Personal Projects That Shaped My Thinking
Not every lesson comes from client work. In fact, many of my design instincts were built by creating personal projects for fun, curiosity, or experimentation. These passion-driven explorations allowed me to develop skills at my own pace, free from brief limitations. Here are a few that helped shape how I approach design and storytelling.
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Redesigning the YouTube Music player gave me hands-on experience with Material You and Android's evolving design system. I played with colour-matching interfaces, responsive icons, and modern scroll behaviours. Beyond UI, this project taught me how user experience is influenced by subtle decisions, like the position of a lyric button or how waveform animations sync with playback. It was a perfect example of function meeting emotion.
I constantly create visual art just for myself. From experimental posters to moody illustrations, this unstructured work is where I try techniques, styles, and even mistakes. These moments are where I develop my sense of taste and pacing. Often, these pieces help me connect with like-minded creatives or spark new project ideas. Creating without expectations fuels my ability to design with intention later.
Bleck, my own clothing brand, became my personal design school. I built its logo, visual identity, campaign teaser layouts, and even the social media aesthetic. This was my space to explore luxury branding, minimalist fashion UI, and packaging concepts. I learnt about creating design systems that translate from fabric to web and how to align storytelling with typography and colour in a commercial context.
