The Power of Personal Projects for Creative Growth

Depending on what kind of person you are, the concept of working on personal projects in your field outside of work may seem amazing or terrible. If you come home from your job as a mechanical engineer, do you want to work on building things, or do you want to play video games? When you, as a graphic designer, clock out for the day, do you practice painting, or do you relax and watch a movie? Everyone is different, but pursuing a personal project outside of your normal work can be fulfilling and contribute to your personal and creative growth. In this article, we’ll talk about some of the benefits, and ideas for projects.

Hobbies vs Projects

Personal projects aren’t for everyone. Many people are burned out from their day jobs and prefer to relax outside of work. Or if they have a hobby, it’s unrelated to their work. But even if your hobby has nothing to do with your work, it’s still useful for personal and creative growth. Anything you do that gets you outside of your normal bubble is great for your mental health. But it’s also good for inspiring yourself and exposing yourself to new ideas. When you leave your usual niche, you’ll encounter ways of thinking that you didn’t when you were working only in your bubble. But, personal projects can also move beyond just hobbies, and be an integral part of your growth.

Freedom to Explore and Experiment

Personal projects provide the freedom to explore new concepts, techniques, and ideas without the constraints of client expectations or commercial considerations. They allow you to step outside your comfort zone and experiment with different styles, genres, or mediums. This freedom to explore fosters creativity, innovation, and the discovery of new approaches that can be applied to your professional work. You have the opportunity to create things that never see the light of day, which means you can use assets that are only free for personal use, or that you normally are not allowed to use without permission – you have full creative freedom as long as you keep it private.

Ignite Passion and Motivation

Engaging in personal projects allows you to pursue subjects and themes that genuinely inspire and ignite your passion. When you’re invested in a project that aligns with your personal interests, motivation and enthusiasm soar. This renewed passion drives you to push boundaries, overcome challenges, and invest the time and effort needed to produce exceptional work. You may turn into a perfectionist because you feel truly proud of what you’re working on.

Building a Unique Portfolio

Personal projects allow you to build a unique and diverse portfolio that showcases your creative vision and capabilities. It’s an opportunity to curate a body of work that reflects your personal style, interests, and artistic voice. This curated portfolio positions you as a versatile and well-rounded creative professional. Personal projects can also be a way to break into new fields. If you’re stuck making one kind of creative content for your job, you’ll need to rely on personal projects if you’re interested in landing a client with a different style.

Overcoming Creative Blocks and Burnout

Engaging in personal projects can help overcome creative blocks and combat burnout. When you have the freedom to explore without constraints, you can rekindle your creativity and find renewed inspiration. Personal projects offer a refreshing break from commercial work and allow you to reconnect with the joy of creating. They serve as a reminder of why you fell in love with your craft in the first place and rejuvenate your creative spirit.

Continued Learning and Growth

Personal projects encourage a mindset of lifelong learning and growth. They challenge you to push boundaries, seek new knowledge, and stay updated with the latest trends and techniques in your field. By continuously engaging in personal projects, you embrace a growth mindset, expand your creative horizons, and ensure that you’re always evolving as a creative professional. It can be hard to stay up to date when you’re stuck in the everyday grind.

Ideas for Creative Projects

Here are a few ideas for creative projects based on your field. However, we can start with a few projects that apply to every creative field.

• Learn a new program: Whether you’re a video editor or a graphic designer, you probably have your software of choice. Take the time to learn how to work with different software. You may find that certain workflows are easier if you utilize a different tool!
• Use different equipment: You get used to your favorite hardware, so challenge yourself by switching from a digital camera to a film camera, or a keyboard and word processor to paper and pen. You’ll learn more than just the hardware – you may be reminded of some fundamentals of your field and get a fresh perspective.
• Try teaching: Teaching someone your craft can be rewarding, but also educational. People can often figure out the solution to a problem simply by talking it out. Teaching a newcomer can freshen your perspective, and the inevitable questions from your student will prompt you to think about your work in a new light, and challenge some of your assumptions.

Photography Projects

• 365-Day Photo Challenge: Commit to taking (and potentially sharing) one photo every day for a year. This project encourages you to find inspiration in your everyday surroundings and develop discipline in capturing moments.
• Photo Series: Create a photo series themed around a specific topic, technique, or feel. This could be documentary photography about a person or place. It could be a series of photos centered around a specific emotion. Or you could experiment with a certain technique or distinctive lens

Videography Projects

• Create a solo short film: Write, direct, and produce a short film. This gives you the chance to explore different genres and experiment with new storytelling techniques. Try teaming up with friends and family to act in the film, or do every part of it yourself if you want a unique challenge.
• Re-edit a video: A video feels a certain way because of how you chose to edit it. Go back to an old project and challenge yourself to fundamentally change it. You can turn a 20-minute YouTube video into a 10-minute one. You can completely change the story of an interview by using footage that was left on the cutting room floor. You can turn footage into the background for a music video. The options are limitless, but you should aim to re-make something you’ve already created.

Graphic Design Projects

• Create a fake brand: Design a new fictional brand (maybe with a fun or witty name) and create a full brand identity for it. This can include colors, usage guidelines, and a logo or packaging designs.
• Design your own font: You probably use dozens of fonts in your everyday work, but can you create your own? Delve into the world and particular rules of typography and design your own font. It doesn’t have to be a special or mindblowing typeface, but the exercise can expose you to the concepts that go into making a font.

Writing Projects

• Keep a journal: Just write down anything that pops into your head. Ideas for content, song lyrics, funny jokes you hear, what you remember from your dreams. Anything goes! You never know what might spark an idea, either when you write it down or days later when you look at your journal again.
• Write a short story: Whether you’re a novelist or a blogger, writing a short story can be a fun exercise. Short stories have certain constraints that a longer book does not, and limitations like this can often breed creativity.