One question I occasionally get asked is:"Why do you spend time designing products that don't have a client?"

‍The answer is simple.

Because some of the most valuable lessons I've learned didn't come from client work.

They came from projects I started myself.

Projects without deadlines.

Without stakeholders.

Without expectations.

Just curiosity.

Personal projects remove limitations
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Client work comes with constraints.

Budgets.

Timelines.

Business priorities.

Technical limitations.

Those constraints are necessary and often lead to better decisions.

But personal projects offer something different.

Freedom to explore ideas without worrying whether they're commercially viable.

Freedom to experiment.

Freedom to fail.

And sometimes, that's exactly where the best learning happens.

They help me explore new industries
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Many of my personal projects started with a simple question.

What if banking felt less intimidating?

What if choosing a coffee machine was easier?

What if nutrition apps focused more on behaviour than calorie counting?

These questions became opportunities to learn about industries I hadn't worked in before.

Researching them expanded not only my design skills but also my understanding of people's everyday problems.

They sharpen my process
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Without client meetings or deadlines, it's easy to skip research and jump straight into design.

I try to do the opposite.

Personal projects are where I deliberately practise my process.

Research.

Discovery.

Information architecture.

User flows.

Prototyping.

Design systems.

The goal isn't just to create attractive screens.

It's to become better at solving problems.
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They keep curiosity alive
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One of the things I enjoy most about design is learning.

Every project introduces a new topic.

A new industry.

A new challenge.

Personal work allows me to continue learning even when I'm not working on a specific client project.

It reminds me why I became a designer in the first place.

They become conversations
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One unexpected benefit of personal projects is that they often start conversations.

Recruiters ask about them.

Designers discuss them.

Clients recognise similar challenges in their own businesses.

Sometimes a concept project creates more meaningful discussions than a finished commercial product.

Not because it's more polished.

But because it clearly shows how I think.

Looking back
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Personal projects have never been about filling my portfolio.

They've been about building my skills.

Every project teaches me something new.

Every experiment improves the next one.

And every idea, whether it succeeds or not, becomes another step in my journey as a product designer.

Because great designers don't stop learning when a project ends.

They keep asking questions—and keep building.