The problem with unsolicited redesigns
And how to get them right.
I recently wrote an article about how side projects will benefit you and your Design career. One of the most popular types of side projects is the unsolicited redesign. They’re all over Dribbble, Medium, and Design Twitter. In fact, they’re so popular they got their own website. That’s not to say the love for them is unanimous though. Once you read some of the comments on these redesigns, or do a quick search on Medium, you’ll quickly discover two very different perspectives:
One half of the Design community loves and recommends unsolicited redesigns for all the value they bring — the other half absolutely hates them.
While I can certainly empathize with both camps, I know a properly executed unsolicited redesign can provide all the benefits I mentioned in my previous article.
An unsolicited redesign can be great practice, give you content for your portfolio, let you try out new tools and methods, explore your creativity, and be a lot of fun.
You might not have a great chance of turning your redesign into a business, but you will find a few case studies describing how someone landed a job or a client through an unsolicited…
