Steph Parrott Portfolio
Senior Product Designer (Square, previously Box). Her self-directed 'Plantd' case study — a plant-based dining discovery app she designed, coded, and shipped to beta — documents a research insight that overturned her own initial assumption.
What makes it work
A breakdown of the choices that make this portfolio stand out.
Research overturned her own assumption
Documenting a pivot away from her original idea, based on interview findings, is a stronger credibility signal than a case study where every guess was right the first time.
A non-obvious data-modeling choice justified by research
Reviewing individual dishes rather than whole restaurants is justified directly by a specific research finding, showing structural thinking, not just UI polish.
A designer who also built the thing
She taught herself React Native to ship this rather than only producing mockups — end-to-end ownership from research to shipped code is unusually rare in a portfolio.
Honest about external disruption
The case study notes the project's growth paused due to COVID-19 rather than glossing over it — a small but telling sign of an honest, non-inflated narrative.
What Product Designers can take from this
Specific, actionable tips to apply to your own portfolio — no generic advice.
If research contradicts your original hypothesis, say so explicitly.
Justify unconventional data-modeling decisions with the specific insight that drove them.
If you can build even a rough version, ship it — actually shipping is stronger proof than an unlaunched prototype.
Don't hide external setbacks that affected a project's trajectory.
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