When to hire a designer for a side project?
Hi all - I've worked in consumer startups but never founded one nor brought a product to life myself. At what point would you recommend bringing on a designer to help mockup screens for a side project? Is this something I should be doing on my own? I've never used sketch before... Let me know if anyone has thoughts or opinions for a consumer product!
If its something you want to do or learn, you can use Sketch, Adobe XD, or Figma. But if you are a one-man show I'd suggest hiring a designer so you can focus on other things you are good at.
I think it depends a lot on the market you are entering and the product you plan to build. Some products need a lot more design thinking than others.
If you have a lot of competition and the market generally has a pretty high level of visual design, then it may be tougher to compete if you are not close to that level. Another reason you may need a designer is if your product is particularly complicated and needs someone to figure out complex or confusing user flows.
You also may not need to invest a lot in designer to get a good outcome. You could create some wireframes/mock-ups on your own using existing frameworks (or even copying similar good experiences you see elsewhere) and then contract with a designer for a few hours to have them review your mocks and provide feedback.
Depends on what you see out of this side project. If you want this side project to eventually become your full-time commitment and could get you money in the long term, then I'd suggest hiring a designer to help you. If it's just something to keep you occupied and just doing it for fun, then I'd probably just learn Sketch, XD or Figma.