Designing Case Study Templates in Figma
When it came time for my annual portfolio revamp, I knew I wanted to focus on creating in-depth case studies that told the story of my…
When it came time for my annual portfolio revamp, I knew I wanted to focus on creating in-depth case studies that told the story of my projects more clearly than I had in the past. I had gathered images, documentation, insights and results from my projects and had dumped them into Figma.
However, the next step was to create a cohesive yet flexible set of templates that would allow me to build out each case study in a way that was unique to each project, while staying true to my personal brand and style. I also needed to be prepared to share the case studies in a presentation format in case I needed to complete a portfolio review during my job search process. Having your portfolio available in different formats offers more flexibility in your job search.
My steps for creating personalized case study templates were as follows:
Determine the theme.
I wanted a theme that reflected my unique and personal style, while being on brand with my visual identity. By exploring different potential color palettes and typography styles, I was able to create a personalized theme that would bring cohesion to my portfolio and case study presentations. After completing some color explorations, I created my own palette of colors to use for my slides.
2. Create visual guidelines and components for the template creation.
The visual guidelines I created included creating an organized typography system, card styles, a color palette, and gradient styles for the background of each slide. These elements were saved as components in Figma for quick access. I searched Adobe Color for inspiration on palettes that resonated with my theme. After finding palettes that inspired me, I built my own using Figma color tools. Once the colors were selected, I created custom gradients with them. The goal was to create a cohesive yet simple style that wouldn’t distract from the content.
Building out my components were simple- they included a few different options for card elements for action lists, title/paragraph hierarchy sections, and background gradients using different colors in my palette.
2. Create various template layouts in Google slides format.
Since I had already written out the majority of the copy I needed for my case studies, I created templates that aligned with the existing structure. I made sure to create different variations to provide more visual interest to each project. Each and every story has it’s own unique flow, so case studies should as well.
3. Build out the final case study presentations.
The final case studies certainly varied from the original templates, but the idea was that the templates were easily customizable, flexible and cohesive. The formatting also allowed me to include any information relevant to my projects and present them in the best way possible. The content was just as important as the design. No two problems are the same, so your case studies won’t be either. Having different template options allows you to account for that.
Let me know if these tips were helpful for you to create your own case study presentations!