How to Create Engaging UX

Case Studies with Freytag’s

5-Part Dramatic Structure
When you tell a great story through your UX case study, you’ll let hirers imagine what it’s like to
work with you, give your case study a satisfying order and engage your hirers. This will increase
your chances of getting that first interview. Here, we’ll show you how to use the German playwright
Freytag’s 5-part dramatic structure to make your UX case study compelling.

Climax
Fa
n
tio

l lin
Ac

g
Ac
ng

tio
si
Ri

Exposition Resolution

Introduction Middle Conclusion

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1. Set up the Context in Your “Exposition”

First, ease your readers into your project in the exposition. Quickly explain your project and your
role in it. Explain your goal, the main problem you wanted to tackle through design. For example,
you might have wanted to “create an app that encourages people to exercise”.

Show what motivated you to take on the project. Perhaps you wanted to create the exercise app
because you’re not as healthy as you were before (i.e., you have a personal motivation). If your goal
is well-written, it should already contain your motivation. Even if you didn’t have a choice—for
instance, if it’s part of your work in a company—you still need to show why the client wanted to
create the app and why you cared enough to put it in your UX design portfolio.

Describe your role in the project. Introduce the key people you’ve worked with. This helps hirers
know what you did (and didn’t do) so they can better evaluate your skills. It also highlights your
team spirit and willingness to give others credit where they’re due it.

2. Explain Your Strategies that Contribute to Your

“Rising Action”
Shift your story into action mode in the rising action phase and lead your readers towards the
climax.

Outline some of the challenges you faced. These will provide some conflict and make your story
interesting. For instance, you could have had a tight budget or timeline to work with.

Explain your design process. If, for example, you used the 5 phases of design thinking—empathize,
define, ideate, prototype and test—then briefly explain what you did in regard to these. Make sure
it’s clear what steps you took to reach the final product, as well as why you took them.

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Bring your reader through the beginning stages of your design process. In an end-to-end design
project, that would usually involve user research. Include some photos, sketches or screenshots of
the deliverables you created, such as personas or user journey maps.

3. Let Your “Climax” Shine

This is the “meat” of your UX case study. The rising action phase should lead into 1 or 2 key
moments that form the shining climax of your story.

Highlight something about your project that will intrigue your hirer. This serves as the apex of your
story, something the hirer will remember afterwards. For instance, it could be:

• A tough decision that you / your team had to make;

• An unexpected user insight you’ve uncovered through user research, one that forced you to
change the direction of the project;

• A sudden or time-sensitive challenge that you then solved; or

• A novel idea or solution to the problem.

Share only the most important bits of your project. Since you must keep your UX case studies
short, you can’t show everything. Therefore, think about what pieces of your plot you need to tell to
create a meaningful and impactful story.

Similarly, you should show only key UX deliverables in your UX case studies, rather than all of them.
Include diagrams, photos, sketches and notes as long as they help tell your story.

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4. Make Your Story Fall into Place in “Falling

Action”
By now, your story is about to reach its final conclusion. Your user insights, decisions and ideas
should come together to inform the final iterations of your product.

Show how you’ve converted sketches or ideas into wireframes or high-fidelity prototypes. Bring
your reader through your user tests and summarize the key feedback you gathered from users. And
of course, show your photos, screenshots or sketches of UX deliverables whenever appropriate.

5. End with a Thoughtful “Resolution”

Showcase your end results in your conclusion. For an end-to-end design process, this will be your
final prototype or product. If you’re a specialist such as a UX researcher, this could be the final
report of your research findings. Try to show your end results—for instance in the form of
screenshots of your final app.

Explain how your work has achieved its goal. Link it back to the main problems you’ve outlined in
your exposition to give readers a sense of completion.

Include specific business outcomes if possible. Remember, hirers and companies care about the
value you provide—so, use business- and revenue-oriented outcomes as much as possible. For
instance, if you’ve created an app, how many people have downloaded it and how have they rated it
on the app stores? If you’ve improved the usability of a site, has its conversion rate increased?

Finally, include your personal take-away points. Your story is an emotional one, too! Your reflection
can include:

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• How did you feel about your end product?

• What have you learnt?

• If your project was not as successful as you expected, what were the possible reasons?

• Are there any follow-up actions you’d take, given that design is an iterative process?

You might think that a great UX case study has to end with amazing results, but that’s not true. For
one, a great result today might not look so great a few years later—for instance, your design might
look outdated because design trends have changed. Furthermore, what’s more important to a
recruiter is how you’ve overcome constraints and challenges to produce your results. So, while it’s
great if you have incredible results to showcase in your UX case study, don’t be afraid to present
your project even if it didn’t achieve success the way you’d hoped.

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Do you want to learn more?
Learn how to use this template to your best advantage in our online course How to Create a UX
Portfolio. Sign up for it today and learn how to create and improve your UX portfolio if you haven’t
already started the course.

How to Create a UX Portfolio

Beginner course
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,
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So, how do you build an enticing UX portfolio, especially if you’ve got no prior experience in UX
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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
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Learn more about this course

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