How to Write a Design Portfolio Case Study That Shows Your Value
A strong design portfolio case study should explain more than what you designed.
It should show me the problem your client was facing and/or the aspiration they held for the future. I want you to tell me what you saw that perhaps they couldn’t, therefore the decisions you made because of it and ultimately how this led to your creation and strategy.
I use a very simple four-part framework for this:
The Case Study Method.
Reader, there is a difference between a portfolio that screams “holy shit, that’s beautiful” followed by “I want her to do this for me too.”
Most designers are VERY good at creating the beauty part – because we jive in the realm of BEAUTY and making things pretty. So, we carefully art-direct the project and we make beautiful mockups and we photograph the packaging. We show the logo, typography, colour palette, website. And yes, obviously, all of this should look incredibly good.
But if you’re trying to attract bigger, more valuable creative projects, beautiful output is only part of what your prospective client is buying. They also need to understand why your work was valuable.
I speak more about this idea of increasing value inside The 20k Brand Project Podcast.
The design is what you made but the problem is what you were paid to solve.
What should a design portfolio case study include?
An out of this world design portfolio case study should answer four questions:
THE PROBLEM
What was happening before the client worked with you, or what were they here to achieve?
THE THINKING
What did you identify, recommend or decide based on your strategic insight?
THE SOLUTION
What did you create and why did it make the most sense, commercially?
THE RESULT
What changed or became possible after working with you?
You don’t need to use those exact headings on your website and sometimes you don’t yet have *all* of the details and that’s totally ok – you want to aim for this as a structure but don’t feel forced into ticking it all off.
This isn’t a formula for making every portfolio sound exactly the same. God forbid, can you imagine? See it as a framework for finding the story underneath the pretty pictures.
Let’s get into it.
1. Always refer back to the long term goal in your design portfolio case study
What was happening in the mind of the client before the design project started?
One of the biggest mistakes I see in design portfolios is leading with the solution.
Something like: “We created a bold new identity for X, a sustainable skincare brand…” Okay. But why? Why did this project need to exist in the first place? Something was happening in the soul of your client that created the need for design to exist in the real world.
The context is what I want to see, try this: What was happening before this project that the client wanted to change?
2. Show the thinking behind your design decisions
What did you identify, recommend or decide?
This is the commercially minded part of your case study, because your thinking demonstrates your judgement. And in the age of AI, your MIND and your THINKING is the asset we need to shine bright, loud and clear.
If you want to move from being perceived as the person who executes someone else’s idea to the creative partner trusted with the bigger problem, show me evidence that you already think like one. Hear more about this inside The 20k Brand Project Podcast.
A useful prompt to get going: What did I notice, understand, recommend or decide that fundamentally steered this project?
3. Explain the solution and don’t just list the deliverables
What did you create, and why?
Friend, now is not the time to turn this part of your design portfolio case study into a list of deliverables for example:
Wordmark
Colour palette
Packaging system
Brand guidelines.
Instead of: “we created a wordmark, colour palette and packaging system.” try: “we created a simplified visual hierarchy across the range, keeping the masterbrand consistent while using colour as the primary navigation device between products SO THAT……”
The reason this is important is because your client might not instantly KNOW what all of these things mean or why they’re important. So yes, TELL US what you did, but also tell us why it matters?
How should you present packaging design in a case study?
A strong packaging design case study demonstrates that you understand how to make the work work as a system – so we need to see how all of the SKUs and assets work together.
The good news is, that in the age of AI we get to make mockups more quickly and more easily than ever. I’m not always a fan of AI for many things, but for a cpg packaging designer; creating mockups has been revolutionised by this technology. When I first began freelancing, I didn’t have this luxury and we didn’t have the option to look as professional or as curated, as fast. Use this technology to your advantage!
4. End your design portfolio case study with the result
What possibilities became closer for your client?
This is usually the bit where it gets wavy because the internet decided a “result” only counts if we say something like: WE INCREASED SALES BY 487%.
Sometimes you will have measurable commercial results – but for startups that’s not always an immediate response. If you have reliable numbers and permission to share them, USE THEM.
Remember that commercial value isn’t limited to a revenue statistic. Perhaps the client now has a brand they’re confident putting in front of retailers and investors? Maybe they have a packaging system capable of accommodating the next ten SKUs so they can DOMINATE in their category? Perhaps the brand now communicates the premium positioning the founder has been trying to achieve for a while. Perhaps the founder now feels really confident in the value of their brand, and this confidence is priceless because they’re equipped to do what it takes?
Do you see? These are still useful and practical outcomes, many of which real humans are also searching for. Try this as a prompt instead: What could the client do after this project that they couldn’t do — or couldn’t do as effectively — before it?
A simple design portfolio case study template you can steal
Start in a google document and noodle on these questions:
THE PROBLEM
What was happening before?
THE THINKING
What did I identify, recommend or decide?
THE SOLUTION
What did I create — and why?
THE RESULT
What became possible?
That’s The Case Study Method – and now you get to make it beautiful!
Why good design portfolio case studies help you attract better cpg clients
Your portfolio a sales tool – it’s an asset!
Potential clients and collaborators are scrolling through to find evidence that you are capable of leading them to their vision and can solve their problems – they appreciate the aesthetics but not as much as we, other designers do.
Your client is asking: Does she understand businesses like mine? Does she GET IT? Does she know what decisions need to be made? Can I trust her to lead me through them?
A beautiful project demonstrates taste and execution and talent – love those and being able to communicate why it was valuable helps you sell it and is the most useful skill you can practice.
Frequently asked questions about design portfolio case studies
How long should a design portfolio case study be?
It just needs to be long enough for me to understand the problem and the important thinking behind your decisions. Some projects need more explanation than others. I would be cautious of writing war and peace though, and overwhelming with words. Keep it succinct. Think: clarity over word count.
What if I don’t have measurable results from my design project?
Refer back to point 4 🙂 You don’t need a whole dramatic statistic straight away – most founders KNOW that these things take time… it works best for rebrands to show a YOY growth based on the work you did. That kind of information is gold dust – because it shows that what you did helped to grow the business. But the more human results are also important for the kind of client who GETS IT.
Should I show my design process in a portfolio case study?
Show the parts that help somebody understand how you think; and if you have a signature process (like the Our Kind Hands, Hearts, Mind™️ method, you can refer back to it. But in truth, most clients aren’t hung up on your method, or how you get there. They want to see the result.
Ok say you want to lead bigger brand and packaging projects?
Writing a better case study helps you communicate your value, but you need the capabilities behind that positioning too.
Inside Studio Expansion: The Brand & Packaging Design Course by Our Kind, you’ll learn how to expand into strategic, high level cpg projects, from packaging strategy and creative direction through to dielines, print, production, pricing and project leadership so you can double your value and double your fees.
Become the designer capable of solving the bigger problem.
