How can I turn craft-making into portfolio pieces for design jobs?

Description:

I spend a lot of time on hands-on crafts (woodwork, ceramics, knitting, jewelry, etc.) and want to use that experience to apply for product/UX/design roles. What concrete steps turn hobby projects into persuasive portfolio case studies that hiring managers and recruiters will take seriously? Please include what to document, how to structure a case study, remote-friendly ways to show testing/impact, and where to publish or share the work.

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Josiah Brooks 11 Aug 2025
Document problem, users, goals, sketches, iterations, prototypes and test findings
Show photos, videos and case studies on your site, Behance, LinkedIn and run remote surveys and short user calls
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Natalie King 11 Aug 2025
I once turned a disastrous pottery class into a side hustle and then a hiring conversation because I kept telling the real story. I moved apartments, broke a kiln, cried over a lopsided mug. Embarrassing. Then useful.
Here’s how you turn crafts into portfolio case studies that matter. Start by documenting problem, context, your role, constraints and goals. Photograph process stages, sketches, failed attempts, BOM and time spent. Structure the case study as: brief overview, problem statement and target user, hypotheses, process with artifacts, testing method, measurable outcomes and what you learned. For remote testing, ship prototypes to friends, run moderated sessions over Zoom or use unmoderated tools like UserTesting, collect photos, videos and survey responses, or show durability tests on Loom with timestamps. Show impact with metrics such as units sold, conversion from listings, engagement, or qualitative quotes. Publish on a simple personal site plus Behance and LinkedIn posts, link samples in your resume, and keep high quality photos on Instagram or Dribbble. Tell the story, own the decisions, and emphasize iteration and user-centered thinking.
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