I recently took on a project where I volunteered to re-design the website of a non-profit that provides counseling, mentorship, and guidance to young adults transitioning to their next chapter of life after high school. I was excited to finally get to use the skills I have been working on for the last five months in a real-world situation.
Unfortunately, after sending my wireframes and prototype to the stakeholders, they decided they didn't want to go through with my design at this time.
Although I was disappointed with the results, I didn't take this rejection personally and learned so many valuable lessons from this experience.
For designers interested in taking on volunteer and/or freelance work, here is some advice I learned from my experience.
Before you begin anything, schedule a call with the stakeholders and gather as much business requirement information as possible.
Before you start the design process, create a timeline and mark everything down in your calendar. Set milestones and schedule meetings with your clients to keep them in the loop and make sure you're on the right path.
Be realistic about what tools you can use in your budget and timeline. There is a good chance you won't have time for all of the research methods you would ideally like to utilize, so prioritize what's critical for the project and what you can pass on.
Document everything! Doing this made my life so much easier and organized throughout the entirety of the project. Not to mention, when it comes to presenting your design decisions and creating a case study for your portfolio, you already have all of the information typed out that you can easily refer to.
Be open to collaboration. If the client you are working with has an in-house graphic designer who wants to be apart of the project, take full advantage of that! Keep them in the loop of where you are at and ask for their opinion if you're experiencing a creative block.
Practice your design presentation. I did a poor job in preparing for the explanation of my design decisions, and I do feel that played a large role in the final decision to hold off on my design. Communication is key, whether it's before, during, or after your design process.
Give every project your full effort. If you're going to take on a volunteer opportunity or begin a freelancing career, make sure you treat every case you work on with the same effort you'd give your absolute favorite project. Not everything designers work on is something they're incredibly passionate about, but it's important not to let that resonate in your final product.
Even though the result wasn't something I was hoping for, this first experience of taking on a solo project for a real client was so beneficial.
If you're interested in starting some freelance work but not sure where to start, reach out! I would also love to hear advice from veteran freelance designers about how I can continue to improve my work and gain more real-world experience.
If you would like to see my case study for this volunteer project, check it out here!
- Kaity
