Attending Your First Design-A-Thon 101
Trying something new is always scary, but usually worth it in the long run. A lot of times, the thing that holds us back from going out of our comfort zone is the fear of failure or not knowing what to do. If you have any interest in design or UI/UX and are thinking about dipping your toes into the field to see what it’s like, I’ve got you covered! CreativeX is having its second annual design-a-thon, CreateRU, exactly for people like you! The design-a-thon is open to all students regardless of major, class year, or experience level.
Most people attend designations to create a project or for the educational workshops. Either way, it is a great opportunity to learn something new. From personal experience and the experiences of other students who have participated in design-a-thons, I have included some things to keep in mind. These are some general tips and things I wish I knew, and I hope they can help you too.
1) Take advantage of the resources available.
There are workshops through the design-a-thon, and there are also people willing to help you out! E-board members in charge of running the design-a-thon and designated mentors are available and want to help should any troubles arise. Everyone has started off clueless at some point, so mentors know how you feel.
2) Figma is free for all students!
If you are a Rutgers student, you can get a free plan if you sign up through your Rutgers email address. Figma is a great tool to help you create applications and will most likely be the platform you use. There are many helpful tutorials on getting started with Figma, and may even be workshops throughout the design-a-thon.
3) Make sure to budget enough time for the hard deadline.
While this year’s design-a-thon is a week instead of 24 hours, it’s still important to use your time wisely and make sure you focus on the tasks that matter. Designing and prototyping a product is only one part; typically there is also a “presentation” aspect where your team must explain your thought process, early sketches, etc., which can take longer than you would expect.
4) Narrow down your ideas once you have finished brainstorming, and prioritize what you want to work on.
You may feel stressed at first when it comes to coming up with a project idea, but it’s better to focus on a problem you want to solve rather than having a solution already prepared. Feeling indecisive? Reach out to our e-board members for some advice!
5) Your first project doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t) be perfect.
No one is expecting you to have a fully fleshed out product, and especially not after a week. The most important thing is that you have fun and learn new things. It’s also okay if you don’t completely finish your project— any designing, brainstorming and prototyping that you do is valuable time spent.
6) Don’t be afraid to reach out to other people to form a team!
So many others are as nervous as you, and the best teams are those who work together and come from different backgrounds and skillsets. This is especially important if you are a beginner — you’ll find plenty more people who have never designed before or are just starting out, and a design-a-thon is a perfect way to get your foot in the door.
7) Learn about the strengths and backgrounds of your teammates.
After you come up with a general direction for your idea, see if there is a way to divide up the tasks or roles to get as much work done. For instance, one person may be more specialized in user research, while another is skilled at prototyping. Utilizing these strengths to your advantage is encouraged, so everyone is able to bring their knowledge to the project and split up the work more equally.
Don’t forget — help is always available for you if you need it. If you are afraid to reach out to someone directly, you can also scour the Internet for resources. Most important of all, don’t be afraid to be yourself! You have qualities and skills that are important, whether you realize it or not. Design-a-thons are less about winning and more about the learning process. As long as you learn useful skills and feel proud of the time you put into it, you have accomplished something worthwhile.
