10 Things That Helped Me Improve as a UI Designer

Everything I did and still do to grow as a designer

By Iconicebestiary

Building a career in design isn’t easy but here are some of the most worthwhile things I did that helped me improve by leaps and bounds.

1. Side projects

Side projects are what lead me to discover my interest in product design in the first place.

When I was 18 years old, I had the idea to build a tool that allowed people to create their own Snapchat geofilters, which had just been released by Snapchat, at the time.

I had some graphic design experience — knowledge on how to use photoshop and illustrator, but zero exposure to product design.

Yep, this is the first UI design I ever made. (circa July 6, 2015)

After attempting to design my first side project, I realized that I enjoy the process but was clueless about how to properly design a real product.

I ended up hiring a designer to finish what I started, and they did a slightly better job…

This project led me to continue designing side projects for any and every idea that I had. Whether I had plans for my project to be developed or not, I would still design it as though it would be.

Working on side projects helped me develop the skills that other designers who aren’t focusing on the entire product experience, are skipping. I would have to take into account all of the states to make my product complete.

I’ve always pushed myself to come up with ideas for products and design them out as much as possible. I’ve created a bunch of products for fun that have never left a Sketch file on my computer.

My side project Rocket

Having a side project not only shows that you have initiative and can create a product on your own accord — but it…