UX case study is one of the most important and effective educational resources for designers of user experience, user interface, and product. In addition, the master case is considered the most important part of the designer’s portfolio.
In this article, I will discuss 4 very informative and interesting UX case studies in 2024 and explain the importance of case studies in user experience design and their key role in the professional development of designers.
If you are interested in UI/UX design, a novice product designer, or even an experienced product designer, read this article thoroughly because you will find useful and helpful information to enter this profession or continue your career path.
Table of Contents
Introduction of 4 examples of UX master case
Before introducing 4 examples of the best and most informative UX case studies of 2024, it is better to first define what a user experience design case study is exactly, what are its features, and why it is so important in the professional world of UI/UX design.
First, I will answer the question, what is the study of user experience design?
Interaction-design, which is one of the most reliable names and websites in the field of design, defines Case study as follows:
UX case studies are examples of design work that designers include in their portfolios. 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.
As it is clear from the definition of user experience design master case, the study of a design is the story of its formation. That story should be interesting and tell the reader very clearly what the main problem was and how it was solved.
In a master UX case, the designer explains what the project was, for which user it was designed, what problems or problems there were, and how and with what solution that problem was solved in the design.
In other words, a UX case study is a collection of text, images, data, videos, screenshots, charts diagrams, etc., to best show the design process and stages of a product.
The importance of a master case or case study in user experience design
Product design is challenging. The designer must master the principles of product design. In addition, to design a satisfactory user experience, the UX designer must be well-versed in interaction design. In other words, he must have learned the hard skills required for design.
Of course, we all know that having hard and technical skills is not enough to be successful in anything. UI/UX designers should also have a set of soft skills, including problem-solving skills, empathy with users, and critical thinking. Having more soft skills helps designers succeed in their careers.
How should employers evaluate a designer’s mastery of product design principles, interaction design, various UX research methods, problem-solving skills, and empathy with users?
When the final output of the designer’s work is a digital product, which is considered a visual and interactive product, there is no other way to show the success of the product than to show the product to the client and invite him to interact with it.
It is for this reason that designers need a portfolio, and the user experience design master case is the most important tool in their portfolio to demonstrate their mastery of the hard and soft skills of this field.
Of course, the importance of the mastery case is not only that it shows the skills and creativity of the designer, but the case study is a free and useful educational resource that inspires new designers.
By studying and reviewing master case studies of designers around the world published on their websites or in online magazines such as uxplanet.org, product designers get ideas and can design more creatively.
You and this UX case are masters at learning and getting ideas.
1. Promo.com redesign
Promo.com is a video creation platform. The platform has ready-made templates and makes it easy for its users who are businesses and agencies to create visual content quickly.
Sasha is a product designer based in London. He was the UI/UX designer of the second version of this product. On his website, and his online portfolio, Sasha has depicted the master case of this redesign completely and comprehensively.
The most instructive point in this mastery case is the precision and skill of the designer in describing the product problem and the research he has done to find a solution.
His website and this UX master case a great examples for all UI/UX designers, especially beginners; Because they show how the storytelling in the case study should be, what details of the design process should be included, and what kind of images should be included in it.
2. Productivity tracker app
This master case is a great example and helpful for designers who have just finished a product design course and haven’t worked on a real project to have a master case for their portfolio.
The best way to provide a master case UX for a novice UI/UX designer’s portfolio is to redesign existing products. You ask what exactly should be done.
IIija’s master case published on Medium answers this question in the best way.
He begins the story of the case study with a description of a personal problem and concern, and he completely takes the reader with him. He says that he spends many hours a day browsing social networks.
He adds that he has always been looking for an app to help him organize and manage this and avoid wasting time.
Then he mentions that there is such an application in the market. However the existing application has an old design.
Then, it enumerates the design problems of the existing product and lists the redesign steps. The continuation of the master’s case is dedicated to the description of the research and how to find solutions to the problems.
He has included images of the new application’s wireframe and the final design of various application pages in the case study.
3. Redesigning the user experience of rating systems
The story of this master case is similar to the previous one: a personal narrative of a product designer’s concern that led to the redesign of the user experience of rating systems.
Hossein Sharifi is an Iranian product designer who lives in Canada. He begins a case study on user experience design for rating systems that he published on Medium with this sentence:
To break the design rules, you must first master them.
He continues the story by saying that he was working on a project where a rating system was to be used to assess user satisfaction. Common systems for measuring user satisfaction with a product or service consist of 5 stars. We have also seen examples of this system in different products.
But this system has a big problem: rating with stars is not accurate and does not show us the real feeling of the user (satisfied or dissatisfied). So, the user will not be satisfied with the interaction with this system because he cannot show his real opinion by choosing a star.
After mentioning this problem, Hossein Sharifi evaluates the proposed solutions and fully explains what research he has done or what sources he has used to evaluate each one.
Finally, the Case study finishes with the solution he has reached, the new design of the rating system in which the like and dislike icons have replaced the stars.
In his research, the designer had concluded that users tend to show the intensity (level) of their emotions. So, more than one icon was needed.
One likes to show liking, and two likes to show the user fell in love with it.
One dislikes to show dissatisfaction and two dislikes to show that the user dislikes it.
4. New York Times app redesign
Whether you’re a newbie UI/UX designer or you’ve made a name for yourself in the profession, you shouldn’t be afraid to face the big names. Nothing earns user experience designers credit like identifying and fixing problems with well-known digital products. With this, a designer shows his confidence and creativity to everyone.
This is exactly what Johny Vino has done by identifying the problems of the popular New York Times newspaper app and fixing them by redesigning its user experience.
The important point in his work is that in this redesign only the annoying weak points for users have been removed to make all articles easier and more attractive for them to read, and everything that users liked or were satisfied with has been kept.
In addition to reading this masterful case study, I suggest you visit this creative designer’s website (johnyvino.com) and read case studies of other products he has worked on. Be sure you will learn a lot from him.