Slowing Down to Speed Up

What Creating a 10-Minute Case Study Presentation Taught Me About My Design Process

Recently, I had to prepare a 10-minute presentation on a UX/UI case study for a final interview. On the surface, it was just another step in the job-hunting process. But as I sat down to condense weeks (okay, months) of work into something short, clear, and compelling, something interesting happened… I started to understand my own design decisions in a new light.

For context, I designed an app from scratch as a part of my UX Design Bootcamp at BrainStation. Moving through every stage of the UX process: research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and UI design; time was tight. Each phase had strict deadlines, and I was juggling this with other coursework, deliverables, and a whole lot of learning. I didn’t have much space to sit with decisions or circle back for major changes. I had to keep moving, trust my instincts, and make the best choices I could in the moment… I think that would make it tricky for anyone to explain their rationale later on.

As someone with ADHD, my brain often moves fast. I follow instinctive leaps, solve problems intuitively, and make decisions based on a mix of pattern recognition, curiosity, and urgency. While this can be a strength in creative problem-solving, it also means I sometimes struggle to explain why I made certain choices (especially after the fact) and I don’t always leave a clear breadcrumb trail behind (thanks ‘past me’). Things that felt obvious in the moment can be surprisingly hard to retrace.

But this presentation forced me to slow down. To look at each design decision and ask myself:

“What led me here? What problem was I trying to solve? What trade-offs did I consider?”

It was honestly kind of like doing a retrospective on my own brain. I had to reframe my quick, intuitive moves as deliberate design thinking - and in doing so, I realised that they were deliberate. I just hadn’t taken the time to articulate them clearly.

Practicing how to talk about my design rationale helped me:

• Spot moments where my intuition had quietly followed UX best practices

• Identify gaps in my thinking I could tighten up in the future

• Build more confidence in my ability to defend my work

• Create space for richer, more targeted feedback

Speaking of feedback, another unexpected benefit? Getting clearer on my rationale meant I could finally invite better feedback into the process.

When I could explain what I was trying to achieve with a particular layout, flow, or interaction, my mentors and peers were able to respond to the actual intent behind my design - not just the surface-level execution. That’s when feedback becomes truly useful. It’s not just “I don’t like this” or “try changing the button,” but “Have you considered this alternate approach for the problem you're solving?”

It also made collaboration easier. When others understand your thinking, they can build on it, challenge it, or point out blind spots much earlier - which leads to stronger outcomes with less second-guessing down the line.

Creating this 10 minute presentation reminded me that good design isn’t just about the output - it’s about the ability to communicate the why behind it. Clear rationale builds trust, especially in collaborative fields like Design!

If you, like me, sometimes move too fast to track your own process, I highly recommend trying this: take one of your projects and give yourself just 10 minutes to explain it to someone else. It might surprise you what you uncover.