How can I find more interesting projects than just some boring websites? Most of the products I’ve worked on never made it past the design phase, and I feel like hiring managers might see that as a red flag. I don’t want to create ‘fake’ case studies, but I also don’t want to work for free.

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Unfortunately, the nature of our job is to design, whether it is released or not, it’s not really our decision.

Showing ‘Fake’ Case Studies is Fine—If You Do It Right

Hiring managers are more interested in how you think and how you approach a problem rather than whether the project is real or not.

So showing a ‘unreal project’ is okay as long you’ve covered your bases:

Show how you arrived at the final solution, step-by-step (research, brainstorming, prototyping, etc.).

Highlight your decision-making, problem-solving, and iteration process.

→ It shows your ability to think critically and solve problems.

Keep your case study clear, concise, and easy to follow.

→ A clear story makes your work easy to understand and memorable.

Make your case study memorable with a unique style or tone.

Reflect your personality through your writing, design approach, or creative solutions to stand out from other candidates.

→ It helps you stand out and shows what makes you unique.

Personally, free or very cheap work usually works best, I wrote an article on how this topic.

However, you could do passion projects OR use these websites to generate ideas or challenges:

On the final note, it’s often preferred that you show websites, apps, and other design challenges you solve.