Project Ideas


Applied Design

create artwork for popular print-on-demand products such as:

  • T-Shirts
  • Scarves
  • Stickers
  • iPhone Cases
  • Pillows, Blankets
  • Mugs
  • Stationery
  • Bags

Markets: Redbubble, Society6


Designer as Maker

design and make objects for sale to end user

  • stationery
  • jewelry
  • digital templates
  • digital tools, such as Photoshop brushes and clip-art
  • art and home decor

Markets: Etsy, Ebay, craft fairs, retail stores


Designers as Mass Producers

designs art/object and manages production of object through self-manufacturing or 3rd party manufacturing in mass quantities

  • screen printers
  • print shops


Getting Started

Ten Steps to Become a Design Entrepreneur | Steven Heller, SVA NYC

  1. Determine what the community / society in which you live needs.
  2. Conceive of ideas that will address those needs.
  3. Determine who is the audience for these ideas.
  4. Use design to frame and communicate these ideas.
  5. Turn these ideas into conceptions and prototypes.
  6. Identify the fabricators who will transform these ideas into products.
  7. Reassess the product in light of the needs and wants of the audience.
  8. Fine tune the product so that it is ready for the market.
  9. Develop marketing strategies for promoting and selling the products.
  10. Deliver the final product to the audience / consumer.

Design: Creation of Artifacts in Society by Karl T. Ulrich

Generate Your Own Problem to Solve

  1. Sense gap
  2. Define problem
  3. Explore alternatives
  4. Select plan