Background
Hiring managers review portfolios in under five minutes. A case study deck tells the story behind the pixels: constraints, trade-offs, your role, and measurable outcome.
Your mission
Turn one project you led or contributed to significantly into an 8–12 slide hiring-ready case study deck.
Recommended narrative arc
- Cover — project name, your role, timeline, one outcome metric
- Context — client/course/hackathon; problem and success criteria
- Your role — what you owned vs team; tools used
- Process overview — research → ideation → build → ship (adapt to discipline)
- Challenge 1 — deepest technical or design problem; show exploration
- Challenge 2 — collaboration, scope cut, or constraint (time, API, brand)
- Solution highlights — 2–3 screens or architecture diagram
- Outcome — metrics, user quotes, awards, or learnings if metrics sparse
- Retrospective — what you'd do differently
- Thank you / contact — optional QR to live demo or GitHub
Requirements
- 8–12 slides — PDF export required.
- Strong visuals — mockups, photos, or diagrams; no slide with >6 bullets.
- Outcome slide — at least one quantified or qual result ("reduced onboarding drop-off 18%").
- Thumbnail cover — standalone image for portfolio grids (16:9 or 4:3).
Evaluation criteria
- Story — clear before/after; reader knows your contribution.
- Depth — two real challenges, not generic "we worked hard".
- Visual craft — consistent type, alignment, intentional whitespace.
- Brevity — each slide has one job.
Tips
- Software: architecture + PR screenshot. Design: before/after. Marketing: campaign results.
- Anonymize client if NDA; say "Fortune 500 fintech" instead of name.
- Speaker notes optional; deck should stand alone.
Submission checklist
