d id  we choose this ?

This example is so much more than a great UX case study. In addition to the UX design , it gives you insight into many more key design issues, such as the logo, custom graphics, website pages, interactions and so on. There are many ideas here that you could copy for your own projects.

3. Splitwiser - UI/UX case redesign

Designer : Chethan KVS (a Product designer at Unacademy)

Case Study : Splitwise

This is a concept mobile app that enables users to track and split expenses with friends. The designer has also given it another name, "Splitwise." 

Why do we choose this ?

This case study shares the designer's insights into key design decisions, such as why he chose this product, why he decided to redesign the logo, how to improve the onboarding and other pages, how to optimize the user flow, how to balance all pages and functions, how to enhance UX through bottom bars, interactions, gestures, view modes, and more.

Everything is explained using intuitive images, earning it thousands of “likes”. This is a great example that is bound to help you write a stunning case study on redesigning UX.

This comes from a popular media channel called "UX Planet" that regularly posts examples of the best and latest UX case studies from around the world. Another great place to keep you up to speed with the latest UX designs.

4. Deeplyapp.com - UX & visual improvements

Designer : Sladana Kozar

Case Study : Deeplyapp

This is a health and self-care website app that helps users maintain mental well-being with meditations and exercises. This case study talks you through the design process of creating a user-friendly mobile app.

This case study focuses on improvements to the UX and visual features of this mobile app. Many aspects are included to help you understand it better, such as the design background, what to build, UI flow diagram, discoverability design, visual balance, and much more. A full set of app interfaces are presented for you to study as well.

You can also check out its Part 1 post for more details.

5. Talent Envoy - improving the recruitment process 

Designer : Enes Aktaş (Experienced UX designer)

Case Study : Talent Envoy

Talent Envoy is an intelligent job assistant that helps users find their ideal job and get to all the way to signing a contract faster and more easily.

This case study firstly points out the biggest challenges and problems faced by job-seekers—the shortage of US recruitment markets. It then talks to you through the detail of how the designers optimized the recruitment process. You will also find information on the user research process, the UI flowchart design, the related wireframe and Sketch designs, the main page design, and more. 

All the details have clear explanations and they offer a great example of how to use user research to solve problems and improve UI interfaces.

This one comes from another hot media channel called "Muzli" which shares the latest ideas, designs, and interactions about websites or website apps from all over the world. Don’t miss out on this site if you want to stay ahead of the curve. 

6. My Car Parking - UI/UX case study

Designer : Johny Vino (Experienced UX and interaction designer)

Case Study : My Car Parking

This is a mobile app that can help people get parking slots easily even when they travel beyond their normal routes. 

This is a masterclass in how to write a case study that is simple, well-structured, and easy to understand. Many intuitive lists and images are used to explain the design ideas and processes. 

It has received “claps” from over seven and a half thousand people and   is a perfect example of how to write a well-structured and easy-to-understand case study.

7. Parking Finder App - UI/UX case study

Designer : Soumitro Sobuj

Case Study : Parking Finder App

This is another concept mobile app that makes it easy for users to find parking slots even in big or overcrowded cities.

This case study is beautifully presented and gives a good presentation of the whole design process. It covers nearly all the issues that a textbook UX case study should have, such as problems and solutions, user-centered design, design strategy, user flow, information architecture , interface wireframes and visual designs, and much more besides. 

It is one of the best examples we have found of a case study that really teaches you how to write the perfect UX case study.

8. Pasion Del Cielo - coffee ordering experience

Designer : Jonathan Montalvo (Senior Designer, Branding, UXUI )

Case Study : Pasión del Cielo

This is a concept project about a real local coffee shop in Miami.

This case study demonstrates effective ways to engage users with the Pasión brand and how a site can make it as easy as possible to turn page views into coffee sales. 

There is a lot of analysis included to explain the entire design process, such as analyzing the competition, feature analysis, brand and interface improvements, and much more. Most important of all, many user personas have been created to evaluate and enhance the UX.

This is a good example to check for anyone looking to improve their own UX case study. Above all, it shows what can be done with rich images, bright colors, clear layouts, and well-crafted personas.

9. Workaway App - UX redesign

Designer : Rocket Pix (UXUI, web designer )

Case Study : Workaway App

This is a mobile app that provides international hospitality services; it helps users to contact each other to organize homestays and cultural exchanges.

This UX design case study explains how the designer redesigned the Workaway App to make it easier for users. Many intuitive charts (pie charts, flow charts, line charts), cards, and images are used to illustrate the ideas.

It is simple and easy to follow, and also a good example of how to create an intuitive case study with charts and cards.

10. Receipe App - UI/UX design process

Designer : Dorothea Niederee (UX, UI designer   )

Case Study : Recipe App

This is a food app design offering inspirational recipes for anyone who wants to eat healthier.

This case study gives a clear demonstration of the entire UI/UX design process. Three user personas are defined to present different users' needs. Some colors, typography, and UI elements are also shared.

This is a good example of how to define a detailed user persona in your UX case study.

11. Hobbfyy - a social and discovery app UX design

Designer : Mustafa Aljaburi (UX, UI designer   )

Case Study : Hobbfyy

This is a social and discovery app that makes it quick and easy to get everything you need for your hobbies.

This case study aims to show how to develop a site that will provide its users with solutions, in this case to get what they need for their hobbies. Beautiful images, a storytelling style, and special layouts are used to explain everything.

12. Bee Better - habit tracker app UX case study

Designer :   Anastasiia Mysliuk (UX, UI designer   )

Case Study : Bee Better

This is a habit tracker app that makes it easy for you to develop new useful habits.

This case study aims to solve problems associated with how we form and develop habits. It helps users find solutions and make habit formation more interesting; it motivates them to maintain their useful new habits. Many aspects of design, such as problems, solutions, the design process, discovery and research, user journey map, prototypes, and much more are illustrated and explained in simple language.

This would be a good example to follow if you are looking to create an easy-to-understand UX case study.

13.Sit My Pet - pet sitting app UX case study

Designer : Aiman Fakia (UX, UI, visual designer )

Case Study : Sit My Pet

This is a pet-setting app that provides pet owners with a digital service that helps them connect with pet sitters.

This UX case study describes a site that aims to make pet sitting more easily accessible for pet owners. It analyzes both its users and its competitors very well. The way solutions are evaluated, the user stories, and other related aspects are followed in detail to give you a better understanding of the project as a whole.

This is a good example of how to develop a UX design based on user needs.

14. Groad - food ordering system UX case study

Designer : Phap (UI designer )

Case Study : Groad

This is a food ordering app offering food delivery services from stores, restaurants, cafés, fast food bars, and others. 

This UX case study uses beautiful illustrations and colors to explain the entire design process. As well as the usual parts of the design process—UI flow chart, UI showcasing—the related logo and icon designs, typography, and other aspects are included. This is a good example if you are looking to learn how to create an immersive case study with beautiful illustrations and colors.

15. iOS VS Android UI/UX Case Study

Designer : Johanna Rüthers

Case Study : Econsy

Here is another concept app that helps people live more sustainably by using a scanning process to give them information about the ecological and social impact of products they are thinking of buying. 

This case study explains the differences in the mobile app’s appearance when it is applied on the Human Interface Guidelines (IOS) and Material Design Guidelines (Android). This will help you to create an app that works well on both Mac and Android devices.

More UI/UX case studies & designs:

16.Timo Bank - UI/UX Case Study

Timo Bank is a mobile banking app project produced by Leo Nguyen, a freelance designer and creative director. This case study aims to provide more intuitive transfer, payment, and money management solutions for mobile users.

This is a great example to consider if you are hoping to create a better banking app.

17. Endoberry Health App Design

Endoberry Health App Design provides useful solutions for women suffering from endometriosis. In turn, this gives doctors a better understanding of individual cases. The design challenges, solutions, and UI details are displayed and explained to illustrate the design project.

18. Job Portal App

Job Portal App has been specially made for designers and freelancers. This case study uses cute illustrations, simple words, and clear storytelling to explain how the designer worked out the ideal job hunting solutions for users.

19. Cafe Website - UI/UX Case Study

Café Website gives its users a great experience by making it quick and easy to order a coffee online. Many elegant page details are displayed.

20. Ping - the matchmaker app case study

Ping is a dating app that offers users a unique and effective way to find their perfect match. As you can see, its mascot is really cute and this case study will show you how a cute mascot can enhance the UX.

21. Hubba Mobile App - UI/UX Case Study

Hubba Mobile App is a B2B online marketplace where retailers can find and purchase unique products for their stores or shops. This case study aims to explain the process of creating a special mobile app for this online marketplace. It offers a beautiful and clear presentation of the entire UI/UX design process.

22. Music App - music for children

Music App shares the fancy UI and colors from a music app made for children. It is a good example that is sure to inspire you to create a distinctive children's app.

How do you create a UX case study?

If you are still not entirely sure how to go about creating a distinctive UX case study, here are a few simple steps to walk you through the entire process from start to finish:

Step  1.  Figure out your purpose

The final outcome will depend on what it is you are trying to achieve. So, before you start writing a UX design case, you should first figure out in detail what its purpose is. Ask yourself some basic questions:

• Is it for a job interview?
• Is it for improving your personal portfolio?
• Is it designed to show off your design talents on social media?
• Is it just created to practice your design skills?
• Is it made to share design experiences with other designers?

In short, figuring out your purpose and setting a goal can make the entire design process so much easier.

Step   2.   Plan or outline your case study

Whatever you want to do, it is always a good idea to start with a plan. When it comes to writing a UX case study, you should also outline your entire UX case study and decide on what sections you want to include.

For example, nowadays, a good UX design case study often covers:

• Overview : Start with a short paragraph that introduces your project.
• Challenges  and  goals : Explain the project background and point out the biggest challenges or problems you've encountered. Explain the goals you want to achieve and how you will overcome the challenges you have identified. 
• Roles  and  responsibilities : Tell readers what role you play in the project and the specific features of your role that will help create a better product.
• Design process : Introduce the entire design process in detail so that readers can see clearly what you have done to make life easier for users. Many employers check this part very carefully to see whether you have the basic skills and abilities they are looking for. So, never underestimate the importance of this section. 
• Solutions  and  outcomes : No matter what problems you have faced, the solutions and the final outcomes achieved are what really matters. So, always use this section to showcase your skills and achievements. 

You might also want to add further sections:

• User research :   Some full-stack designers also include this to give a more comprehensive view of their design skills.
• UI designs : Some experienced designers also display their relevant UIs, and UI flow, along with low- and high-fidelity prototypes to enrich the content.

Of course, if you are a newbie, and you still have questions, why not go online and search for UX case study templates that you can study and follow.

Step 3.  Explain the design process clearly

As we've explained above, the design process is always one of the most important parts of a good UX case study. You should always introduce clearly as many of the relevant parts of the process as possible. For example: show how you and your team communicate and collaborate effectively; demonstrate how you have developed ideas to address user problems; explain how you and your team have dealt with emergencies or mishaps.  

You can also introduce the UX design tools that you have chosen to simplify the entire design process. Mockplus, is an online product design platform, enabled us to adapt quickly and effectively to working from home during the recent Coronavirus lockdown. Prototyping our designs, sharing ideas, working together in an effective team, taking the process from design to handoff, it all works smoothly with this single tool.

Step  4. Improve readability and visual appeal

The content should be the main focus of your case study—but not the only focus. To make the case study as good as possible, you also need to think about its readability and visual appeal. Here are some suggestions to follow:

• Explain everything as clearly as possible.
• Add images, illustrations, charts, cards, icons, and other visuals.
• Create a clear storytelling structure or layout.
• Choose an immersive color scheme.
• Add eye-catching animations and interactions.
• Use vivid video, audio, and other multimedia resources.

The final visual effect can be make-or-break for whether your UX case study is going to stand out from the crowd. You should always take it seriously.

Step   5. Summarize

Every UX case study can be a good chance to practice and improve your design skills. So, in your conclusion, don’t forget to analyze the entire process and summarize the outcomes. Always take a minute to figure out what lessons you should take away from the process, what tips should be remembered, what should be improved, and—most important—what your next steps are going to be.

UX case studies are one of the most essential parts of a UX designer's portfolio. The ability to write a well-structured UX case study is also one of the basic skills that a competent UX professional should have. So, UX case studies play a very important role in UX designer's life.

We hope our picks of the best UX design case studies along with our step-by-step guide will help you create a stunning UX case study.

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15 excellent ux case studies every creative should read.

• By Sandra Boicheva
• October 21st, 2021

In a previous article, we talked about UX portfolios and how they carefully craft a story of how designers work. Interestingly enough, recruiters decide if a UX freelance designer or an agency is a good match within 5 minutes into the portfolio . In order to persuade these recruiters, the portfolio needs to present an appealing story that showcases the skill, the thought process, and the choices taken for key parts of the designs. With this in mind, today we’ll talk about UX case studies and give 15 excellent examples of case studies with compelling stories.

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. These case studies are often the selling point as recruiters look for freelancers and agencies who can communicate their ideas through design and explain themselves in a clear and appealing way. So how does this work?

Photography by Alvaro Reyes

Just like with every other story, UX case studies also start with an introduction, have a middle, and end with a conclusion .

• Introduction: This UX case study example starts with a design brief and presents the main challenges and requirements. In short, the UX designer presents the problem, their solution, and their role.
• Middle: The actual story of the case study example explains the design process and the techniques used. This usually starts with obstacles, design thinking, research, and unexpected challenges. All these elements lead to the best part of the story: the action part. It is where the story unveils the designer’s insights, ideas, choices, testing, and decisions.
• Conclusion: The final reveal shows the results and gives space for reflection where the designer explains what they’ve learned, and what they’ve achieved.

Now as we gave you the introduction, let’s get to the main storyline and enjoy 15 UX case studies that tell a compelling story.

1. Car Dealer Website for Mercedes-Benz Ukraine by Fulcrum

This case study is a pure pleasure to read. It’s well-structured, easy to read, and still features all the relevant information one needs to understand the project. As the previous client’s website was based on the official Mercedes Benz template, Fulcrum had to develop an appealing and functional website that would require less time to maintain, be more user-friendly, and increase user trust.

• Intro: Starts with a summary of the task.
• Problem: Lists the reasons why the website needs a redesign.
• Project Goals: Lists the 4 main goals with quick summaries.
• Project: Showcases different elements of the website with desktop and mobile comparison.
• Functionality: Explains how the website functionality helps clients to find, and order spare parts within minutes.
• Admin Panel: Lists how the new admin panel helps the client customize without external help.
• Elements: Grid, fonts, colors.
• Tech Stack: Shows the tools used for the backend, mobile, admin panel, and cloud.
• Client review: The case study ends with a 5-star review by the marketing director of Mercedes Benz Ukraine, Olga Belova.

This case study is an example of a detailed but easy to scan and read story from top to bottom, featuring all relevant information and ending on the highest note: the client’s review.

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2. Galaxy Z Flips 5G Website by DFY

This is a big project that covers every aspect of the website, including the UX strategy. The creative studio aimed to fully illustrate and demonstrate the significant upgrades over previous models and to enable two-way communication with the customers through an interactive experience.

• Intro: Summary of the project and roles.
• Interactive Experience: The main project goal.
• Demonstration: Explains the decision to feature 360-degree views and hands-on videos instead of technical terms.
• Screens: Includes high-quality screenshots of significant pages and features.
• Ecosystem: Highlight a page with easy navigation across different products as a marketing decision that makes cross-selling seamless.
• Essentials: Showcases a slider of all products with key features that provide ample information.
• Showroom: Interactive experience that helps the user “play around” with the product.
• Credits: As a conclusion, DFY features the stakeholders involved.

A strong presentation of a very ambitious project. It keeps the case study visual while still providing enough insight into the thought process and the most important decisions.

3. Jambb Social Platform by Finna Wang

Here we have a beautiful case study for a platform that aims to help creators grow their communities by recognizing and rewarding their base of supporters. It tackles a curious problem that 99% of fans who contribute in non-monetary ways don’t get the same content, access, and recognition they deserve. This means the creators need a way to identify their fans across all social platforms to grow their business and give recognition. To get a clear picture of what the design has to accomplish, Finna Wang conducted stakeholder interviews with the majority of the client’s team.

• Intro: Listing roles, dates, team, and used tools.
• Project Overview: The main concept and the reasons behind it.
• Exploration: What problem will the platform solve, preliminary research, and conclusions from the research.  The section includes the project scope and problem statement.
• Design Process: A thorough explanation of the discoveries and the exact steps.
• User Flows:  3 user flows based on common tasks that the target user/fan would do on the site.
• Design Studio: Visualization process with wireframes, sitemap, prototypes.
• Design Iterations: The designer highlights the iterations they were primary behind.
• Style Guide: Typography, colors, visual elements breakdown.
• Usability Testing: Beta site vs Figma prototype; usertesting.com, revised problem statement.
• Prototype: Features an accessible high fidelity prototype in Figma you can view.
• Takeaways: Conclusions.

An extremely detailed professionally made and well-structured UX case study. It goes a step further by listing specific conclusions from the conducted research and featuring an accessible Figma prototype.

4. Memento Media by Masha Keyhani

This case study is dedicated to a very interesting project for saving family stories. It aims to help users capture and record memories from their past. To do so, the design team performed user research and competitive analysis. The entire project took a 6-week sprint.

• Overview: Introducing the client and the purpose of the app.
• My Role: Explaining the roles of the designer and their team.
• Design Process: A brief introduction of the design process and the design toolkit
• Home: The purpose of the Homepage and the thought process behind it.
• Question Selection: The decision behind this screen.
• Recording Process: Building the recording feature and the decisions behind it.
• User research: a thorough guide with the main focuses, strategies, and competitor analysts, including interviews.
• Research Objectives: The designer gives the intent of their research, the demographics, synthesis, and usability testing insights.
• Propositions: Challenges and solutions
• User Flow: Altering the user flow based on testing and feedback.
• Wireframes: Sketches, Lo-Fi wireframing.
• Design System: Typography, colors, iconography, design elements.
• The Prototype: It shows a preview of the final screens.

This UX study case is very valuable for the insights it presents. The design features a detailed explanation of the thinking process, the research phase, analysts, and testing which could help other creatives take some good advice from it for their future research.

5. Perfect Recipes App by Tubik

Here we have a UX case study for designing a simple mobile app for cooking, recipes, and food shopping. It aims to step away from traditional recipe apps by creating something more universal for users who love cooking with extended functionality. The best idea behind it is finding recipes based on what supplies the user currently has at home.

• Intro: Introducing the concept and the team behind it.
•  Project: What they wanted to make and what features would make the app different than the competitors.
• UI design: The decisions behind the design.
• Personalization: Explaining how the app gives the user room for personalization and customizing the features according to their personal preferences.
• Recipe Cards and Engaging Photos: The decisions behind the visuals.
• Cook Now feature: Explaining the feature.
• Shopping List: Explaining the feature.
• Pantry feature:  The idea to sync up the app with AmazonGo services. This case study section features a video.
• Bottom Line: What the team learned.

This UX case study is a good example of how to present your concept if you have your own idea for an app. You could also check the interactive preview of the app here .

6. SAM App by Mike Wilson

The client is the Seattle Art Museum while the challenge is to provide engaging multimedia content for users as well as self-guided tours. Mile Wilson has to create an experience that will encourage repeat visits and increase events and exhibition attendance.

• Intro: Listing time for the project, team members, and roles.
• The Client: A brief introduction of Seattle Art Museum
• The Challenge: What the app needs to accomplish.
• Research and Planning: Explaining the process for gathering insights, distributing surveys, interviews, and identifying specific ways to streamline the museum experience.
• Sloane: Creating the primary persona. This includes age, bio, goals, skills, and frustrations.
• Designing the Solution: Here the case study features the results of their research, information architecture, user flows, early sketching, paper prototypes, and wireframes.
• Conclusion: Explaining the outcome, what the team would have done differently, what’s next, and the key takeaways.

What we can take as a valuable insight aside from the detailed research analysis, is the structure of the conclusion. Usually, most case studies give the outcome and preview screens. However, here we have a showcase of what the designer has learned from the project, what they would do differently, and how they can improve from the experience.

7. Elmenus Case Study

This is a case study by UX designers Marwa Kamaleldin, Mario Maged, Nehal Nehad, and Abanoub Yacoub for redesigning a platform with over 6K restaurants. It aims to help users on the territory of Egypt to find delivery and dine-out restaurants.

• Overview: What is the platform, why the platform is getting redesigned, what is the target audience. This section also includes the 6 steps of the team’s design process.
• User Journey Map: A scheme of user scenarios and expectations with all phases and actions.
• Heuristic Evaluation: Principles, issues, recommendations, and severity of the issues of the old design.
• First Usability Testing: Goals, audience, and tasks with new user scenarios and actions based on the heuristic evaluation. It features a smaller section that lists the most severe issues from usability for the old design.
• Business Strategy: A comprehensive scheme that links problems, objectives, customer segment, measurements of success, and KPIs.
• Solutions: Ideas to solve all 4 issues.
• Wireframes: 4 directions of wireframes.
• Styleguide: Colors, fonts, typeface, components, iconography, spacing method.
• Design: Screens of the different screens and interactions.
• Second Usability Testing: Updated personas, scenarios, and goals. The section also features before-and-after screenshots.
• Outcome: Did the team solve the problem or not.

A highly visual and perfectly structured plan and process for redesigning a website. The case study shows how the team discovers the issues with the old design and what decisions they made to fix these issues.

8. LinkedIn Recruiter Tool by Evelynma

A fresh weekend project exploring the recruiting space of LinkedIn to find a way to help make it easier for recruiters to connect with ideal candidates.

• Background Info: What made the designer do the project.
• Problem and Solution: A good analysis of the problem followed by the designer’s solution.
• Process: This section includes an analysis of interviewing 7 passive candidates, 1 active candidate, 3 recruiters, and 1 hiring manager. The designer also includes their journey map of the recruiting experience, a sketch of creating personas, and the final 3 personas.
• Storyboard and User Flow Diagrams: The winning scenario for Laura’s persona and user flow diagram.
• Sketches and Paper Prototypes: Sticky notes for paper prototypes for the mobile experience.
• Visual Design: Web and mobile final design following the original LinkedIn pattern.
• Outcome: Explaining the opportunity.

This is an excellent UX case study when it comes to personal UX design projects. creating a solution to a client’s problem aside, personal project concepts is definitely something future recruiters would love to see as it showcases the creativity of the designers even further.

9. Turbofan Engine Diagnostics by Havana Nguyen

The UX designer and their team had to redesign some legacy diagnostics software to modernize the software, facilitate data transfers from new hardware, and improve usability. They built the desktop and mobile app for iOS and Android.

• Problem: The case study explain the main problem and what the team had to do to solve it.
• My Role: As a lead UX designer on a complicated 18-month project, Havana Nguyen had a lot of work to do, summarized in a list of 5 main tasks.
• Unique Challenges: This section includes 4 main challenges that made the project so complex. ( Btw, there’s a photo of sketched wireframes literally written on the wall.)
• My Process: The section includes a description of the UX design process highlighted into 5 comprehensive points.
• Final Thoughts: What the designer has learned for 18 months.

The most impressive thing about this case study is that it manages to summarize and explain well an extremely complex project. There are no prototypes and app screens since it’s an exclusive app for the clients to use.

10. Databox by FireArt

A very interesting project for Firearts’s team to solve the real AL & ML challenges across a variety of different industries. The Databox project is about building scalable data pipeline infrastructure & deploy machine learning and artificial intelligence models.

• Overview: The introduction of the case study narrows down the project goal, the great challenge ahead, and the solution.
• How We Start: The necessary phases of the design process to get an understanding of a product.
• User Flow: The entire scheme from the entry point through a set of steps towards the final action of the product.
• Wireframes: A small selection of wireframe previews after testing different scenarios.
• Styleguide: Typography, colors, components.
• Visual Design: Screenshots in light and dark mode.

A short visual case study that summarizes the huge amount of work into a few sections.

11. Travel and Training by Nikitin Team

Here’s another short and sweet case study for an app with a complete and up-to-date directory of fitness organizations in detailed maps of world cities.

• Overview: Explaining the project.
• Map Screen : Outlining the search feature by categories.
• Profiles: Profile customization section.
• Fitness Clubs: Explaining the feature.
• Icons: A preview of the icons for the app.
• App in Action: A video of the user experience.

This case study has fewer sections, however, it’s very easy to read and comprehend.

12. Carna by Ozmo

Ozmo provides a highly visual case study for a mobile application and passing various complexities of courses. The main goal for the UX designer is to develop a design and recognizable visual corporate identity with elaborate illustrations.

• Intro: A visual project preview with a brief description of the goal and role.
• Identity: Colors, fonts, and logo.
• Wireframes: The thinking process.
• Interactions: Showcase of the main interactions with animated visuals.
• Conclusion: Preview of the final screens.

The case study is short and highly visual, easy to scan and comprehend. Even without enough insight and text copy, we can clearly understand the thought process behind and what the designer was working to accomplish.

13. An Approach to Digitization in Education by Moritz Oesterlau

This case study is for an online platform for challenge-based learning. The designer’s role was to create an entire product design from research to conception, visualization, and testing. It’s a very in-depth UX case study extremely valuable for creatives in terms of how to structure the works in their portfolio.

• Intro: Introducing the client, project time, sector, and the designer’s role.
• Competitive Analysis: the case study starts off with the process of creating competitive profiles. It explains the opportunities and challenges of e-learning that were taken into consideration.
• Interviews and Surveys: Listing the goals of these surveys as well as the valuable insights they found.
• Building Empathy: The process and defining the three target profiles and how will the project cater to their needs. This section includes a PDF of the user personas.
• Structure of the Course Curriculum: Again with the attached PDF files, you can see the schemes of the task model and customer experience map.
• Information Architecture: The defined and evaluated sitemap for TINIA
• Wireframing, Prototyping, and Usability Testing :  An exploration of the work process with paper and clickable prototypes.
• Visual Design: Styleguide preview and detailed PDF.
• A/B and Click Tests: Reviewing the usability assumptions.
• Conclusion: A detailed reflection about the importance of the project, what the designer learned, and what the outcome was.

This is a very important case study and there’s a lot to take from it. First, the project was too ambitious and the goal was too big and vague. Although the result is rather an approximation and, above all, at the conceptual level requires further work, the case study is incredibly insightful, informative, and insightful.

14. In-class Review Game by Elizabeth Lin

This project was never realized but the case study remains and it’s worth checking out. Elizabeth Lin takes on how to create an engaging in-class review game with a lot of research, brainstorming, and a well-structured detailed process.

• Intro: What makes the project special.
• Research: Explaining how they approached the research and what they’ve learned.
• Brainstorming: the process and narrowing all How Might We questions to one final question: How might we create an engaging in-class math review game.
• Game Loop and Storyboarding: Sketch of the core game loop and the general flow of the game.
• Prototyping: Outlining basic game mechanics and rounds in detail.
• Future Explorations: The case study goes further with explorations showing how the product could look if we expanded upon the idea even further.
• What Happened?:  The outcome of the project.

This case study tells the story of the project in detail and expands on it with great ideas for future development.

15. Virtual Makeup Studio by Zara Dei

And for our last example, this is a case study that tells the story of an app-free shippable makeover experience integrated with the Covergirl website. The team has to find a way to improve conversion by supporting customers in their purchase decisions as well as to increase basket size by encouraging them to buy complementary products.

• Intro: Introducing the project and the main challenges.
• Discovery and Research: Using existing product information on the website to improve the experience.
• Onboarding and Perceived Performance: Avoiding compatibility issues and the barrier of a user having to download an app. The section explains the ideas for features that will keep users engaged, such as a camera with face scan animation.
• Fallback Experience and Error States: Providing clear error messaging along with troubleshooting instructions.
• Interactions: explaining the main interactions and the decisions behind them.
• Shared Design Language: Explaining the decision to provide links on each product page so users could be directed to their preferred retailer to place their order. Including recommended products to provide users with alternatives.
• Outcome and Learning: The good ending.
• Project Information: Listing all stakeholders, the UX designer’s role in a bullet list, and design tools.

In Conclusion

These were the 15 UX case studies we wanted to share with you as they all tell their story differently. If we can take something valuable about what are the best practices for making an outstanding case study, it will be something like this.

Just like with literature, storytelling isn’t a blueprint: you can write short stories, long in-depth analyses, or create a visual novel to show your story rather than tell. The detailed in-depth UX case studies with lots of insights aren’t superior to the shorter visual ones or vice versa. What’s important is for a case study to give a comprehensive view of the process, challenges, decisions, and design thinking behind the completed project .

In conclusion, a UX case study should always include a summary; the challenges; the personas; roles and responsibilities; the process; as well as the outcomes, and lessons learned.

Video Recap

Take a look at the special video we’ve made to visualize and discuss the most interesting and creative ideas implemented in the case studies.

In the meantime, why not browse through some more related insights on web development and web design?

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How to Craft an Outstanding Case Study for Your UX Portfolio

Writing case studies for your UX portfolio can feel opaque and overwhelming. There are so many examples out there, and often the ones that make the rounds are the stunning portfolios of top visual designers. It can be inspiring to see the most beautiful work, but don’t let that distract you from the straightforward format of a good UX case study. 

At the core, a UX case study relies on excellent storytelling with a clear, understandable structure . This article breaks down the anatomy of a UX case study to help you tell a simple and effective story that shows off your skills. We’ll start with some general guidelines and structure, then break it down one piece at a time:

UX portfolio overview

What is a ux case study, general guidelines, how to structure a case study, how to fill in the details, defining the problem, understanding your users, early or alternate ideation, final design solution, next steps and learnings.

• Final thoughts

1. Before we get started

Before we dive into all the art and science of the case study, here’s a quick refresher on what a job-winning UX portfolio looks like. In this video, pro designer Dee analyses various design portfolios to pick out what works—and what doesn’t:

Simply put, a case study is the story of a design project you’ve worked on. 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.

A case study is typically written like a highly visual article, with text walking readers through a curated set of images. Curated is an important word here, because it should be short and sweet. It’s a chance to share what you want potential employers to know about your work on this project.

With that in mind, case studies are really a UX designer’s secret weapon in two ways. First, they get you in the door by showing more about your work than a resume and a top UX cover letter ever could. Another benefit is that they’re really handy in job interviews. If someone asks about a past project, you can walk them through the case study you’ve already created (this is sometimes a requirement anyway).

I mentioned that UX case studies are about storytelling. I’d actually say they’re about stories-telling, since they need to tell two intertwined stories .

The first is the story of your project. This answers questions like what problem you solved, who your users were, what solutions you explored, and what impact they had.

The second story is about you as a designer and your process. This is more about which methods you chose to use and why, how you worked within constraints, and how you worked as a member of a team (or without one).

So what are the steps for an effective case study? Well, like most things in design (and life), it depends. Every case study will be different, depending on what stories you’re telling. The six-part outline below, though, should guide you through an effective format for any UX project story. Here’s the outline (we’ll dive into each component in just a minute):

• Defining the Problem
• Understanding your Users
• Final solution

It’s worth it to add a few general notes before we dive into each of the list items above. For each section, include 1-2 short paragraphs and an image of a deliverable that visually tells the story your paragraphs explain. A reader should be able to either just read or just look at the images and roughly get what this moment in the story is communicating.

When choosing images to include, focus on quality over quantity.  Choose your best deliverables for each stage and briefly relate them back to the larger narrative. It can be tempting to overload the page with everything you created along the way, but these extra details should stay in your back pocket for interviews.

Lastly, make sure your case study is scannable . In the best of circumstances, people don’t read word for word on the web. Make sure your text is reasonably concise, use headers and strong visual hierarchy, and use bullet points and lists when possible. If you need a refresher on how to achieve this, check out our guide to the principles of visual hierarchy .

Ok, let’s take a look at each step in a bit more detail.

2. Anatomy of a UX case study

Like any story, the introduction sets the stage and gives much of the necessary context readers will need to understand your project. This is one section where people actually might take some extra time to read carefully as they try to discern what this case study is about. Make sure they have all the details they need.

Some key questions to answer are:

• What is your company and/or product?
• What user problem did you try to solve?
• What was your role?
• What tools and methods did you use?
• What are the major insights, impacts, or metrics related to the project

After introducing the project, dive more deeply into the problem you tackled. You touched upon this in the introduction, but this section is an opportunity to make a strong case for why this project exists. Did a competitor analysis or market research demand a new product? Was there past user research in your company that suggests a needed redesign of the product?

Remember that you’ll want to create a through line in the narrative, so try to lay out the problem in a way that frames your design work as a solution.

Deliverables that work really well for this section would be:

• Analytics or usage data
• Market research of internal business metrics
• Survey results or interview highlights

After explaining the problem, show how it impacts your users and their interaction with your product. If you did original user research or you’re seeking user research-oriented jobs, sharing interview scripts, affinity maps , and spreadsheets can be useful in showing your process.

However, this section shouldn’t be only about your process. A key goal of this section is articulating who your users are and what their needs are. These findings should set up your design work that follows, so try to set up that connection.

A few types of the deliverables you might share here are:

• User personas
• Mental models
• Journey maps or customer experience maps

Keep in mind you want to communicate users’ key motivations and challenges, as well as any more specific user groups you identified.

This section can really scale up or down depending on what you have to show. Research shows that hiring managers  don’t just want the final product , so it’s clear that showing some of your process is helpful. Especially for students or designers without a fully built product to show, this can be a moment for you to shine.

Don’t worry about the low fidelity of these documents, but the rougher they are, the more you’ll need to guide readers through them. Everything you show here should teach the reader something new about your process and/or your users.

Artifacts you might include are:

• Pen and paper or low fidelity digital wireframes

If you did early testing or faced constraints that determined your future design work, be sure to include them here, too.

This section should include the most final work you did on the project (e.g. wireframe flows or color mockups) and any final product it led to (if you have it). Be clear, though, about which work is yours and which isn’t.

Explain any key decisions or constraints that changed the design from the earlier stages. If you incorporated findings from usability testing, that’s great. If not, try to call out some best practices to help you explain your decisions. Referring to Material Design, WCAG, or Human Interface Guidelines can show the why behind your design.

If you’re able to show the impact of your work, this can take a good case study and make it outstanding. If your project has already been built and made available to users, have a look at any analytics, satisfaction data, or other metrics. See what you could highlight  in your case study to show how your design improved the user experience or achieved business goals. Ideally, you can refer back to your original problem statement and business goals from the introduction.

If you don’t have any way of showing the impact of your project, lay out how you would measure the impact. Showing you know how to measure success demonstrates you could do this on future projects.

Lastly, conclude your case study by sharing either your next design steps and/or some key insights you learned from the project. This isn’t just fluff! No project is perfect or final. Showing next steps is a great way to demonstrate your thinking iterative approach (without having to do the work!).

Also, many companies do (or should do) retrospectives after each project to identify challenges and improve future processes. Use this process and the insights you gain from it to inform your case study. Letting employers know you’re capable of reflection shows humility, self-awareness, and the value you can bring to a team.

3. Final thoughts

Since each case study is a unique story you’re telling about your project, it’s a little art and a little science. But starting with the structure laid out in this article will show who you are as a designer and how you solved a problem. And those are two stories companies want to hear!

If you’d like to learn more about how to craft a great UX portfolio, check out these articles:

• 5 Golden rules to build a job-winning UX portfolio
• The best UX design portfolio examples from around the web
• The best free UX/UI portfolio websites to use
• Salary negotiation for UX designers

The Complete Guide to UX Case Studies

Updated: October 23, 2023

Published: August 21, 2023

Writing a UX case study can be overwhelming with the proper guidance. Designing for the user experience and writing about it in a case study is much more than writing content for a webpage. You may ask, “If my design speaks for itself, should I include a UX case study in my portfolio?”

Yes, you should include UX case studies in your portfolio. And here’s why.

You need to make your portfolio stand out among the crowd. A UX case study is a great way to do that. Let’s take a minute to define what a UX case study is and look at some examples.

Table of Contents

What is a UX case study?

The benefits of ux case studies, examples of ux case studies, tips for creating a ux case study.

UX portfolios are essential to showcasing UX designer skills and abilities. Every UX designer knows better designs bring better results. Sometimes, it’s easy to let the design speak for itself — after all, it is meant to engage the audience.

But, in doing that, you, as the designer, leave many things unsaid. For example, the initial problem, the need for the design in the first place, and your process for arriving at the design you created.

This is why you need to include UX case studies in your portfolio.

UX case studies tell a curated story or journey of your design. It explains the “who, what, when, where, and how” of your design. The text should be short and sweet but also walk the reader through the thinking behind the design and the outcome of it.

[Video: Creating a UX Case Study: Right and Wrong Way to Approach It]

There are many benefits to including UX case studies in your portfolio. Think of your UX portfolio as a well-decorated cake. The designs are the cake, and UX case studies are the icing on the cake— they will catch your audience's eye and seal the deal.

Take a look at the benefits of adding UX case studies to your portfolio.

3. Highlight (solved) user issues.

A UX case study is the story of a design solution. Like any good story, you must define the characters and their problems. You should talk about the user persona and the problems they experienced before implementing the new design. This will help the reader understand user pain points and benefits.

Your UX case studies highlight the “why” of your designs and “who” benefits from the improvement. Not only that, but you will effectively demonstrate to potential clients that you understand their audience and how to solve their user experience issues.

4. Define your personality.

Whether you are an individual creating your own UX case study or a designer with a company working on compiling a portfolio, UX case studies help show off personality.

UX case studies are not just stories of your designs. Instead, they highlight your voice, tone, and brand. As a result, future clients and employers will get a feel of you, your company, and your company culture. This should help convince prospective clients that you are a good match for them and can solve all their UX design woes.

Now, let’s take a look at real-world case studies.

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UX Case Studies

What are ux case studies.

UX case studies are examples of design work which designers include in their portfolio. To give recruiters vital insights, designers tell compelling stories in text and images to show how they handled problems. Such narratives showcase designers’ skills and ways of thinking and maximize their appeal as potential hires.

“ Every great design begins with an even better story.” — Lorinda Mamo, Designer and creative director

• Transcript loading…

Discover why it’s important to tell a story in your case studies.

How to Approach UX Case Studies

Recruiters want candidates who can communicate through designs and explain themselves clearly and appealingly. While skimming UX portfolios , they’ll typically decide within 5 minutes if you’re a fit. So, you should boost your portfolio with 2–3 case studies of your work process containing your best copywriting and captivating visual aids. You persuade recruiters by showing your skillset, thought processes, choices and actions in context through engaging, image-supported stories .

Before selecting a project for a case study, you should get your employer’s/client’s permission – whether you’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or not.

Then, consider Greek philosopher Aristotle’s storytelling elements and work with these in mind when you start building your case studies:

Plot – The career-related aspect of yourself you want to highlight. This should be consistent across your case studies for the exact role. So, if you want to land a job as a UX researcher, focus on the skills relevant to that in your case studies.

Character – Your expertise in applying industry standards and working in teams.

Theme – Goals, motivations and obstacles in your project.

Diction – A friendly, professional tone in jargon-free plain English.

Melody – Your passion—for instance, as a designer, where you prove it’s a life interest as opposed to something you just clock on and off at for a job.

Décor – A balance of engaging text and images.

Spectacle – The plot twist/wow factor—e.g., a surprise discovery. Obviously, you can only include this if you had a surprise discovery in your case study.

All good stories have a beginning, a middle and an end.

© Interaction Design Foundation. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

How to Build UX Case Studies

You want an active story with a beginning, middle and end – never a flat report . So, you’d write, e.g., “We found…”, not “It was found…”. You should anonymize information to protect your employer’s/client’s confidential data (by changing figures to percentages, removing unnecessary details, etc.).

You can use German novelist-playwright Gustav Freytag’s 5-part pyramid :

Exposition – the introduction (4–5 sentences) . Describe your:

Problem statement – Include your motivations and thoughts/feelings about the problem.

Your solution – Outline your approach. Hint at the outcome by describing your deliverables/final output.

Your role – Explain how your professional identity matched the project.

Stages 2–4 form the middle (more than 5 sentences) . Summarize the process and highlight your decisions:

Rising action – Outline some obstacles/constraints (e.g., budget) to build conflict and explain your design process (e.g., design thinking ). Describe how you used, e.g., qualitative research to progress to 1 or 2 key moments of climax.

Climax – Highlight this, your story’s apex, with an intriguing factor (e.g., unexpected challenges). Choose only the most important bits to tighten narrative and build intrigue.

Falling action – Show how you combined your user insights, ideas and decisions to guide your project’s final iterations. Explain how, e.g., usability testing helped you/your team shape the final product.

Stage 5 is the conclusion:

Resolution – (4–5 sentences) . Showcase your end results as how your work achieved its business-oriented goal and what you learned. Refer to the motivations and problems you described earlier to bring your story to an impressive close.

Overall, you should:

Tell a design story that progresses meaningfully and smoothly .

Tighten/rearrange your account into a linear, straightforward narrative .

Reinforce each “what” you introduce with a “how” and “why” .

Support text with the most appropriate visuals (e.g., screenshots of the final product, wireframing , user personas , flowcharts , customer journey maps , Post-it notes from brainstorming ). Use software (e.g., Canva, Illustrator) to customize good-looking visuals that help tell your story .

Balance “I” with “we” to acknowledge team-members’ contributions and shared victories/setbacks.

Make your case study scannable – E.g., Use headings as signposts.

Remove anything that doesn’t help explain your thought process or advance the story .

In the video, Michal Malewicz, Creative Director and CEO of Hype4, has some tips for writing great case studies.

Typical dramatic structure consists of an exposition and resolution with rising action, climax and falling action in between.

Remember, hirers want to quickly spot the value of what you did— e.g., research findings—and feel engaged every step of the way . They’ll evaluate how you might fit their culture. Use the right tone to balance your passion and logic in portraying yourself as a trustworthy team player. Sometimes, you may have to explain why your project didn’t work out ideally. The interaction design process is iterative, so include any follow-up actions you took/would take. Your UX case studies should project the thoughts, feelings and actions that define how you can shape future designs and create value for business.

Learn More about UX Case Studies

Take our UX Portfolio course to see how to craft powerful UX case studies.

UX designer and entrepreneur Sarah Doody offers eye-opening advice about UX case studies .

Learn what can go wrong in UX case studies .

See fine examples of UX case studies .

Questions related to UX Case Studies

A UX case study showcases a designer's process in solving a specific design problem. It includes a problem statement, the designer's role, and the solution approach. The case study details the challenges and methods used to overcome them. It highlights critical decisions and their impact on the project.

The narrative often contains visuals like wireframes or user flowcharts. These elements demonstrate the designer's skills and thought process. The goal is to show potential employers or clients the value the designer can bring to a team or project. This storytelling approach helps the designer stand out in the industry.

To further illustrate this, consider watching this insightful video on the role of UX design in AI projects. It emphasizes the importance of credibility and user trust in technology. 

Consider these three detailed UX/UI case studies:

Travel UX & UI Case Study : This case study examines a travel-related project. It emphasizes user experience and interface design. It also provides insights into the practical application of UX/UI design in the travel industry.

HAVEN — UX/UI Case Study : This explores the design of a fictional safety and emergency assistance app, HAVEN. The study highlights user empowerment, interaction, and interface design. It also talks about the importance of accessibility and inclusivity. 

UX Case Study — Whiskers : This case study discusses a fictional pet care mobile app, Whiskers. It focuses on the unique needs of pet care users. It shows the user journey, visual design, and integration of community and social features.

Writing a UX case study involves several key steps:

Identify a project you have worked on. Describe the problem you addressed.

Detail your role in the project and the specific actions you took.

Explain your design process, including research , ideation , and user testing.

Highlight key challenges and how you overcame them.

Showcase the final design through visuals like screenshots or prototypes . This video discusses why you should include visuals in your UX case study/portfolio.

Reflect on the project's impact and any lessons learned.

Conclude with the outcomes. Showcase the value you provided.

A well-written case study tells a compelling story of your design journey. It shows your skills and thought process.

A case study in UI/UX is a detailed account of a design project. It describes a designer's process to solve a user interface or user experience problem. The case study includes

The project's background and the problem it addresses.

The designer's role and the steps they took.

Methods used for research and testing.

Challenges faced and how the designer overcame them.

The final design solutions with visual examples.

Results and impact of the design on users or the business.

This case study showcases a designer’s skills, decision-making process, and ability to solve real-world problems.

A UX writing case study focuses on the role of language in user experience design. It includes:

The project's background and the specific language-related challenges.

The UX writer's role and the strategies they employed.

How did they create the text for interfaces, like buttons or error messages?

Research and testing methods used to refine the language.

Challenges encountered and solutions developed.

The final text and its impact on user experience and engagement.

Outcomes that show how the right words improved the product's usability.

You can find professionals with diverse backgrounds in this field and their unique approaches to UX writing. Torrey Podmakersky discusses varied paths into UX writing careers through his video. 

Planning a case study for UX involves several steps: 

First, select a meaningful project that showcases your skills and problem-solving abilities. Gather all relevant information, including project goals, user research data, and design processes used. 

Next, outline the structure of your case study. This should include the problem you addressed, your role, the design process, and the outcomes. 

Ensure to detail the challenges faced and how you overcame them. 

To strengthen your narrative, incorporate visuals like wireframes, prototypes, and user feedback . 

Finally, reflect on the project's impact and what you learned. 

This careful planning helps you create a comprehensive and engaging case study.

Presenting a UX research case study involves clear organization and storytelling. 

Here are eight guidelines:

Introduction: Start with a brief overview of the project, including its objectives and the key research question.

Background: Provide context about the company, product, or service. Explain why you did the research. 

Methodology: Detail the research methods, like surveys, interviews, or usability testing. 

Findings: Present the key findings from your research. Use visuals like charts or user quotes to better present the data. 

Challenges and Solutions: Discuss any obstacles encountered during the research and how you addressed them.

Implications: Explain how your findings impacted the design or product strategy.

Conclusion: Summarize the main points and reflect on what you learned from the project.

Appendix (if necessary): Include any additional data or materials that support your case study.

UX case studies for beginners demonstrate the fundamentals of user experience design. They include:

A defined problem statement to clarify the user experience issue.

Descriptions of research methods used for understanding user needs and behaviors.

Steps of the design process, showing solution development. The 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process illustrate these steps in detail. 

Visual elements, such as sketches, wireframes, or prototypes, illustrate the design stages.

The final design solution emphasizes its impact on user experience.

Reflections on the project's outcomes and lessons learned.

These case studies guide beginners through the essential steps and considerations in UX design projects. Consider watching this video on How to Write Great Case Studies for Your UX Design Portfolio to improve your case studies.

To learn more about UX case studies, two excellent resources are available:

Article on Structuring a UX Case Study : This insightful article explains how to craft a compelling case study. It emphasizes storytelling and the strategic thinking behind UX design, guided by expert opinions and industry insights.

User Experience: The Beginner's Guide Course by the Interaction Design Foundation: This comprehensive course offers a broad introduction to UX design. It covers UX principles, tools, and methods. The course provides practical exercises and industry-recognized certification. This course is valuable for aspiring designers and professionals transitioning to UX.

These resources provide both theoretical knowledge and practical application in UX design.

Literature on UX Case Studies

Here’s the entire UX literature on UX Case Studies by the Interaction Design Foundation, collated in one place:

Learn more about UX Case Studies

Take a deep dive into UX Case Studies with our course How to Create a UX Portfolio .

Did you know the average UX recruiter spends less than 5 minutes skimming through your UX portfolio? If you want to join the growing and well-paid field of UX design, not only do you need a UX portfolio— you’ll need a great UX portfolio that showcases relevant skills and knowledge . Your UX portfolio will help you get your first job interviews and freelance clients, and it will also force you to stay relevant in your UX career. In other words, no matter what point you’re at in your UX career, you’re going to need a UX portfolio that’s in tip-top condition.

So, how do you build an enticing UX portfolio, especially if you’ve got no prior experience in UX design? Well, that’s exactly what you’ll learn in this course! You’ll cover everything so you can start from zero and end up with an incredible UX portfolio . For example, you’ll walk through the various UX job roles, since you can’t begin to create your portfolio without first understanding which job role you want to apply for! You’ll also learn how to create your first case studies for your portfolio even if you have no prior UX design work experience. You’ll even learn how to navigate non-disclosure agreements and create visuals for your UX case studies.

By the end of this practical, how to oriented course, you’ll have the skills needed to create your personal online UX portfolio site and PDF UX portfolio. You’ll receive tips and insights from recruiters and global UX design leads from SAP, Oracle and Google to give you an edge over your fellow candidates. You’ll learn how to craft your UX case studies so they’re compelling and relevant, and you’ll also learn how to engage recruiters through the use of Freytag’s dramatic structure and 8 killer tips to write effectively. What’s more, you’ll get to download and keep more than 10 useful templates and samples that will guide you closely as you craft your UX portfolio. To sum it up, if you want to create a UX portfolio and land your first job in the industry, this is the course for you!

All open-source articles on UX Case Studies

How to write the conclusion of your case study.

• 5 years ago

How to create the perfect structure for a UX case study

What Should a UX Design Portfolio Contain?

How to write the beginning of your UX case study

What is a UX Portfolio?

How to write the middle or “process” part of your case study

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Home - UX Portfolio - How to write a UX case study

How to write a UX case study

Case studies are an essential part of any UX designer’s portfolio. They fill up the main part of your portfolio and are a must-have when you want to get hired in UX. But how to write a UX case study? That’s what you’ll learn in this article.

• Updated on December 3, 2022

When you’re looking for  UX design jobs , it is very important to have a  UX portfolio  that is on point. Case studies show your next client or employer how you go about your UX work.

Here’s everything you need to know about UX case studies. We’ll discuss everything from structure to content and the number of case studies you need in your portfolio. I’ll also share my  UX case study template  below.

Table of Contents

What is a ux case study.

Let’s start at the beginning. What is a UX case study exactly? If you bring it down to the core, a case study examines your design process around a particular project or job.

In the case of a UX designer ,  this will most likely be a project you’ve completed previously at a company or client.

Your case study can be an individual document or be part of a more extensive document like a pitch, proposal, or UX portfolio. The goal of a case study is always to show your process, skill, and, most importantly, your impact as a designer.

We’ve created a video on The Designer’s Toolbox YouTube channel that can help you write better UX case studies. It compares the case studies you’re taught at a UX bootcamp with actual real-world case studies and teaches you how to get started. Take a look here.

How to structure a UX case study

A good UX case study showing your skills, process, and impact as a UX designer requires a clear structure.

Did you know recruiters and hiring managers only take a very short time to look at your work? Yet another reason why a solid UX case study structure is essential.

It gives your readers something to hold on to. Good case studies make your work scannable and easy to digest.

If you look at it like that, creating a thorough case study that is easy to read is the perfect job for any UX designer. I mean, isn’t that what we do?

Structure your case study using the ‘STAR’ method. STAR stands for situation, tasks, activities, and results.

If you follow this method, your case studies will be a breeze to go through. Let’s take a closer look at this case study structure.

First up is the situation. This part of your case study is also known as your project’s challenge or problem statement.

In this part of the UX case study, you mention the business goal your client wants to achieve or a problem your users keep running into.

You’re hired or assigned to work on that business goal or problem. State your role and responsibilities in this part of the case study.

Second, we have your tasks.   What tasks did you do to address the challenges mentioned in the first section of the UX case study? This is the place to name them.

As a UX designer, these could be anything from conducting user research to delivering a state-of-the-art visual design concept. Make sure you mention skills and tools relevant to your role and the role you’re looking for. 

Activities   show what you have done to complete the tasks mentioned above. Tasks are abstract. Activities are detailed and together make up a bigger task.

If we stick to the user research example, activities might include recruiting participants, conducting user interviews, and presenting your findings to stakeholders.

Again, mention relevant activities here by connecting this and the previous section together.

In this final section of your UX case study, you link your results to the challenges mentioned at the beginning of your case study.

What was the original problem or goal, and what was the result of your work? Make this as specific as possible. Then, focus on the impact you have made as a UX designer.

If the challenge was to increase a low conversion rate, mention the new and improved rate that was only possible by your work. It is okay to exaggerate a bit here, as long as you don’t lie.

Best practices

If you put this all together, you will get a nice case study of about five to eight paragraphs. That’s one or two paragraphs for each of the sections mentioned above.

Once this is all in place, it is time to look at best practices to enhance your UX case studies. Here’s a list.

Headers for your case study

You do not have to name the title of every paragraph after the ‘STAR’ method.

Instead, you can use headers that fit your personal style or branding. Or even better, do not name your paragraphs at all. Go for a fluent story. That is better and more fun to read.

I recommend adding relevant pictures to specific paragraphs to make an even stronger UX case study. These could be images of your progress, photos of workshops, or pixel-perfect visual design mockups.

There’s no good or bad in this case as long as the pictures are relevant to your case study.

Highlighting your UX skills

You can add extra paragraphs to zoom in on a particular skill you want to highlight.

Let’s say you mention design thinking as a task you worked on for a particular case study. You’re super proud of the workshops you’ve facilitated and are eager to do more workshops in the future.

This is an excellent example of a skill to which you can dedicate a paragraph or two. You can also add images here, as I mentioned before.

UX case study resources

Let’s be honest for a moment. Even when using all the information above, creating a UX case study is much work.

This gets even worse when you want to make multiple case studies showcasing projects you completed a while ago.

Here’s a list of recommended resources to help you write better UX case studies.

UX case study template

Learn how to create a UX case study within 24 hours.  

• How to make your case study stand out.
• Step-by-step guide to write your case study.
• Includes examples.

That’s the theory behind case studies in the field of UX. If you follow the structure and best practices outlined in this article, you will get a UX case study example that looks like this.

A UX case study example

The UX Bank has a mortgage calculation tool that does not reach the targets set by the bank. Furthermore, there are delays in customer service due to the increase in demand.

As an entry-level designer, I have designed a new version of the mortgage tool. In addition, I completed a design thinking project with the calculation tool at its center to determine why the bank didn’t meet the set targets.

After completing my user interviews, I discovered that users didn’t like the level of detail found on the results page of the tool. They found the results to be unclear. Users flooded customer service with questions about the unclear results.

Finally, I’ve designed a high-fidelity prototype to validate a new version of the mortgage calculation tool. After testing and refining the prototype, I did a handoff for development.

Since the release of the new calculation tool, users have been much happier with the test.

As a result, the UX Bank has seen an increase in mortgage requests of 8%. The customer service delays are decreasing as well.

This is an excellent example of a UX case study. It is short, to the point, and focuses on the impact you made as a designer.

All you have to do from here is add your visuals, like the featured image and a stunning mockup.

Once that’s done, it is time to add your case study to your portfolio. I recommend hosting it on your website, but  Dribbble or Behance  is also fine.

And finally, some frequently asked questions on the topic of UX case studies. I will answer as much as possible based on my UX design experience.

How many case studies should I put in my UX portfolio?

Add at least one excellent case study to your UX portfolio that showcases a relevant project.

I’m not going to mention a specific number. Many other UX designers will say you need three or five case studies, for example. However, it’ll hurt the quality of your work when you force yourself to hit that number.

Instead, show what you want to do more of. Do you want to create stunning UI design mockups? Pick a case study that shows just that!

Is it okay to only have student case studies in my portfolio?

Yes, it is perfectly fine to have case studies you made in school or during a bootcamp in your portfolio.

Your portfolio would be stronger if you had some real-life case studies as well, but we all have to start somewhere.

To make that happen, you need to work to get some work experience. Luckily, there are many ways to get hired in UX without experience .

How do I present my UX case study?

For most companies, you have to present your case studies during the second interview. That’s scary! Make sure you have the basics right. In doing so, you will most likely beat a few of your competitors already.

The biggest tip I can give you is to keep it short first. That way, you can focus more on questions and having a good discussion.

Where can I share my case study?

You can share case studies on platforms like  Dribbble  and  Behance  or your website. Be visible! It’ll help you reach a larger audience full of recruiters and potential clients.

You can also share your case study on Medium and LinkedIn. Both are excellent platforms to share your work and build a professional network.

Further reading

I can’t stress enough how critical case studies are for a UX designer. You write your case studies by sharing the business challenge, what you did to tackle that challenge, and how your work has impacted your client.

Case studies are the foundation of your  UX portfolio . You need that portfolio to get a job in UX. You can read about your portfolio next.

Do you have feedback on this article? Missing something? Or just a question? Reach out to me and I’ll get back to you!

About the author

Hi! I'm Nick Groeneveld , a senior designer from the Netherlands with experience in UX, visual design, and research. I'm a UX coach that supports other designers and have completed design projects in finance, tech, and the public sector.

Through The Designer's Toolbox, I'm an Educational Partner for Interaction Design Foundation.

☎️ Book a 1:1 mentor meeting with me or let's connect on LinkedIn , Twitter and Medium .

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UX Case Study: 5 Challenges Faced By Designers

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UX Case Study: Challenges of SME Banking Transformation

SME owners often face the challenge of adapting business strategy to a highly dynamic environment while simultaneously managing day-to-day financial operations. It's like Formula 1 racers, where only precise and quick decisions can save them from failure. But how exactly can SME banking services help business owners? Find out how we used a customer-centric approach to transform the next-gen SME financial platform.

SMEs Lack More Value from Banking Providers

Small entrepreneurs face fragmented financial management experience because they need to use several services to cover all their daily business needs. It emphasizes the need for more than basic account services and the fact that banks don't satisfy all their service needs. SMEs are looking for support and guidance on managing finances, understanding where to focus attention and interpreting KPIs. They often lack financial experience and need a simple, clear connection between financial data and the business to make the best decisions for the future.

Recent EY research reveals that only 18% of SMEs and self-employed individuals feel they are understood by their banks and have strong relationships with their banking providers, while others expect financial institutions to have a stronger knowledge of their business industry and initiate proactive communication.

However, banks hold a powerful resource: the financial data of SMEs they gather with their consent. Leveraging this data, banks can offer customer-centric and tailored SME banking solutions, including cash flow analysis and fund allocation guidance, aligning with customer expectations. 

Additionally, the EY report reveals that 82% of SMEs actively endorse data sharing, driven by a desire for enhanced services and tailored financial advice to fuel their business development efforts. Furthermore, armed with data from SMEs spanning diverse industries, banks have the potential to facilitate connections among like-minded and complementary clients, fostering the growth of their businesses. A significant portion of SMEs (81%) would find the offer of tailored networking opportunities very valuable for their business and would use it.

“The bank is helpful with daily things like account administration and even troubleshooting, but they don’t come up with new ideas or technology,” Barbara Fretter and Maarten Lammens, owners of Solids Development Consult .

Which Digital Banking Services do SMEs desire?

Financial institutions can provide SMEs with a range of valuable digital services using innovative technologies and next-gen user experience design:

AI-powered personal finance advisors

More and more banks integrate AI into their operations, potentially limiting SMEs' dissatisfaction points. An EY analysis of over 5,000 SMEs worldwide reveals striking frustration levels: 69% of SMEs express dissatisfaction about lacking the proactive communication regarding their businesses from the bank's side, and 76% lack confidence in how banks understand their industry. 

AI emerges as a powerful ally for banks and SMEs in addressing these issues. It enhances proactive communication by keeping SMEs informed with industry updates, preserving banks' human resources for advanced SME business growth consultations. AI-powered personal finance advisors also enable banks to offer predictive cash flow insights, optimizing resource allocation and fostering business growth. 

Additionally, AI aids in categorizing and tracking business expenses and identifying areas for cost-cutting or optimization. With limited time and the absence of finance education, AI can step in and educate business owners about financial management essentials and answer complex questions in a straightforward, simple and focused way to help business owners save time. 

All-in-one platform

As super apps for individuals become commonplace, the question arises: what about the needs for SMEs? Envision a landscape in which banks seamlessly integrate the most valuable platforms and tools for SMEs, such as SaaS solutions Xero, Sage, Quickbooks, Debitoor or Lexware. These platforms already serve as the primary financial interface to enhance the SMEs’ banking UX, consolidating bank accounts, transactions and accounts payable and receivable. 

By integrating different financial services and other financial management tools, banks could completely change the financial management habits of SMEs, resulting in a significant boost in customer base and loyalty as they would fulfill all of the SMEs' banking requirements in one place.

This transformation can turn banks' digital solutions into comprehensive ecosystems regardless of the device or platform they choose. As a result, SMEs would receive a smooth and seamless user experience, eliminating the complexity of using multiple financial platforms and tools. 

In EY's research on SMEs' digital expectations, 56% of respondents expressed their desire for a single integrated platform for financial management, consolidating financial products from multiple banks and financial providers. It is worth mentioning that banks are the ones SMEs expect to provide these integrations: 22% of research respondents would prefer accessing this through a bank, while 17% of SMEs are open to paying additional fees for such a service.

Digital experience and contextual personalization

It is worth mentioning that business owners have high expectations when it comes to SME banking UX, which is continuously influenced by advancements in digital interactions with other banks, financial providers and digital experiences from other industries. 

Ernst & Young's research on SME banking transformation highlights SMEs' strong demand for a seamless digital experience from their financial service providers, with 53% viewing it as crucial for business development. Additionally, 68% of SMEs aim to digitally manage various aspects of their business, including financial management. 

Today, we witness the blurred boundaries between experiences with products from various industries. The McKinsey's report illustrates a growing consumer desire for cross-sector, real-time, personalized and convenient services. People desire uniform and seamless experiences, whether they're watching suggested movies on Netflix, getting notifications on their iPhones or acquiring offered products in a mobile banking app.

Therefore, banks should explore transferring their digital capabilities and the lessons they have gleaned from retail banking to SME banking. Banks can extend personalized notifications that keep businesses informed about critical changes in their operations or account balances. 

Furthermore, by having all the financial data of SMEs, banks can gain a comprehensive understanding of the customer's financial needs, offer tailored solutions and, in some cases, proactively prevent threats by informing business owners about unusual transactions. Through a personalized approach, banks can enhance customer loyalty by making SMEs feel valued and confident in the bank's proficiency in serving businesses within a specific industry.

Customer care

Customer care is a cornerstone of enhancing SME customer loyalty and satisfaction with financial service providers. Recent data from a McKinsey survey of German SMEs highlights 36% of respondents citing excellent customer service as their top reason for choosing their primary bank. Emphasizing the fundamentals is essential, as 75% of SMEs from the same survey look for responsiveness, speedy service and streamlined processes from their bank or financial services provider. This supports the banks' need to integrate a customer-centric mindset while serving businesses. 

In light of evolving global conditions and external influences, SMEs now, more than ever, seek financial guidance and support to sustain profitability. Leveraging decades of experience navigating various crises and instabilities, traditional banks are well-positioned to share invaluable insights and expertise with their customers. 

EY's research reveals challenges, such as 22% needing help accessing financial advice and 21% seeking general business management support from their bank. This data underscores the need for banks to reevaluate their customer care strategies to meet SMEs' banking needs, thereby ensuring they remain competitive in the market.

Of course, there are already great banks on the market that successfully serve SMEs' needs. For example, the OCBC Bank business banking app is a personal assistant for small and medium enterprises. The bank's integrated tools allow SMEs to access a 360-degree view of their sales, expenses and cash flow trends to better understand their business and make reasonable and strategic business decisions. Businesses can also receive an expense analysis of spending to control costs and manage changing expenses needs effectively.

SME Banking UX Case Study: Plexe Design by UXDA

Despite some banks being open to elevating their services for SMEs minimizing the gap of underserving this group, we see the greatest focus on developing digital banking services for SMEs among Fintech startups. One of them, called Plexe, approached UXDA to design a next-gen digital product for SME banking. Explore the full Plexe SME product video story here .

Client: Finance management platform with a mission to help businesses grow

Plexe's groundbreaking Fintech platform seamlessly integrates banking services and financial management tools, offering SMEs a unified service to quickly streamline financial operations and access funding. This is not just a finance management platform; it's a partner that tracks SMEs' businesses, offering real-time insights on cash flow and available funding opportunities with the main ultimate goal ─ to facilitate the growth of every SME business.

Since 2018, the Australian-owned finance company has served as the bridge connecting SME finance management tools and open banking to provide immediate financial support. In 2021, Plexe's management decided to elevate their product features and customer outreach, venturing into the American market and localizing their existing offering. The inception of Plexe stems from a profound understanding of the historical challenges SMEs faced in securing funds for business development.

Challenge: From complicated banking processes to a trusted financial partner

The Australian SME Fintech entered a new market with a great willingness to help small and medium entrepreneurs in the US. To grasp the needs and challenges of American SMEs and self-employed individuals, UXDA researchers found and interviewed local entrepreneurs and secured crucial insights. The experience and expectations of potential clients in the field of SME banking contributed to the creation of a platform that met their needs.

Respondents' key pain points supported the stakeholders' insights on the complicated loan application process of traditional banks, which included gathering all necessary documents and enduring weeks of waiting for a decision. 

Additionally, many business owners struggle to manage their finances effectively due to time constraints and a lack of financial knowledge. As respondents mentioned, they feel lost and out of control and don't know what to expect.  

As a result, SME managers spend significant time and effort manually entering data into spreadsheets to make calculations and understand their company's financial health, adding to their stress and uncertainty.

Recognizing the widespread demand for financial planning and support among SMEs, Plexe aimed to become a trusted, long-term partner, offering a unique and personalized experience and guidance that surpassed the capabilities of existing financial management platforms, ultimately enhancing the lives of business owners. 

Plexe perceives SME owners like F1 pilots navigating their businesses through rapidly changing circumstances at a high speed, dealing with daily stress and uncertainty while constantly being in survival mode. 

To implement Plexe’s strategic vision into design, we defined product values to empower business owners: provide business owners with control over their finances and future direction; provide support to facilitate financial management and open new business opportunities; and help to detect and use the shortest path to achieving business goals.

Solution: All-in-one SME platform for successful finance management

Designing an SME Fintech platform to embody care and confidence resulted in an inspiring product aligned with Plexe's mission and product values. Leveraging integrated capabilities, we crafted a streamlined design architecture for a user-friendly experience. The dashboard promptly presents crucial insights about the business and financial situation to help the business improve its current financial situation and leverage its growth. 

A simplified user journey to secure and use needed funding was essential to remove complexities and bureaucracy in developing the business. In this way, business owners can quickly and fully exploit the most valuable business opportunities that require additional financing. With smooth integrations and a crystal-clear dashboard design, users can make business decisions with the speed and precision reminiscent of Formula 1 racing.

Plexe emphasizes essentials like key business indicators on the dashboard, funding opportunities, overdue outgoing invoices and providing guidance and future planning through AI-generated personalized insights. By connecting other bank accounts and accounting software services, business owners can see a complete overview of their finances and get more valuable insights and future predictions regarding all finance matters from the Plexe platform. 

For example, the business owner gets a notification about a percentage increase in office rent payments, prompting them to evaluate the impact on other operations. Analyzing outgoing invoice information, Plexe forecasts potential shortages and suggests the business owner work on business operations enhancement or use factoring to meet its short-term liquidity needs. 

Beyond being a Fintech platform, Plexe becomes a friendly financial companion for self-employed individuals and SMEs that navigate them through business cash flow and provide opportunities for business growth through instant access to funding based on business performance. The service empowers users to make informed decisions and enhances financial literacy, so business owners can have peace of mind about the future and more time and energy to enjoy life and their business.

The platform's key design element ─ crystal ─ is a business performance indicator that combines the past, present and future of business, providing valuable insights and understanding of how the business is going. It guides users into discovering what is the most helpful for the business in their path toward growth. 

The design fosters a sense of freedom with a spacious layout, transcending boundaries and drawing inspiration from life's dynamic flow. Providing a fresh design with quick, at-a-glance business insights, users can empower their financial situation with a forecast for the upcoming month and strategic planning based on performance indicators.

Approach: Simplicity and full control for higher efficiency

We aimed to simplify financial management for those who drive their own business and were inspired by consistent user experiences provided by giants like McDonald's and Apple. 

McDonald's ensures consistent quality in every location by simplifying processes and building operational excellence. At the same time, Apple is a master of combining several products into one solution, becoming a leader in technology. These inspirations, combined with a user-centered approach, were a foundation in designing a next-gen financial service for SMEs ─ namely, the Plexe platform. 

The UXDA team closely communicated with the Plexe team and gathered input that was extremely valuable for the project, as the Plexe team understood the needs of SMEs and self-employed people like no one else. Gathered stakeholders’ insights, market research and end-user interviews resulted in a clear path to a customer-centric SME banking design. 

Together with the client's team, we built a new financial management platform to inspire SMEs and self-employed entrepreneurs to enjoy life while being confident the business is growing with the Plexe platform. As the Plexe team said: “With Plexe - let your business fly!”

Presenting a serene harbor

Plexe's new design prioritizes simplicity, aiming to eliminate chaos and stress associated with business financial management. Acting as a trusted guide, it easily and quickly provides users with the information they need, while instilling positive emotions, such as trust, calm and inspiration.

At the heart of the platform's design is the AI-powered crystal indicator that consolidates crucial business information. It offers a sanctuary of control and a clear vision for future success. It goes beyond mere data, providing insights and suggestions that not only illuminate the current state of affairs but also offer a roadmap for improvement. 

Using data collected from different linked services and accounts, AI technology analyzes all aspects of the business and timely informs as to what to expect in the future and where to pay attention. The Plexe platform ensures that everyone, regardless of financial knowledge level, can comprehend and steer their business toward prosperity.

Instant access to funding opportunities

The platform processes all cash flow and invoice data automatically, calculating available loan amounts based on the business performance and allowing users to view it at any time. 

Acknowledging the difficulties SMEs encounter in sustaining consistent cash flow, the platform provides users the flexibility to adapt lending repayment options to their specific needs, offering them more control over their financial commitments. This flexibility caters to the unique circumstances of business owners, enabling them to opt for either a fixed amount or a percentage of their income.

From challenges to efficiency

Thoughtful UX components made it possible to implement all key platform scenarios on a limited set of screens. Effective communication helped us navigate challenges, and collaborating with the client's team allowed us to find the best solutions for user experience within the platform. 

We've created the foundation for an exceptional user experience in SME banking and significantly reduced the complexity of the critical onboarding flow. We suggested making the onboarding process shorter, split into manageable steps, and provide quicker access to the service while ensuring compliance with legal requirements.

The growing demand for financial guidance and management assistance among SMEs and self-employed individuals is undeniable. Business owners are actively looking for digital solutions that will meet their financial needs at the same level as retail banking.

Over the past decades, banks have gained a powerful asset that gives them an advantage in the market ─ trust from SMEs ─ but unfortunately the user experience has lagged behind. This is an ideal market window for Fintech companies. They are becoming active players in the SME banking market with user-centric technologies. They bring together various services on one platform, providing greater convenience to SMEs' financial management.

A clear mission and flexible approach allowed the Plexe SME platform to significantly simplify the complexities of financial management and offer its clients a product that is easy and pleasant to use. Personalized notifications, insights, frictionless digital experiences and responsive customer service are gaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The next generation of SME banking will be based on an analysis of customer expectations and a willingness to implement optimal customer service strategies. In addition, AI integration is a powerful extra for a competitive advantage today, but soon it will become a mandatory requirement in the industry.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arita, lead ux architect & consultant.

Arita bridges the gap between the clients' vision and a financial product that they demand. She's famous for her ability to focus on the user and their business specifics. Her experience with crypto, white-label and retail banking allows her to always find the best UX solution. Everything Arita does comes from the bottom of her heart.

Alex, Founder/ CEO/ UX Strategist

Alex has dedicated half of his life to studying human psychology, as well as business success, developing 100+ digital projects and 30+ startups. He spent 10 years researching UX and finance to create UXDA's methodology. Alex is a passionate visionary who's capable of solving any challenge to improve the financial industry.

Tamara, Senior UX Architect & Consultant

Tamara is dedicated to always reaching the best possible result while paying close attention to detail. Her 12-year long experience in banking working with card issuance, acquiring and eCommerce allows her to have a deep understanding of the financial service specifics and provide the best experience for users.

Anastasija, UX Architect & Consultant

Anastasija's six years of experience in various banking departments have nurtured a strong desire to simplify and clarify essential banking processes, ultimately improving people's lives. Her dedication to UX design is founded on the belief that user-centered design is crucial for enhancing financial experiences.

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UX Case Study- Chinese Restaurant Mobile Website

By: Tingyu Zhang

Date: April 21, 2024

My Design-Wire Frame-Improved Food Mobile App:

Created via Canva

Old  YiFan Food Mobile Website :

Project Background

The purpose of this case study is to showcase how an old-fashioned and not user-friendly food mobile website was re-designed and developed as a completely user-centric and modern web application using contemporary design practices.

YiFan is a Chinese food restaurant nestled in the heart of Johns Creek in Atlanta that offers fusion cuisine. It offers a pick-up food ordering service through the website https://qmenu.us/#/yifan/menu/1645135062215 . 

I intended to test if this mobile website is accessible and user-friendly and lets Chinese users and a few American Chinese food lovers order meals from the food website on their mobile phones quickly and easily at their convenience.

The previous website was outdated and was not too easy to use. After I scanned the website and interviewed some Chinese customers who visit the online food ordering websites on a regular basis, these problems were also verified by Kai who has very insightful ideas about UX and can provide some innovative ideas about the user-friendliness of Chinese food ordering website, although she is a vegetarian and there are only a few vegetarian meals on the website.

Kai said, “The website isn’t that easy. The categories are really random. We’ll have to scroll all the way down to get to what we want. And even in the feature items, it’s really random and like you can have dinner or rice. You’re not able to click to get to a shortcut like click to go to seafood, click to go to meat, or click to go to vegetarian options. Also, it’s not a search function. The only thing you can do is to pick the location of where the menu is or what the menu is. The cart was okay. The navigation for that was pretty easy.”

• To build a new website with a completely new and modern design.
• To give users easy access to what they want at first sight such as the food name, description, price, and allergic items.
• To help the restaurant retain the trust of their clients and show that they actually care what customers want like coupon information and search history by adopting the new design.
• To help users save time by searching easily and by requiring less input.

Usability test：

I recruited 4 participants to understand their user experience of ordering dishes for Chinese New Year on the original website and they all have some experience with ordering Chinese food via other online platforms. I recorded the process of how they ordered their favorite 5 dishes from the website and conducted face-to-face interviews with them using 15 questions in 20 minutes.

The participants included 1 friend, my husband,1 schoolmate at Georgia State University, and 1 student at Boston University.

• To truly understand the needs, behaviors, and motivations of the users I’m designing for, my research identified 2 pain points:

1). Ease of Use

• I used Zoom & Tencent Meetings to record them how to use the website to order their favorite 5 dishes for the Lunar Chinese New Year’s Eve in 10 minutes！

Before the usability test：

I told them these instructions clearly and asked them to think aloud while doing the tasks. The think-aloud technique was used to extract information about the users’ thought processes during the task.

“ Please take 10 minutes to order your favorite 5 Chinese dishes for Lunar New Year’s Eve on this food ordering website. You need to log in to the website using the Chrome search engine on your laptop. But you need to click toggle device toolbar mode (Ctrl+Shift+M) so it can show the mobile menu mode on your laptop, as it is convenient for me to see how you click and scroll down the menu with the recorder. This is for my user experience research need instead of for commercial use.”

• You don’t have to go through the full process of buying them. Just order 5 dishes and put them in the shopping cart then cancel.
• When you browse the website, feel free to speak out loud about your positive or negative feelings towards any button, image, tag, or any other design element on the website, which will be helpful for my research.”

During the usability test:

Task Time and Completion outcome:

The average task time of 4 participants, the number of problems per task on average, and the task completion of the 4 participants are described in the following table.

After finishing the task of ordering the dishes:

I evaluated the usability of the website by interviewing each of them with these questions and made a summary of their opinions.

Interview Questionnaire:

 2 background questions +13 interview questions

Background questions:

• What is your preferred flavor (You could choose multiple options: Sweet, Spicy, Savory, Other)?
• How often do you order Chinese food online? (Options: Once a month, Once two weeks, Once a week, Twice a week, Three or Four Times a week, More than four times a week, or Others.）

A. Overall website aesthetic

• Do you think the main color of the food website is visually appealing?
• Do you think the fonts are big enough to see?
• Is each photo large enough to see?
• Do you think it is well-organized？

B． Item selection

• Could you tell from each title what the ingredients of the dish would be? How spicy, sweet, or savory it would be?
• How did you choose the dishes you chose? (Options: Image, Title, Description, Other.)
• Can you find your or your family member’s favorite dish quickly？

  C．Checkout process

• Do you think it is easy for you to put the dishes in the cart and be ready to check out？
• What do you care about most in the checkout process?

D. Overall evaluation

• Could you rate it on a scale from 1 to 10? How much do you like the food delivery website?
• Do you think it is user-friendly?
• What challenges do you face in the ordering process? How does this make you feel?
• How do you think the website can be improved in web design and interaction?   

Based on the usability test answers, the strengths of the website were:

• The website is somewhat easy to use and follow. The rating from 4 users on average is 6.8 which means it can meet basic users’ need for ordering dishes. (2 females give ratings of 8 and 8.8 respectively, while 2 males having experience with website setup give ratings of 5 and 5.5 respectively.)
• The color of the food website is generally visually appealing despite that the white background with red logos lacks innovation.
• It is very convenient for all the participants to put the dishes in the cart and click on the checkout button.
• Most of them can find their 5 favorite dishes on the website in 10 min, although 1 person uses more than 10 minutes and complains the menu lacks any vegetable dishes and ones for vegetarians and vegans.

  The main problems of the website were:

• The website is not so easy to navigate and users cannot find dishes very quickly without the help of a moderator. On average, they need to spend 7 minutes and 57 seconds to find 5 dishes, because the users cannot find the grey “category” button on the bottom of the main page very easily.
• Some food titles are too complicated for most users (3/4) to comprehend because there are some very difficult and are Chinese words to recognize and pronounce like “燎” in the title of Stir-Fry Abalone with Asparagus.
• Some Chinese and English fonts are big enough to see but for some Chinese food descriptions are too small to read and the price tags are not obvious to see at all.
• Food pictures and Chinese/English fonts are not very placed in an orderly arrangement.
• Although the food description in the smaller fond helps to some extent, some information like the weight and size of the crabs is missing in Pepper Dungeness Crab. And not all the dish has detailed food descriptions. For instance, in Stir-Fry Abalone with Asparagus, there are no labels about the weight of the main ingredients of abalone and clients cannot know whether it is spicy or contains any allergic food ingredients.
• Some food photos are not large enough to see as they are not panoramic views of the food and most of them are not authentic food they made (just downloaded from other food websites.) 
• Half of the participants say they cannot find their favorite dish so quickly due to a lack of searching tools and no clear category button on the website. So it is not so well-organized and user-friendly.
• In Featured Items, there are two repeated pictures of the rice.

Improvement needed for the food Mobile Web according to users’ feedback

• Add breaking up of appetizers (cold Chinese dishes), entrees (main dishes), side dishes, desserts, soup, salad, vegetarian food, vegan food, gluten-free, and halal food on a category on the top of the home page.
• Add distance between the pick-up spot and the client.
• Add on-site search and search filtering options like recommended dishes,  recently viewed dishes, and most sold dishes！
• Change some Chinese food titles to easy ones without any complicated Chinese characters.
• Put Chinese and English fonts in two different rows to make them clearer and put the food pictures just on the left side below each tile. 
• In terms of texts, only make the food name and the price bolder and obvious to see. The price should be in red rather than the package information as some users care about the prices of the dishes the most！
• Make detailed food ingredient descriptions clearer and show the weight, size, or number of the meat or seafood ingredients clearly. For instance, in Pepper Dungeness Crab, add descriptions about the weight and size of the crabs and add flavor descriptions to let users know whether it is spicy or contains any allergic food source.
• Invite some professional photographers to take delicate panoramic food photos made by YiFan restaurant to replace some fake ones from other food websites. Users may first pay attention to the food pictures and then to the titles as a picture is worth a thousand words.  Make sure that the food images are real otherwise the dishes may disappoint the clients after being served.  For instance, the Red Kidney Beans Chestnut& Stewed Duck Pot photo should have shown the full view of the duck. The image should have been more visually appealing taken by photographers who should have placed the dish on the beautiful tablecloth and used bright lighting. Clear and fantastic pictures can enhance clients’ appetite and help them to order the dishes more quickly. In addition, the first picture on the top of the menu should be a real photo of the fantastic restaurant environment of YiFan instead of a chicken picture from another restaurant.
• In Featured Items, delete repeated pictures of the rice and add more popular vegetable dishes.
• Add typical Chinese food like dumplings on the menu, because Chinese people have the custom of eating dumplings on Lunar New Year because the dumplings themselves look like money pouches and are said to represent fortune and prosperity in the coming year.
• Add coupon or discount information for the new user on the top of the menu to attract the first users.
• Add ratings next to the food title using the number from 1 to 5 or label how much percentage of people like it. Or add icons like Red Heart next to the dishes that are extremely popular as the users who see these tags may follow the trend to order the dishes.
• Add descriptions of flavor below the food titles (typical flavor: savory, spicy, sour, sweet).

Its overall online Mobile Website UX performance is mediocre. It can meet basic needs for users to find the main meat dishes for pick up! However, they cannot choose their favorite dishes in a short time and cannot meet their diverse needs such as food choices for appetizers, vegetables, and dumplings for the festival. Their UX is especially thwarted by usability issues related to unclear and not panoramic food pictures, poor navigation categories, and no searching tools.

I used Claude.ai to create my personas for the pick-up Chinese food ordering service website and made some improvements to the outdated website.

1 Chinese client (19-year-old female freshman who is a picky eater）

Name: Meimei

Demographics:

19 years old

Chinese international student

Freshman at Georgia Tech

Live in a campus dorm

Quick and convenient meals that fit into her busy student schedule

Consistent, familiar flavors that appeal to her picky preferences

Easy ordering and fast pick-up options close to campus

Find 2-3 go-to dishes she enjoys and can reliably reorder

Avoid veggies, spices, or ingredients that are too unfamiliar

Stick to affordable menu items that are filling but don’t break her budget

Pain points:

Feeling overwhelmed by large menus full of items she won’t try

Being unable to customize orders to her taste (e.g. no veggies)

Ordering something new that arrives but is unappetizing to her

1 Chinese client (a 25-year-old male worker who wants affordable dishes)

Name： Da Lee

25 years old

Works as an accountant

Lives alone in an apartment complex

Budget-friendly meal options under $15

Filling plates that satisfy hunger on a tight budget

Easy access to coupons and discounted combo plates

Find affordable go-to orders for quick dinners after work

Maximize quantities and nutrients per dollar spent

Discover new low-cost dishes by experimenting with the menu

Menu items that seem overpriced for portion size

Missing out on deals or coupons due to disorganization

Treating himself to pricier plates once in a while but feeling guilty about it

1 American female client who loves to eat sweet and fried Chinese food.

Name: Amy Thompson

32 years old

Works as a marketing manager

Lives alone downtown

Quick access to Americanized Chinese dishes

Convenient ordering of her fried favorites

Options for sugary desserts and appetizers

Satisfy cravings for bold, intense flavors

Discover new sweet, fried, or saucy menu items to try

Have meals delivered fast so she can relax after work

Pain Points:

Missing out on desserts or add-ons due to minimal menu browsing

Ordering dishes that are too spicy or intense for her comfort level

Based on the analysis of the personas, I decided to add one category that is Americanized Chinese food on the top of the menu to suit the needs of some Americans who are fans of Chinese food. Americanized Chinese food like sweet and sour pork has been adapted to the American palate and often features dishes that are sweeter, saltier, and greasier than authentic Chinese cuisine. This is because it has been tailored to American taste preferences, which tend to favor bold, strong flavors.

For the picky eater, I also add some food allergy icons as well as vegetarian or vegan icons beside the name of the dish. Food allergies and other types of food hypersensitivities affect millions of Americans and their families. Food allergies occur when the body’s immune system reacts to certain proteins in food. Food allergic reactions vary in severity from mild symptoms involving hives and lip swelling to severe, life-threatening symptoms, often called anaphylaxis, that may involve fatal respiratory problems and shock. While promising prevention and therapeutic strategies are being developed, food allergies currently cannot be cured. Early recognition and learning how to manage food allergies, including which foods to avoid, are important measures to prevent serious health consequences. To protect those with food allergies and other food hypersensitivities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces regulations requiring companies to list ingredients on packaged foods and beverages. The FDA provides guidance to the food industry, consumers, and other stakeholders on the best ways to assess and manage allergen hazards in food. Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA). This law identified eight foods as major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans. At the time of FALCPA’s passage, the eight major allergens accounted for 90 percent of food allergies. Therefore, it is highly recommended that we need to design a new website with food allergy icons. In the new website that shows pork dumplings with celery,  I also use an icon of green celery to remind some picky eaters who may be allergic to celery.

Also, it needs to show the vegetarian icon to tell the customers which dish contains no meat, fish, or poultry.

I hope you enjoy reading through my case study. I am into cooking Chinese food and designing this wireframe of food mobile website. If you want to discuss anything related to this project, please let me know. It would be wonderful to know your suggestions and opinions. Thank you so much for your valuable time.

Works Cited

Nutrition, Center for Food Safety and Applied. “Food Allergies.” U.S. Food And Drug Administration , 12 Apr. 2024, www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/food-allergies#:~:text=of%20imported%20products.-,Major%20Food%20Allergens,peanuts%2C%20wheat%2C%20and%20soybeans.

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Learn how KnowHouse, a leading online education company in Norway met market demand and grew revenue by adding UX design education to their programme portfolio in partnership with UX Design Institute.

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KnowHouse is Norway’s leading online education company offering practical courses in digital marketing, website development and communication to working professionals. 

Jakob Thyness and Nina Furu, Founders and CEO, KnowHouse

Founded by the entrepreneurial couple Nina Furu and Jakob Thyness in 2006, Knowhouse emerged from their passion for everything internet and their commitment to helping digital professionals excel in their jobs.

Nina and Jak ob also have a strong background in organising events and conferences for the digital community. With events like Web Forum, one of Norway’s largest gatherings in the digital sphere, and the highly successful AI conference, AI-con 2024, KnowHouse continues to push boundaries and shape the discourse around emerging technologies.

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We now champion UX education in the Norwegian market.

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Small and medium enterprises dominate the digital landscape in Norway, with a scattering of larger companies. While these firms recognise the importance of offering an excellent user experience, they often struggle with initiating employee training. Traditional university education isn’t always tailored for working professionals, making it impractical.

Nina and Jakob recognised this gap, both in the market and within their programme portfolio. This realisation led to KnowHouse identifying the potential for collaboration with the UX Design Institute in November 2022. Jakob says,

We swiftly recognised the market opportunity and saw UX Design Institute as a credible partner we wanted to collaborate with.

He adds, “In addition to addressing market demand, broadening our programme portfolio with UX courses was a key motivation. It filled a gap in our offerings and resonated with my passion for user experience.” The partnership began by offering UX Design Institute’s two most popular professional courses: a diploma in UX design and a certificate in UI design.

Nina explains, “Offering professional courses in UX and UI aligns with our brand’s focus on practical skills. Employers often sponsor their employees to attend our courses during work hours. We are all about empowering them to excel in their roles.”  

UX Design Institute’s courses, crafted by professionals with input from industry experts, provide practical training highly valued by employers. Students gain real-world experience and mentorship, building professional portfolios to showcase their UX skills effectively.

While considering potential partners, the KnowHouse founders evaluated several companies, including the prestigious Nielsen Norman Group. Jakob, certified by them, acknowledges their excellence. However, Nina highlights, 

UX Design Institute’s stellar reputation and position at the forefront of the UX education industry appealed to us.

A responsive and flexible partnership

The UX Design Institute ensured that the partner onboarding was swift and systematic. 

KnowHouse already had a course-selling platform and a promotional website. Nina highlights the simplicity, stating, “It was straightforward—setting up landing pages and devising a launch marketing plan.” She describes the onboarding as seamless and convenient.

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Nina commends the team for their excellent responsiveness and efficiency in providing course-related information and student progress feedback, stating, “It’s been a pleasure working with them.”

KnowHouse values the UX Design Institute for its efficiency and for maintaining partner brand integrity. The partnership offers easy access to customised resources, eg. a special Slack channel for KnowHouse students, promotional material, regular consultation via a partner success manager, and tailored sales and marketing support.

John has always been prompt, involving other team members as needed. We’ve built a strong working relationship with the extended team. Overall, it’s been smooth sailing,

agrees Jakob. They both appreciate UX Design Institute’s focus on meeting their students’ training needs and ensuring course quality.

All of UX Design Institute’s courses are university credit-rated by Glasgow Caledonian University and validated by UX experts to ensure the highest standards. The courses have gained top global ratings, receiving a 4.9-star rating on Google, a 97% Customer Satisfaction Score, and a Net Promoter Score of 70.

More business growth and a brighter future: ‘Lønnsomt’ it is!

The partnership between KnowHouse and the UX Design Institute is succinctly captured in a single Norwegian word, ‘lønnsomt,’ meaning profitable.

Nina highlights the fact that the UX and UI courses offered as part of the partnership have emerged as top revenue generators for KnowHouse.

Jakob adds, “Moreover, this programme stands out in our portfolio for its comprehensiveness, reflecting its value and relevance to our students’ needs.”

He emphasises the core of the partnership as the two companies work together to provide world-class UX education in Norway,

The content quality, collaborative spirit, and the valuable portfolio expansion are standout aspects.

The partnership’s success has Nina optimistic about the future: “We aim to broaden our course offerings through this collaboration, introducing specialised programmes as the market evolves. We look forward to incorporating UX Design Institute’s professional certificates in user research and content design in the coming months.”

It’s great to see KnowHouse’s trust in UX Design’s products and support as the partnership enters its next phase of UX offerings. Jakob affirms,

We’re excited about this collaboration’s potential for growth and innovation. UX Design Institute’s responsiveness and product quality inspire confidence in exploring new ventures.

There’s nothing more motivating than a vote of confidence from our partners. UX Design Institute is thrilled to deepen and expand this partnership further.

You can learn more about KnowHouse by visiting their website: https://knowhouse.no/

Please visit UX Design Institute’s partner hub to learn more about our partner network and how to partner with us .

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