A solid basic framework for a successful side project

Remember that recruiters and clients love to see designers take their skills and apply them to real-world projects. And more than that, building something and launching it is an incredible learning experience that will teach you how to design something, build it, and then improve upon once it’s live!

So If you’re excited by the idea of working on a side project that is more than just a series of well-designed images and screens, that’s great! But coming up with original ideas out of thin air can be tricky, so I share few guiding questions to help you identify and refine a concept for the perfect project!

1. Your​ ​specialities

First,​ ​write​ ​down​ ​your​ ​design​ ​skills​ ​and​ ​specialities.​ ​These​ ​could​ ​be​ ​as​ ​general​ ​as​ ​“Visual Design”​ ​or​ ​as​ ​specific​ ​as​ ​“Branding​ ​design​ ​for​ cloth​ ​shops”.​ ​Even​ ​if​ ​you’re​ ​new​ ​to design,​ ​write​ ​down​ ​the​ ​areas​ ​you’re​ ​most​ ​drawn​ ​to​ ​and​ ​think​ ​you​ ​might​ ​want​ ​to specialize​ ​in​ ​when​ ​you​ ​launch​ ​your​ ​creative​ ​career.

2. Your​ ​interests

Next,​ ​jot​ ​down​ ​some​ ​things​ ​you’re​ ​interested​ ​in.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​an​ ​intentionally​ ​broad​ ​question and​ ​could​ ​include​ ​things​ ​like​ ​industries​ ​you’re​ ​passionate​ ​about,​ ​social​ ​impact​ ​efforts you’re​ ​involved​ ​in,​ ​products​ ​you​ ​love,​ ​types​ ​of​ ​websites​ ​you’re​ ​obsessed​ ​with,​ ​etc.

3. Problems/Gaps

Now,​ ​write​ ​down​ ​some​ ​problems​ ​or​ ​gaps​ ​you​ ​think​ ​exist​ ​in​ ​the​ ​areas​ ​you​ ​mentioned above.​ ​The​ ​best​ ​products​ ​exist​ ​because​ ​someone​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​solve​ ​a​ ​real-world​ ​problem they​ ​were​ ​experiencing​,​ ​so​ ​spend​ ​some​ ​time​ ​on​ ​this​ ​section​ ​before​ ​moving​ ​on.​ ​Think about​ ​things​ ​you​ ​wish​ ​existed​ ​in​ ​these​ ​areas.

Now​ ​that​ ​you​ ​have​ ​your​ ​skills​ ​and​ ​interests​ ​listed​ ​out,​ ​it’s​ ​time​ ​to​ ​think​ ​about​ ​the​ ​ways​ ​you​ ​could​ ​apply those​ ​skills​ ​to​ ​solve​ ​the​ ​problems​ ​in​ ​the​ ​fields​ ​you​ ​care​ ​most​ ​about.​ ​Here​ ​are​ ​a​ ​few​ ​examples​ ​of common​ ​side​ ​projects​ ​you​ ​could​ ​work​ ​on:

Now​ ​that​ ​you​ ​have​ ​your​ ​skills​ ​and​ ​interests​ ​listed​ ​out,​ ​it’s​ ​time​ ​to​ ​think​ ​about​ ​the​ ​ways​ ​you​ ​could​ ​apply those​ ​skills​ ​to​ ​solve​ ​the​ ​problems​ ​in​ ​the​ ​fields​ ​you​ ​care​ ​most​ ​about.​

Once​ ​you​ ​come​ ​up​ ​with​ ​an​ ​idea​ ​you’re​ ​particularly​ ​excited​ ​about,​ ​write​ ​a​ ​summary below…

Overview​ ​of​ ​your​ ​new​ ​idea

1. What​ ​is​ ​it:​ ​​

2. What​ ​form​ ​will​ ​it​ ​take:​ ​

3. What​ ​elements​ ​make​ ​it​ ​up:​ ​​

4. Who​ ​is​ ​the​ ​end-user:​ ​​

5. What​ ​problem​ ​is​ ​it​ ​solving:​ ​​

How to Get Started

Now that you have an idea you’re excited to build, it’s time to break it into more manageable pieces so you can create an action plan! When coming up with your action plan, think about the first launch of this new project as a Minimum Viable Product.

Strip the idea down to the core functionality and focus only on building the basic elements needed to get it live and functioning. You can iterate and build from there, but it’s important to get products, whatever form they take, in front of at least a few potential users early so you can test your assumptions against real-world users as soon as possible.

You’ll be amazed by the amount of information you can get after interviewing just a couple of people who have interacted with your product!

Skills Needed

First, write down a list of skills you’ll need to launch this project, breaking it into the skills you already have and the skills you’ll need to develop to be able to complete it.

1. Skills you currently have (e.g. UI Design):
2. Skills you’ll need to learn (e.g. how to start an online course, or basic Front -End Design skills):

Components

Next, try to break the project into the different components you’ll need to actually launch it. Be as detailed as possible so you don’t miss anything, creating different lists for different categories of tasks.

1. Design assets needed (e.g. fully-designed website; logo and branding for your project):
2. Content needed (e.g. written content for your first 4 newsletters; fully developed online course content):
3. Accounts needed (e.g. Mailchimp account to send newsletter; Stripe account to process payments to my online store, social media)
4. Feel free to add other categories (e.g. how you’ll market it once you launch it)

Project plan + Timeline

One​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​important​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​launching​ ​something​ ​new​ ​is​ ​creating​ ​a​ ​timeline​ ​and​ ​project​ ​plan that​ ​you​ ​can​ ​easily​ ​follow​ ​as​ ​you​ ​go.​ ​Most​ ​side​ ​projects​ ​have​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​moving​ ​parts,​ ​so​ ​it’s​ ​important​ ​to compartmentalize​ ​them​ ​into​ ​manageable​ ​chunks​ ​so​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​get​ ​overwhelmed​ ​and​ ​lose​ ​focus.

First,​ ​choose​ ​a​ ​launch​ ​date​ ​for​ ​this​ ​project​ ​that​ ​sounds​ ​reasonable​ .

Create​ ​a​ ​spreadsheet​ ​with​ ​the​ ​following​ ​columns:

1. Task​ ​category​ ​(using​ ​the​ ​same​ ​categories​ ​you​ ​outlined​ ​in​ ​the​ ​DELIVERABLES​ ​section above)

2. Task​ ​description​ ​(a​ ​detailed​ ​description​ ​of​ ​the​ ​task)

3. A new​ ​skill​ ​or​ ​existing​ ​skill?

4. Due​ ​date​ ​(list​ ​these​ ​chronologically​ ​in​ ​the​ ​order​ ​you​ ​think​ ​they​ ​need​ ​to​ ​get​ ​done)

5. Completed?​ ​(to​ ​add​ ​a​ ​checkmark​ ​to​ ​once​ ​done)

6. Link​ ​to​ ​Completed​ ​Item​ ​(so​ ​you​ ​can​ ​keep​ ​track​ ​of​ ​where​ ​everything​ ​is)

7. Other​ ​Notes

Create​ ​a​ ​folder​ ​where​ ​you​ ​can​ ​store​ ​all​ ​of​ ​the​ ​assets​ ​for​ ​this​ ​project

Next Steps

Once you have your idea outlined and your project plan created, it’s time to get to work! Here are a few steps that will be applicable across pretty much any project, so start here…

Market & consumer research:

Research other businesses, websites, or initiatives similar to your project. Familiarize yourself with the average consumer.

Who are they?

What are they buying?

What makes them choose one product over another?

Are they using this product to solve an inherent need or is the product impulse-driven?

Think about what the consumer looks for in their ideal product and what drives their decision-making process. Also, think about how they find out about products like yours — this will impact how you are going to market your new project and what your promotional plan will look like.

Create a moodboard:

Collect imagery that speaks to the tone, voice, colour palette, and typography style that you want your project to contain. Then, arrange it into a cohesive mood board to inform your brainstorming process.

Ideate:

With the help of your brand mood board, begin to brainstorm ideas for your project’s overall look and feel. Think about the user, the industry, the project itself, and your own end goals.

Work through your project plan and receive feedback from others as often as possible, ideally people who would be your target audience once you launch your product (or people who have launched something similar in the past).

Market it!

Research how similar products have launched and found users in the past.

For web projects, this site is a great way to see where similar sites are getting most of their traffic (e.g. from certain social channels, from certain other blogs, etc.)

For physical products, this blog has thousands of amazing articles to help you find an audience and sell products online

For digital products, this blog and this blog have tons of resources for . selling everything from online courses to design textures.

Google is your best friend. Search for specific phrases like “How to sell ______ online” or “How to get people to visit my ______ website” and prepare to be amazed by the sheer volume of relevant and helpful articles out there.

Iterate and improve:

Once you launch, ask for feedback from people online. What did you forget to include in your project that they might find valuable? How can you optimize your website/newsletter/online store to improve conversions and encourage repeat use by visitors? What assumptions did you make about what people would be most interested in that turned out not to be true? What do people really wish your product had included that you didn’t even consider? Research is one of the most important tools in any designer’s toolkit, and being able to improve your work via user research is an amazing way to stand out to employers and clients.

Showcasing this particular project on portfolio

• Start by describing why you decided to work on this project. What was the problem you were trying to solve and who is the end-user?
• Showcase your process, showing relevant sketches and mood boards where appropriate. Discuss any problems you encountered and how you solved them. Mention any user research you conducted as you were designing it.
• Apart from showing final versions of your product, discuss how you marketed it to end-users and what the results were. Being able to build something from scratch and then find an audience is a remarkable achievement!
• Finally, if you iterated on your project after launch based on user feedback or new learnings, briefly describe that as well.

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