In this video I talk about designing personal projects with a purpose. I provide some questions to answer while designing screens for your projects.
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I think people lose motivation with personal projects because the idea they’re working on isn’t really something they’re passionate about, but rather something that they ‘think’ people would want to see in a portfolio.
Then they end up with a one page design with no depth, but instead it has fancy sliders, animation effects, stylish buttons etc. instead of focusing on creating an informative and content rich site (which is much harder than designing, I think).
I’ve made this mistake myself several times, and mentally it’s so tricky because in the initial phase you’ll feel all hyped up about your new project, but soon after it starts to become less and less interesting.
I think the key is to find a topic that truly means something to you, then it will be much easier to go through the grind, or “The Dip” as you’ve often spoken about, Mike.
@David @Madere- Yes, its difficult as you point out and easy to miss the mark on personal projects. The trick is to remind yourself that you’re designing the project to impress a potential employer. Act as though you will be asked about the project in an interview and need to explain your process and the project to a group of potential employers. This will force you to focus more on the product as a whole.
Great vid Mike, thanks for the great advice, never thought of the use case before having it in a list. I think its a good step to save some time and allow some great focus on the user experience part of the job.
As for personal projects i had the same issues as David is talking about, one thing i had to do was i realized that i had to take the personal project as a real project i was getting paid for, if not after one page the hype is all gone.
@Mike agreed, that’s why we need to understand not just design, but how business works, because otherwise envisioning what potential clients might ask, and at the same time answering those questions, will be very difficult.
Btw, thanks for recommending Gary Vaynerchuk in one of your videos, I’ve learned a lot from just listening to his videos.
I love how that guy thinks about business, and life in general.
Mike, as always, another great video. Thank you!
On my recent personal project, I could not come up with an idea so I asked a family member. Then, I went through “the process”: (1) had a kickoff meeting with them where I gathers requirements and converted those into User Stories, (2) did some research for design and functionality ideas, (3) started the design process and showed them some of the wireframes. I am now working towards a prototype that is clickable. By going this route, I feel like I have a purpose and motivation. I am treating this like a real client.
Lastly, I am documenting the process by placing everything on my portfolio (the User Stories, the Wireframes, and links to the prototype). Thanks to you Mike, I now know how and have the confidence to go through the process each and every time (hopefully mastering it). I know this will help me become a stronger candidate for future paying employers.
Please keep the valuable information coming. Merry Christmas and all the best to you and your family.
@Juan – Thanks for the insight, glad you’re taking good things away from the process. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well.