Top Sketch Projects to Sharpen Your Skills and Build Your Sketch Portfolio

Sketch and other digital design tools have provided designers the opportunity to create impressive user interfaces for mobile applications and websites. Although Sketch was made specifically for the macOS, there is no doubt that it is a powerful tool to sharpen the relevant technical skills of UI/UX designers and other creatives in the design industry. 

Practicing and working on projects with Sketch is key to gaining experience with design components and building a solid design portfolio. This article includes some of the best Sketch projects for every skill level to help you develop the top-tier skills needed in your design career.

Five Skills That Sketch Projects Can Help You Practice

Sketch is usually used to make icons and user interfaces. The skills to achieve strong results are necessary for every UI/UX designer. Whether you are a beginner or a professional designer, these skills will accompany you throughout your career in the design field. Sketch projects will help you develop some of the following skills.

• Research Skills: Research is the first stage of every web and app design project to collect and analyze data. With your findings, you can understand users’ needs and design an effective solution to cater to those needs.
• Wireframing and Prototyping: Wireframing aims to show how a product works with different elements of the interface. Prototyping tests the functionality of these elements and the product in general. They both define the working principles and guidelines of the product and identify any design discrepancies.
• Visual Communication: Since an interface usually has very few words, the designer must integrate elements that can visually convey information. These elements will provide clues on what is clickable and instruct users on how to use the product. Some graphic design and drawing skills will come in handy too.
• Information Architecture: This is the art of constructing and organizing information in a way that is easy to understand and navigate. Users must be able to access structured and labeled information about the product.
• Application Development: It is advisable to have basic knowledge of HTML and CSS so that you can make inputs in the final development of the product. In addition, coding facilitates the testing and iteration of the product features to ensure design consistency and helps you understand how effective your design systems will be. 

Best Sketch Project Ideas for Beginners

Working on small projects will help you perfect the skills of a visual designer. From simple landing pages to the homepage of a mobile app, every project can give you a proper foundation before taking on complex projects. Below are some Sketch project ideas for beginners.

Landing Page

Skills Practiced: Wireframing and Prototyping, Visual Communication

For this project, you will design the landing page of a website. The page should be aesthetically pleasing and should contain relevant information about the brand. Ensure to include interactive features that could engage the user and also add a call to action.

Portfolio Site Page

• Skills Practiced: Visual Communication, Information Architecture 

Having a portfolio site is important because it is a great way to showcase your skills and projects. Bear in mind that first impression matters, so you should pay attention to the page’s general layout and appearance. It should be easy to navigate and display your ability to construct and organize information around design specs.  

Blog Website

• Skills Practiced: Information Architecture

For this project, you will design a blog website that will deliver information about any topic of your choice, such as weekly drawing prompts or drawing exercises. The website should be colorful and have a good layout for pictures and text, and can even include custom icons. Ensure to include interactive and engaging features capable of inducing conversions.

Mobile App Homepage

• Skills Practiced: Wireframing and Prototyping, Visual Communication

This project involves you designing the homepage of any mobile app of your choice. The homepage is typically a landing page that requires some typography to direct users on what actions to take and how to take them. The ease of navigation on the page is indicative of a good design framework.

TV Guide

• Skills Practiced: Visual Communication, Information Architecture

For this project, you will redesign the interface of a smart TV that allows users to navigate and scan through the content. The layout should be simple and easy to understand and should have a settings option and a menu of programs.

Best Intermediate Sketch Project Ideas 

At this level, you will employ Sketch to develop apps and websites. For you to be an efficient designer, you must have gained a certain mastery of your design toolkit. These projects will introduce you to the nitty-gritty involved in designing an application. The following are some intermediate Sketch projects that you can try your hands on.

Calendar App

• Skills Practiced: Wireframing and Prototyping, Visual Communication

For this project, you will design the interface of a calendar app. Make sure you add features that enable the user to mark dates and schedule events. You can use any theme color of preference and include fields for describing events.  

Ecommerce Website

• Skills Practiced: Research, Information Architecture

The ecommerce website should capture necessary details about a product and allow visitors to scan through a wide variety of items, add them to their cart, and make a purchase. Pay attention to its appearance, and ensure the available information is well organized and easy to access.

SaaS Website 

• Skills Practiced: Research, Information Architecture

For this project, you will design a software-as-a-service website that allows users to shop for various software. The website should have an integrated search engine designed with a target audience in mind. Ensure to include a compelling call to action and provide free trials for the products to attract users. 

Personality Website

• Skills Practiced: Visual Communication, Information Architecture

A personality website focuses on a public figure. In this project, you will design a website that is a source of content related to a celebrity. The website should be engaging while providing information to the fans on the updates about the celebrity. You could include a digital library, information about their career, and more. Remember to give attention to the visuals of the page.

Banking App

• Skills Practiced: Coding, Visual Communication, Information Architecture

In this project, you will design a mobile banking app from scratch. A strong background knowledge of coding would be helpful. The app should have a good interface and appearance. Consider a good information architecture that will cater to the needs of the customers. The app should be interactive and have a responsive design.

Advanced Sketch Project Ideas

At this stage, you will be taking on projects that will require advanced experience and skills. You will design apps and websites that function in real life and might collaborate with various design teams from time to time. These projects might take longer to complete, but you can deliver efficiently with a skilled application of your design tools.  

Weather Forecast App

• Skills Practiced: Visual Communication, Information Architecture

For this project, you will design a weather app that gives real-time information about weather conditions. The app should have a good design layout with excellent information architecture. Visual communication is a priority, and you could integrate icons for style.

University Website

• Skills Practiced: Coding, Information Architecture, Wireframing and Prototyping

Designing a university website requires you to consider appearance, structure, value promotion, and, most importantly, information delivery. The website should have an information structure that is easy to navigate while directing visitors to the exact information they need, such as application forms or details on scholastic performance. 

Restaurant Website

• Skills Practiced: Visual Communication, Information Architecture

For this project, you will design a restaurant website that allows users to go through a menu and make orders. Since you will be dealing with food, the page’s aesthetics should be excellent as it showcases the brand’s color and values. The website should have a good layout and should include interactive elements as well.

Music Website

• Skills Practiced:  Wireframing and Prototyping, Information Architecture

The music website should have a user-friendly interface that gives users access to various songs organized in different categories based on genre, artist, and charts. The website should be visually appealing and should include features like album recommendations, podcasts, and radio.  

Medical App

• Skills Practiced:  Wireframing and Prototyping, Information Architecture

For this project, you will design the interface of a medical app that diagnoses diseases and gives drug prescriptions to patients. Information architecture is an essential skill in this project. Also, the app must have a good appearance from its homepage to the field sections that allow a user to enter the details of an ailment.

Sketch Starter Project Templates

Sketch is a powerful design tool to create user interfaces. Sketch templates come with many editable features that allow you to customize designs to fit your concept. Templates are a great way to begin for starters, and advanced designers can also use them because it helps save time. The following are some Sketch starter project templates.

• Shila ecommerce Template: This template contains a homepage, catalog, cart, checkout, and an FAQ section. Its organized layers and modern design is perfect for an ecommerce website.
• Travel App Template: This template has a great style and color scheme with editable layers and features. Powered by SketchREPO, this template has a search feature that allows users to search for locations and directions.
• Wild Fight Hand Drawn Logo: This template also has editable text and colors and can be adapted for use on any project. It is also completely vectored and comes with a portrait orientation. 
• Fitgoal Template: This template for a workout app has components, screens, and icons that you can tailor to fit your design concept. If you’re looking to design a workout app, this template should come in handy.
• Crypto Mobile App Template: This crypto app template comes with two theme colors and layouts that enable you to design elegant interfaces. The design elements and screens are all editable, and you can resize them to fit the screens of many devices.

Next Steps: Start Organizing Your Sketch Portfolio

One benefit of project-based learning is your work provides you with content for your portfolio. Your portfolio is an extension of you and represents your design skills and abilities. A strong portfolio tailored to industry standards is what you should aim for because it can help you land the best jobs in the design industry.  Consider the following steps when organizing your Sketch portfolio.

Craft A Compelling Headline

Viewers should be able to access information about you quickly. It is advisable to craft a headline and bio that describes your personality and style so that the viewer can get to know you. While your designs are important, this first impression goes a long way.

Talk About Your Process

It is a good practice to talk about the process of your designs. You could include the methods utilized, lessons learned, and challenges you faced during the project. While you drop the final result, tell a complete story.

Keep It Simple And Minimal

Your portfolio should have a simple design with ease of navigation. Also, while there is no hard rule regarding how many projects to include, ensure it is not too much. You will want to highlight your best projects. Using a symbol that you can save and reuse across your designs will add consistency and can help build your brand. 

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