A passion project is an independent project where you can practice your skills and flex your creativity with less pressure since it’s not for a client. If you’re a seasoned business owner having a slow month or a brand new business, a passion project can help:

• Develop your portfolio

• Explore new interests, and 

• Build your confidence

Learn how to start your own passion project for your business and get a glimpse of my design process for Katie B. Dunn, a fictitious brand that I created with the help of my newsletter subscribers when things were slow in my business.

Step 1: Define the goals for your passion project

Don’t pass go until you’ve completed this essential step. As a business owner, you know time is money, so why do you want to start a passion project for your business?

• Do you need a creative outlet?

• Are you shifting target audiences?

• Would you like to improve your skill set?

Whatever your goal is, don’t start creating until you’ve defined it. Otherwise, you might lose track as to why you decided to work on one and put it on the back burner indefinitely.

Why I use passion projects in my business

Passion projects are a chance for me to share the behind the scenes to my business and how I create head turning branding design for my clients.

Now you might be wondering, why don't I just share client work. Blame that on my inner critic....which is a work in progress. With starting a passion project, I’m able to show you more than just the final deliverables. I also want to show you that the world is full of possibilities and not to be afraid to dream BIG in your business. In Katie’s case, she started off as a wellness coach but is expanding into ice cream sandwiches. Random offer or ingenious idea?!? Read on to find out more.

Step 2: Give yourself constraints

Have you ever stared at a blank screen on your computer because you didn’t know what to write? It’s intimidating and you’re probably repeating to yourself “F*** me!!! What am I going to write?!” The same concept applies to graphic designers when their client says “you have creative freedom on this project. Work your magic!” or when you decide to start a passion project but don’t know where to begin.

I fell into the latter. So I enlisted help from my email subscribers. I sent an email with the subject line “I need your help!” If you don’t know me well enough yet, I’m not one to ask for help. I’m usually the one who does the helping and not the other way around. I was lucky enough to have a handful of my email subscribers fill out a survey to create the constraints for my passion project.

Step 3: Create a project brief

A project brief is an outline of your passion project. It details the final deliverables, the project goals, the problem you are trying to solve, who it’s for, and/or any must-have/constraints.

When Katie came to me, she wanted a cohesiveness within her brand so that her current clients would instantly recognize her and her new ones would be intrigued to learn more about her. Katie currently offers online wellness coaching to overwhelmed moms who feel like they have to live up to this unsustainable standard of motherhood. She helps them find a moment to disconnect and recharge even if it’s only for a second to indulge in their guilty pleasures.

Katie is also in the process of creating a product based offer…ice cream sandwiches! As Katie reminisced about her childhood, she clearly could picture her mother’s face as she ate her evening dessert. It said “finally a second to myself.” Her mother’s expression led to Katie’s idea to expand her business into ice cream sandwiches.

“Overwhelmed moms may not be able to eat dessert every night nor are they always able to sit down and relax while they eat it. So I wanted to give them that moment of peaceful happiness that my mom had when she indulged in her evening dessert. And the best part…NO DISHES!!!” It also was important for Katie’s visual presence to match exactly how she wanted to be seen:

• Outgoing

• Adventurous

• Playful

• Her client's ride or die best friend

• The person they can lean on when things are rough but always down for a good time

FYI…this is an abbreviated version of the project brief I would send to my clients. After a 3 hour brand strategy session, I know so much about you and your business that I’m able to connect all these dots to create a brand that feels just like you and makes you excited to share your business with the world.

Now before you freak out over how long my brand strategy sessions are, they aren’t as intimidating as they sound. It literally feels like you're chatting with your college best friend catching up over drinks. You tell story after story that you can’t believe how fast time has flown by.

Step 4: Create the deliverables

The deliverables for your passion project depend on what skills you are trying to develop. Because I want to show you how I translate your brand’s foundation and personality into the visuals for your business, I decided to design:

• The overall look and feel for Katie B. Dunn

• The logo for her brand, and

• The homepage to her website

The overall look and feel for Katie B Dunn’s brand is called “forbidden enjoyment”. It originates from her mission to help moms create their own definition of motherhood and not live up to the Stepford wife standard like she did when she first became a mom. Between being rebellious, desiring a place to escape to, prioritizing “Me Moments” and the nostalgia of her mother’s expression, a modern day Palm Spring vibe immediately came to mind.

No surprise here! If Katie had questions I answered them. But since she was able to collaborate on the whole process, Katie understood the reasoning behind each creative choice I made for her logo, website, and packaging. Everything felt intentional and reflected the overall look and feel we established together for her business.

Sidebar…you might be wondering why I designed multiple versions of her logo? The answer is the same logo cannot be legible on something as large as a billboard or as small as the icon in your website browser tab. So a logo suite is important for every business to have for brand recognition and legibility.

Step 5: Share your passion project everywhere

You want to post your passion project wherever your dream client might see it, whether it’s:

• On your website

• In your newsletter, or

• On all your social media accounts

Remember a passion project is to help you explore new interests, flex your creativity, and build your confidence. If it helps you enroll new clients…well, that’s an added bonus!!!

P.s. At the time I wrote this blog post, I was soooo nervous about pressing publish. As I mentioned before, the goal of this passion project is to build up my confidence around sharing my work with you. If you are in the same boat, I see you. Remember, one courageous act is a step closer to becoming the confident business owner I know you can be.

What’s your passion project idea you’d like to start?!?!