Make A Case Study That Gets Client Work

Are your case studies helping you to get work? What can you do when sharing your work with others to help you get more clients? Edited video from Ben Burns' webinar on how to show your work to get work. This about telling the story of effort and impact.
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Host: Ben Burns
Producer: Mark Contreras
Cinematographers/Editors: Ricky Lucas
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Typefaces: Futura, DIN, Helvetica Now, Calibre, Knockout, Champion Gothic

[@sacul220]

Mr. Ben Burns, your shiny head reflects the purity and brightness of the knowledge you provide us! Thank you!

[@mrbenburns]

Hahaha thanks. It is the beacon

[@josefickert4581]

Give that man a beer!

[@sharonho754]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@sacul220]

@@mrbenburns HAHAHA shine on!

[@felicitytully2401]

He would look SO MUCH better with a toupee imo

[@AhmedMohamed-qm4wd]

I’m currently working on my portfolio and the case studies behind them and have been questioning choices, but this video has really helped me to know that I’m going towards the right direction. Thanks a 💯

[@intagengaming8462]

"Make A Case Study That Gets Client Work" Ok, you have my attention "Let's say your project is like the Star Wars Saga" I like where this is going... "You are Obi-Wan Kenobi" A masterpiece

[@robertfigueredo5481]

Wow, I was looking for a video on this topic this morning and surprised to see The Futur hadn't covered it yet, and here it is. Thanks for the video!

[@mrbenburns]

Here you go!

[@thefutur]

bam!

[@Animefreak242]

Love this! I tend to be overly detailed and I worry about bogging the client down, though I've been mindful of the use of whitespace. This was very useful.

[@andrewperez7844]

Short but sweet. Loved the Star Wars reference. Thanks Ben!

[@dhruvin-dave]

Whenever I this guy, I know its pure awesomeness !! Keep em coming !!!!

[@JadeTrading]

I think making case studies are really important. Thank you for sharing. 🙌

[@adrianboysel]

Such powerful information, thanks for always brining amazing value here for free, means a lot to me and so many others.

[@robinfud1]

What you guys given us today is a strong weapon!! Thanks 🙌🏼!!

[@Darby25100]

This was a fantastic webinar, thank you so much Ben!

[@archieabong]

Thank you for this Ben! Definitely a clear direction for my next case studies.

[@benjaminleavitt3666]

From one Ben to another: thank you for this. There are many aspects to showing my work I hadn’t thought of until you mentioned them. This is really helpful.

[@thefutur]

Glad it was helpful!

[@anilparmar-td5tt]

Hello Mr. Ben, I am a self-taught graphic designer with 17 years of experience and still learning every bit I can... You guys are too good and learning a lot from you all... Just wanted to Thank you all :-)

[@saragetchel4106]

Bought the Perfect Proposal and Make a Case Study! TOTALLY WORTH IT. I was able to create an amazing case study for a job interview and presented well! The peer review sessions helped me understand the do's and don'ts. Will be looking into Ben's other courses. I mean come on! He helped me land a job in this market @ 40k salary increase. The Futur is an amazing resource and Ben is one of their stars FOR SURE

[@suegiske2056]

Case studies are like the visuals and story of your STAR or CARL activities in an interview. I love the topic. Thanks!

[@HotelSeptember]

Awesome. Thanks Ben!

[@vastvoids]

This is so timely! Thank you!

[@frederikmitk]

This content is so good, it'll never expire.

[@HustleSavvy]

Loving how you used the Hero's Journey to explain all of this. This is what Donald Miller wrote in his book - Storybrand.

[@the7odmelmoney]

This channel is made for me. Thank you.

[@hadar4771]

Thank you for this video 🙌🏽

[@FrontendMedia]

Great info, thanks!

[@dilarabelendir]

Thanks for sharing!

[@BlissfulCounterstroke]

I think Hadeel Sayed Ahmad is the best designer you've had on who can show examples of these studies. I've been stuck for years about so many things within the industry, but since finding The Futur and Hadeel's incredible process showcases, I feel I have the handle I was reaching for. At least, the lights have come on and now I can see where the door is.

[@thefutur]

Thank you for the feedback

[@karl8505]

Right as I needed it! Mr Burns, it is you, who is Obi-Wan Kanobi.

[@madness5693]

I really appreciate it. please make more videos like this.

[@trapease]

so supremely helpful

[@jaimejimenez2886]

I'm currently working on putting some case studies online, so you can already imagine how many times I've replayed this video. Minimum is probably 10.

[@soulshott8284]

This was greatly timed! I’m currently getting 3 projects organized and the layouts ready for me to put in the work. However I’m just starting out so these Case Studies Im putting together are 1. Passion projects and 2. Im starting them and will be documenting and writing the case study as the projects come along. My question to you guys is: When should you start writing your case study on a project? And lastly, how do you handle writing case studies on passion projects? An example to use is that a local restaurant I ate at recently had an absolutely horrendous website (in both use and looks) that hasn’t been touched since 2007 and I wanted to do a project of re designing and updating their website, I may reach out to them when the project is done but it’s my first one so I have a lot more puzzle pieces to fit. Do you have any advise for designers working on their first case studies specifically in relation to non client work? You guys are the best!

[@krishveersjadon]

this is great!!

[@mustaphanail2005]

Thank you so much .. the case study was confused me so much ..but not after this

[@josefickert4581]

Thanks for sharing this, i really appreciate it guys!

[@thefutur]

Our pleasure!

[@AdrianLopez-sr3dd]

Honestly such a good video, Ill rewatch it for sure

[@thefutur]

Glad to hear

[@MadManX668]

Thank you. This was amazing!

[@thefutur]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jaimejimenez2886]

Thank you!

[@rafaelteruel4261]

Your glowing head shows that you're the enlightened one and we will follow! Thank you. Got a question though, what about illustrator for a card game that doesn't have access to show the financial impact, click-through rate, etc. from the illustration they've done? What kind of "hooks" that we can make? We don't really give an impact on a quantitative basis, we just make "cool stuff", at least that's what I've been experiencing. Thanks in advance!

[@shlomo_wolf]

Lala Sammy would love to hear an answer as well. My thinking is that you can show results also by how the client responded to the work, for example, “The team at x company all loved the final result and couldn’t wait for the product launch” or something like that. Would love to hear an answer from a more experienced source tho @ben @futur team ;)

[@AceMyPlace]

Agreed! If you’re just starting out and making “fake” portfolio pieces of your dream clients, how would you present that?

[@rafaelteruel4261]

@@shlomo_wolf I guess you can, but it's such a subjective and somehow weird metrics compared to the numbers that ben and the futur team stated. It's more like a testimony though XD we need more. Would love to hear from them as well.

[@Darby25100]

I think Ben's answer in AceMyPlace's comment may help you. (Make your own metrics) 👍

[@inkrmahsarpong3752]

"Your glowing head shows that you're the enlightened one and we will follow!" This would have been a great comment.

[@ted0swag]

FIRE

[@hiredgoons9778]

The big question is: how do we learn the Results of the project? Once we've delivered the project to the client, how can we know if they saw success from it (measurable or not)?

[@dariusus9870]

@Jesse Alvarado Are you people actually serious? You call the person/company representative and ask. Ask for numbers, percentages etc. They'll lie to you even if they want to tell you the truth. You'll lie to others even if you'd like to tell the truth. Then others will read and know that you're lying. Other others will make videos telling you that "these things are iMp0RtanT" - maybe to a business in a b2b scenario, where both businesses act as corporately as possible but that's it. IF you're a freelancer STEAL what info you can from The futur but don't take it as dogma. Chris Do and maybe a few of their guests are worth listening to, but for how they say things not necessarily for what they say. Ben is completely clueless. Sorry Ben if you feel offended.

[@clivelubisi8326]

wow, this is good.

[@aribetterlari]

good stuff

[@sparkinteractive294]

Thanks a lot "Ben" :)

[@Ludvio]

my client is actually a princess that need to be saved

[@thefutur]

Haha

[@JamesHowardg]

Thanks Ben! Perfect analogy - explained so well! I am preparing a Case Study at the moment, any tips on asking the client for financials outcomes, as I imagine some clients may wish not to disclose their numbers??

[@mayyvislok]

Wish I had this to refer to when I was in design school!!

[@thefutur]

better late than never right?

[@TKitzu]

How do you hit all the important points for a case study that is just for practice /to build your portfolio? There's no impact to show, does that have a negative effect , or is there an alternative?

[@rafafernandes79]

Thanks a lot 4 the video! Loved it! Just a question: for a beginner with some ghost projects, would you recommend making a presentation in behance with this kind of structure, but clearly mentioning that it is a ghost project?

[@camilalau5477]

Awesome!!!!✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️tbh didn't really know what a case study was so this was helpful!

[@thefutur]

Glad it was helpful!

[@0xhammermann]

thanks for the great content. I just have one question. There are times that a design decision is made only because the client insists on it (and it may not be the best possible solution). How should we deal with these decisions? should we fix them and then show the better solution in the case study? should we show the project as it is in the case study or should we just skip over those?

[@torioriorio1998]

Saw Ben, hit play. 🙌🏼

[@mrbenburns]

You're my favorite. Tell no one.

[@daddouuuu]

This is great! Thank you Ben! Do you have any example of case studies that you think follow this best (other than Blind)?

[@adrianboysel]

Great question!

[@floulighting]

Thanks for this Ben/The Futur! Lots of value in a dozen of minutes. I’m a freelance architectural lighting designer and the work that I’ve been doing for the past 4 years is mostly confidential (project name, etc). I guess I could use previous work, but that was mostly done as an employee of one company and I feel it might not be very appropriate to only publish that? Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks again!

[@purnimakumari2157]

Thanks for your content on this topic, l personally struggling with hopeless clients. I have not yet get any clients who have some sort of sense of humour or in your term so could 🦸‍♂️ character ..... If you try to even ask little more questions to get better knowledge about there companies. They have problems with this also or if you try to explain processes they feel that they have knowledge of everything you need not have to give any explanation until unless they don’t need of this.

[@mrbenburns]

Sounds like it's time to increase your prices and level up ;)

[@alexdromero13]

yes master.

[@Future_ology]

How do you know if the logo design style you do, is what people are interested in? Or how not to overprice or underprice your work?

[@adonaylizardo3896]

You convinced me since you mentioned Star Wars.

[@mrbenburns]

The force is strong with this one

[@ArchitectofBrands]

Paid in full is such a good course to pick up, glad I got it. Thanks. I do have a question. Should we include stylescapes on our website or save them for proposals? I.e. logo design, showing the process. Thanks!

[@mrbenburns]

Show them! But make sure to explain them, so people don’t think the work in the stylescapes is all yours

[@ArchitectofBrands]

Cool thanks@@mrbenburns

[@AceMyPlace]

Same question as I see in the comments: What if your project wasn’t “real”? (Design for the client/ projects you want.) And how do you track metrics with clients?

[@mrbenburns]

Ahhh make your own metrics! Test your designs with a small group of people to see if they would buy the same thing more after the redesign. Or do an open ended questionnaire to gauge how the new design made them feel. You can do this on a small scale and report the results

[@gillianthedesigner]

You can post on social media too for metrics.

[@snehasood1549]

So I'm a new designer and have no real results or impacts to showcase yet, what would you suggest is the best strategy to follow in that case to get clients or show your value as a designer to get a job/internship? Thanks a ton for the video!

[@leonardjohnson7074]

Absolution bro.

[@leonardjohnson7074]

Ob2 one.

[@TheFuryeagle]

quality

[@jkartz92]

@thefutur what's the different between project showcase and case study, how does it vary? Should the case study be a blog?

[@thearshadmahmud]

Hey TheFutur team, please check your description. Host should be Ben Burns.

[@thefutur]

thanks for the catch.

[@aymofficial]

great video! Noticed that the headlines on the futur website seem oversized and are crossing in line-height. "line-height: 0.8em;" might fix that...

[@thefutur]

thanks! We'll let the team know.

[@rodrigodecarvalho2225]

Thank you so much for this video. Is there a place where to watch the whole webinar record?

[@thefutur]

let me check w/ Ben.

[@mrbenburns]

The full webinar is actually inside The Complete Case Study course - go check it out!

[@wenhao8265]

Hello Ben! Thank you so much for this video. I think I am adding the same question like everyone else. We work for quite large companies and they have their own internal social media as well as marketing team. The hard part is trying to get stats due to this as its hard and also on a product launch, their marketing people might hit up influencers online, press releases and a whole array of things and so how would you suggest us providing results when working with such clients?

[@mrbenburns]

Give credit to the rest of the team as well! "Together, working with the steller internal teams, we were able to achieve..."

[@The_Brand_Scientist]

What do you suggest if theres not enough case studies? what would be good Alternative to showcase to clients?

[@VR_Layno]

Hey Ben love the entire case study! I understand pretty much everything but as beginning my graphic business, where do the Case Study placed in the business? Does it come after sending the proposal? or?

[@mrbenburns]

They belong in Capabilities documents, on your website, and sometimes in proposals. But you only create a case study after the project is done and paid for.

[@PhenMas]

Great share Ben! Do you recommend web portfolios be more like case studies instead of just the work.?

[@mrbenburns]

I think both are appropriate for different things. Portfolios without too much story are fine for getting jobs and internships. Case studies are really good for getting clients. You can have both on your website, though.

[@aquaphoenixx]

FINALLY! The old Futur is back! This is the content that makes you great and I subscribe for!

[@thefutur]

tell us. what content do you want more of?

[@mrbenburns]

I got you ;)

[@aquaphoenixx]

This type of content made me spend hundreds of dollars on your courses. Real world actionable advise in the design world. Core skills & Business Skills. I do not expect a whole course for free, but some insights are greatly appreciated I really enjoyed Ben Burns' wireframe series as well as Chris's mock negotiations and Matthew's actions as a creative director. I enjoy, watch and get value from the 1hour+ interviews with guests as well but to me they are one of the core Futur content pillars. Videos like the one here are another. (If not the main one)

[@shawnfrank5303]

A lot of my projects do not have any metrics. It's usually delivering an app or a website which involves me designing the UX and then developing it. The marketing and data aspect is handled by another agency and clients do not share such information with me. Are there any other convincing impact or results ideas to show when we do not have access to numbers, stats etc ?

[@kristiandarney2901]

Thanks Ben, I totally struggle to get actual revenue stats and results from clients after I’ve worked on their projects, ie their engagement went up 20% etc... what do I do in this scenario, if I can’t get this info... social proof? Thanks for the video btw about to tackle my own case studies so very helpful

[@mrbenburns]

I think if you start the project by asking these kinds of questions, the follow up is natural and respected. If you come out of the blue, it can be tough to get the results. Also, it helps to actually asked targeted questions versus the "How'd it go?" - and many people don't even bother asking.

[@yoyoz333]

I have had the same issue with 2 clients. I create some work for them, but they havent allocated any marketing budget to do anything with the work I create for them, so it just goes on an instagram and facebook post...no advertising (online or offline) and no budget to pay their web designer to update their website in line with this work. I cant make case studies from this because I don't know how to measure any positive influence my work has had for them. What is there to do in this situation?

[@_jakenunez]

I'm planning on building my own portfolio website. And I want to put some UX designs that is not associated with a client (just some kind of a fun project just to show my potential clients). How can I put a case study on that? Btw, Star Wars fan here. May the force be with you.

[@mrbenburns]

Act as if there is a client: invent a goal, do the work, and test the results. Do a small survey among your friends/family/or best case, the audience, and share that data.

[@_jakenunez]

@@mrbenburns Noted on this. Thanks for replying!

[@DominicLeonMarketing]

🎉🎉🎉

[@brianm.butler8799]

Thanks so much Ben! In the past I've struggled with the text to picture ratio of case studies. No one has a one-size-fits-all answer but are there any rule of thumbs in terms of how much story you should tell through text versus in images? (i.e. Is it better to explain you conducted a user group test with one image and a short paragraph, or a quick one-line summary with multiple images?) (Edited for grammar.)

[@mrbenburns]

Design and write it for your target clients. If that's tough, get narrower on who they are. Niche down. Then you'll be able to understand exactly what they need to see or read. A political candidate manager and an art gallery curator are going to value two very different thigns in a case study.

[@brianm.butler8799]

@@mrbenburns Thanks so much for following up! I also saw your answer to a similar question and that you recommend photos with minimal text are good for jobs/internships while case studies tend to be better for getting clients-great to know! 👊

[@mimh15]

I had a project where I know the video helped my client get some new funds but I wasn’t part of developing the concept of what should be done in order to achieve that goal. After all they got the funds because of their efforts and the video was a way of documenting it. I wasn’t so much Obi Wan Kenobi but maaaaybe Chewbacca 😂 How do you put that in a case study?

[@dripcaraybbx]

Oh my client's definitely a Skywalker

[@anupriy1728]

Is there a right or optimum length / degree of detail for a good case study? Or does that depend upon the nature of the project?

[@mrbenburns]

Really depends on the nature of your audience/desired clients. Write it for them ;)

[@joshuayu9121]

you used outcomes, results, and impact interchangeably but you suggest that they are different

[@connorpallister]

Super helpful video. How many case studies do you think you should be sending a potential client in one of these pre proposal documents?

[@thefutur]

as few as possible, but pick ones that are most relevant and in line with what they want/need.

[@mrbenburns]

We call this a capabilities doc :)

[@fahadnadeem6418]

Does anyone know how can i get the free complete webnair?

[@leosarnow8115]

Thanks for the informative video, but Ben you kind of missed "Social proof" at minute 2:55. Could you explain it further what you mean by clients looking for social proof?

[@daddouuuu]

Was he mentioning Testimonials?

[@mrbenburns]

Yep! Testimonials. I went more into in the full webinar/kit. But yes, boils down to testimonials

[@thefutur]

social proof: the belief that if others are working with you, that you must therefore be good. This can include client testimonials, the infamous logo quilt of companies you've worked with, awards, certifications, etc…

[@leosarnow8115]

@@thefutur Ok that makes sense. Thank you! And have a nice one :)

[@GraveRave]

Cool vid man, looking to improve my case studies. But the thing that always make me feel insecure is what if you have no real world project, what if you can only do made up ones, what then?

[@danliving1]

What's a good place that I can find properly-executed case studies and study to make my own?

[@Runitsyourmamarun]

How do you show results when there are no measurable results or if there just was no impact from the work done?

[@pranavmistry2172]

Thank you Ben. Would also like to know how important is MISSION AND VISION of the company? How does it make an impact in a company across all hierarchy and amongst client and audience? How can it make a difference/impact?

[@Lovelundable]

What about "Services and Credit" and "Awards & Press"..

[@Butterflyfilmstudio]

Hey ben, would a video case study work just as well as a written out one? Maybe one in the sense of an explainer video type? Thoughts?

[@thefutur]

yes. build the case study first, then walk them through it on video.

[@camthemanking]

What do you do, say, if you are not working directly with the client? And you really don't have the impact info? For instance if you are a freelancer hired to edit or design for an agency? How do you frame it without looking like you took all the credit? Or you were just an executioner? Trying to find the right way to ask this question. Sometimes as a freelancer I am hired by a production company, who is hired by an agency, who is hired by the client. So 4 steps removed. Make sense?

[@camthemanking]

You emphasized how the Impact section is so important, but alot of times in these situations, you have no clue.

[@tomslaterdesignillustratio4391]

FUNCTION VS. DESIGN?! - Sometimes the planets align, and we land a gig that allows us to showcase our design chops, as well as prove our keen abilities to move that needle. But sometimes per client specs, the beauty of our services lie more within the function end of things as opposed to the design end of things. So my question to you, is how you would go about framing those NOTEWORTHY cases that are backed more so by enthusiastic client testimonials than by slick design? Please note that I'm referring to vanilla designs here - not shoddy designs : )

[@mau3020]

The client is the imperial senate asking you to finish the death star, so with all the changes from the senate, and the limited timeframe and budget cuts, the project ends badly during the deployment phase.

[@mau3020]

also it ends in a successful case study, and a ted talk on how to fail epicly

[@Thesilverninja]

This is a great and excellent video, but I'm having a problem of Catch 22. I had been a video editor for 10 years commuting into the city for all my jobs. Most of the work that I did on video editing into the city was not really portfolio stuff. I would edit clips or snippets to upload to a website, or I would be part of a team that created cinematics for video games. So when I decided I wanted to go back to advertising my freelance video work, I ran into the problem where I don't have a portfolio. The only stuff I have is ancient, pre-HD. I don't know if the client saw a boost in sales or exposure because they were one-time freelance gigs and I was young so I never thought to ask for metrics data. Now I'm finding myself getting declined left and right for job interviews relating to video editing. Any advice on how I can change this around? TLDR: Don't have a current portfolio and clients are not giving me work to add onto my portfolio.

[@nearfilmcompany]

Personal projects is a great one - I'm a filmmaker and had the same problem. Working in a commercial house, but was only doing a bit of shooting here, a bit of editing there, so my portfolio was either non-existent or sucked! So I went out and did personal work, a lot of which turned out to be music videos. And now my niche is music videos and that's most of the work that I do! So at the very least with personal projects you can show your skills and your creative vision, which you can then showcase for more work.

[@mrbenburns]

Yep - personal projects, especially if you help people with them. Shine a light on an ongoing issue you care about. Do a documentary about a passion

[@xantisant]

Preaching Miller's StoryBrand Edit: lol, you mentioned it

[@thefutur]

Miller's Story Brand is really taken from Nancy Duarte's TED talk, which is taken from Joseph Campbell "Hero's Journey" or the "Hero with 1000 faces".

[@xantisant]

@@thefutur I believed I've just been "schooled"

[@BestBBQShow]

Isn't everyone working for Leia tho?

[@OscarCuriel]

Yes, of course but the patient needs to pay the right way...and thats important.

[@JellyOproduction]

Damn im Early

[@mrbenburns]

You win! My respect ;)

[@AM-ui9mc]

People will probably bombard you with portfolios now

[@thefutur]

they already do.

[@mrbenburns]

Nothing new ;) But I do love to see them.

[@IanDeRanieri]

Me: This sounds just like StoryBrand. Ben: 9:05

[@martinsolaniyan8577]

If you are starting out as a designer and you have never had a work before, how do you create a case study?

[@thefutur]

You can still describe the design brief you were given and why your solution is relevant.