1. Introduction
What learning means to me?
To me, part of being a designer is accepting the fact that you don’t have all of the answers.Rather, the process of designing is one of continuous learning with no clear end - rich with discoveries and growth. Design at its core, is about tuning in to the evolving world around you.
We keep on learning as designers as a means of staying relevant in a constantly shifting landscape. Through our work - we bring our knowledge to life- we test it and refine it in real-world situations It is our way of honouring both the past and the present in order to confidently navigate uncertainty.
Despite accumulating a few years of knowledge and experience, I acknowledge that I am only just at the beginning of my own design journey. There’s so much more to explore, and the true value of learning comes from recognising that the road ahead is endless.
“The more I learn, the more I realise how much there still is to discover.”
2. Explanation
What is learning in Public?
Learning in public is about sharing your growth openly—documenting your progress, insights, failures and successes as you develop new skills or knowledge. It’s a way of making more active contributions within the community, positioning yourself as an engaged participant rather than just a passive consumer of content.
At its core, learning in public is about cultivating the habit of creating “learning exhaust”—the messy, raw, unpolished material that comes with the process of learning—and using it to build something meaningful and collaborative.
What makes this approach so compelling is that, in a sense, you’re creating the very resources you wish you had when you started learning. By documenting your journey and iterating on it, you're not just deepening your understanding of a subject, you're also offering others a glimpse into your growth.
For me, learning in public isn’t just about personal growth—it’s about creating a digital archive of my journey. Each post, each update, becomes part of my evolving body of work and a commitment to myself. It’s a record of my design journey, one that helps me look back, assess where I’ve been, and chart where I’m going.
3. Implementation
What is the purpose of this blog?
This blog post serves as a space to share an ongoing list of learnings, explorations, growth, and reflections from my design journey.
I’ll organise the content into categories, complete with a checklist to track my progress. My goal is to work through each item at my own pace, knowing that shifting priorities and emerging interests may cause some topics to move faster than others.
How and what I plan to share?
I have identified different formats through which I can share what I learn:
| Format | Description |
|---|---|
| Learning Challenges | I take on challenges that will help me mastering a new skill or concept within a specific timeframe. I share regular updates to stay accountable and hopefully inspire others who might want to take on similar challenges. |
| Content Curation | I gather useful content from multiple sources, summarise it, and add my perspective. I like to organise it in a way that makes it more valuable to others, like creating resource roundups, tool comparisons, or trend analyses. |
| Project Updates | I share brief, periodic updates on my learning journey. These aren’t deep reflections, just quick snapshots of where I’m at, small wins, and progress I’ve made. |
| Milestones | At key moments, such as the end of a year or a big project, I write a reflective post that highlights what I’ve learned, what I’ve accomplished, and where I plan to go next. It helps me track long-term growth and assess my progress. |
| Concept Breakdowns | When I come across complex topics or ideas that resonate with me, I break them down into digestible pieces and reframe them in my own words.I’lI try to explain it in simple terms while adding my personal take or insights. |
4. My List
Here's the list of what I'm currently focused on learning including what I've already learned in the last few months:
Design Systems
Focus: Have an extensive component library and design guidelines that will act as the foundation for future web design projects.
- Create a design system documentation template: Establish a clear and organized structure for documenting design principles, components, and usage guidelines.
- Build basic UI components: Start with foundational components (buttons, inputs, cards) using Storybook to visualize them.
- Establish color and typography guidelines: Define a consistent color palette and typographic styles to maintain design cohesion across all components.
- Develop reusable components in Storybook: Create components that can be easily reused across different projects, ensuring scalability.
- Integrate accessibility standards: Ensure that components are designed with accessibility in mind (contrast, keyboard navigation, etc.).
Three.js
Focus: Master 3D web development using Three.js for interactive graphics and visual projects.
- Complete Bruno Simon’s Learn Three.js course: Finish the course to gain a solid understanding of Three.js basics and advanced techniques.
- Build a simple interactive 3D scene: Create a 3D environment with lighting, textures, and basic animations.
- Experiment with custom shaders: Dive into creating your own shaders to enhance visuals and performance.
- Integrate physics with Cannon.js or Ammo.js: Add realistic physics to your Three.js projects for interactive elements.
- Optimize performance: Learn and apply best practices for optimizing Three.js scenes for better performance across devices.
Web Animations
Focus: Master animation tools and techniques for creating smooth, engaging web animations.
- Complete a Framer Motion project: Build a fully animated interface with smooth transitions and interactivity.
- Learn GSAP basics and advanced features: Explore timeline management, easing, and scroll-triggered animations.
- Create scroll-based animations: Integrate scrolling effects like parallax or reveal animations using GSAP or Framer Motion.
- Use Lottie animations in projects: Incorporate vector-based animations with Lottie to add lightweight, scalable animations to your site.
- Experiment with motion design for UI/UX: Design and implement micro-interactions and smooth transitions to enhance user experience.
CSS
Focus: Have an extensive component library and design guidelines that will act as the foundation for future web design projects.
- Create a design system documentation template: Establish a clear and organized structure for documenting design principles, components, and usage guidelines.
- Build basic UI components: Start with foundational components (buttons, inputs, cards) using Storybook to visualize them.
- Establish color and typography guidelines: Define a consistent color palette and typographic styles to maintain design cohesion across all components.
- Develop reusable components in Storybook: Create components that can be easily reused across different projects, ensuring scalability.
- Integrate accessibility standards: Ensure that components are designed with accessibility in mind (contrast, keyboard navigation, etc.).
WordPress
Focus: Create customized WordPress themes and templates for various client projects.
- Learn WordPress theme structure: Study the core files and template hierarchy in WordPress themes.
- Develop a custom theme from scratch: Build a WordPress theme starting from basic HTML/CSS to integrate dynamic WordPress functionality.
- Understand theme customization with PHP: Learn how to integrate PHP functions for displaying dynamic content in your custom themes.
- Integrate WordPress plugins effectively: Get familiar with the most popular plugins and how to integrate them into your themes or projects.
- Ensure theme responsiveness and accessibility: Make sure your themes are mobile-friendly and meet web accessibility standards.
Squarespace Development
Focus: Build and customize Squarespace templates to create unique, client-specific designs.
- Learn Squarespace development environment: Get familiar with the Squarespace backend, template structure, and developer tools.
- Create a custom Squarespace template: Build a fully custom template by modifying CSS and using the Squarespace developer platform.
- Integrate advanced design elements: Implement custom code blocks, animations, or third-party integrations in Squarespace.
- Focus on SEO best practices for Squarespace: Understand Squarespace’s built-in SEO tools and optimize the templates accordingly.
- Test and optimize for mobile: Ensure that all Squarespace templates are responsive and look great on all devices.
Freelancing Workflow
Focus: Grow my freelancing career by improving skills, building a personal brand, and landing clients.
- Develop a professional portfolio website: Showcase your best work in a clean and well-organized portfolio that reflects your expertise.
- Master client communication: Develop templates for client proposals, contracts, and invoices to streamline your process.
- Refine your pricing strategy: Research industry standards and define competitive pricing based on your skills and niche.
- Create a personal brand on social media: Share your expertise and work on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Dribbble to attract potential clients.
- Network and build partnerships: Connect with other freelancers and agencies to expand your network and open up more opportunities.
5. Acknowledgements
This project is heavily inspired by @swyx's idea of learning in public. Additionally Maxine Heckels blog post about the topic was also of key importance as a foundational source of inspiration and information. Her blog post also dives into the idea and draws from @swyx's own post, Learn In Public: The Fastest Way to Learn.