Free UX Templates (With Filled-In Examples)
Heads up: These templates are our own, used in UX teaching. Each comes with a filled-in example built around one consistent user so you can see the method in action, not just a blank grid.
Most free UX templates you find are blank grids. You download them, stare at the empty boxes, and still don’t know what good looks like. These are different: each template comes with a worked, filled-in example built around one consistent user, so you can see how the method actually gets used.
They’re the canvases we use in UX teaching — practical, method-based, and designed to move you from a blank page to a clear decision.
How to get value from a template: don’t just fill the boxes. Each template exists to answer a specific question about your user. Read the filled example first, then adapt the thinking to your own project.
The templates
User persona
A one-page portrait of who you’re designing for — needs, frustrations, context, and the insights that turn into opportunities. The filled example follows Maya, a long-term freelancer dealing with her bank.
Open the user persona template →
Customer journey map
How your user experiences a product over time, moment by moment — what they do, think, and feel, plus the pain points and opportunities at each step. The example maps Maya’s frustrating attempt to check a payment.
Open the customer journey map template →
Empathy map
See the world from the user’s point of view — what they say, think, do, and feel — so you design from their reality, not your assumptions.
Open the empathy map template →
User interview guide
Plan and run a research conversation that gets honest, story-rich answers instead of survey-style yes/no replies.
Open the user interview template →
How Might We
Reframe a problem you’ve found into an open opportunity worth ideating against — broad enough for ideas, narrow enough to stay useful.
Open the How Might We template →
5 Whys
Get from a visible symptom to the root cause by asking “why” until you reach something you can actually fix.
Proto-persona
A fast, assumption-based persona for aligning a team before you have research — and a starting hypothesis to validate.
Open the proto-persona template →
Concept
Define a solution clearly — what it is, who it’s for, the value it adds, and the actors needed to make it real.
Concept test
Validate an idea with real users before you build — capture the experience, the positives and negatives, and an honest acceptance level.
Open the concept test template →
Ecosystem map
See the actors, channels, and relationships around your product, so you design for the whole system, not one screen.
Open the ecosystem map template →
Storyboard
Narrate how a user experiences your solution in six panels, from problem to payoff.
Open the storyboard template →
Feedback grid
Capture and structure feedback — liked, to improve, new ideas, questions — so it turns into clear next steps.
Open the feedback grid template →
How these fit together
These templates aren’t isolated. They build on each other the way real UX work does. A common path:
- Run a user interview to gather real input.
- Turn it into a persona so the team aligns on who you’re designing for.
- Map that persona’s journey to find the painful moments.
- Use How Might We to reframe a pain point into an opportunity.
- Test the resulting idea with a concept test.
You don’t need all of them. Pick the one that answers the question you’re stuck on right now.
From method to portfolio
Here’s the part most designers miss: the work you do in these templates is the raw material for a strong case study. The persona shows you understood the user; the journey map shows you found the real problem; the reframing shows how you decided what to build.
If you want to turn that thinking into a portfolio piece, start with the UX case study guide, and study finished UX case study examples to see how research becomes a story a recruiter trusts.
The research you do with these templates is exactly what makes a strong case study. When you’re ready to write it up, Folioverse helps you turn that thinking into a case study recruiters trust — try it free.
FAQ
What UX templates are available here?
This hub includes user persona, customer journey map, empathy map, user interview guide, How Might We, 5 Whys, proto-persona, concept, concept test, ecosystem map, storyboard, and feedback grid templates. Each template has its own page with a filled-in example.
Are these UX templates free?
Yes, all of these UX templates are free. Each template page also offers a downloadable PDF version via email.
How are these templates different from the blank grids I usually find?
Each template comes with a worked, filled-in example built around one consistent user, so you can see how the method is actually used. They are the canvases used in UX teaching, not just empty boxes.
Which template should I use?
You do not need all of them; pick the one that answers the question you are stuck on right now. The page also shows a common path that connects interviews, personas, journey maps, How Might We, and concept tests.