Everyone benefits from having a side project
I am Fish Boy.
We’ll get to that in a moment.
Side projects are IMHO key to one's continued professional evolution. If you've known me in my role as design leader and strategist for a while you've heard me go on and on about this.
Expressing an idea with a goal in mind, is part and parcel of what people like me do in our day jobs. Lots of people involved, large budgets, long project timelines. Safe.
Take away the large team, cut the budget. Take away the safety. Keep the idea and the goal. It gives you a tingle in the stomach doesn't it? Is it excitement or fear? Regardless, side projects should be personal and tummy tingling is part of it.
What is a side project?
On the surface it’s something that isn’t your main line of work, but it might be something related. Like a digital designer who in their spare time creates leaflets and posters for a local bar.
It can also be something entirely different. And still stem from within one self. I love coffee geekery which is why for a few years, together with my friends Linnea and Simon, I published the annual printed book/mook/guide ‘96° - The world’s most tremendous coffee places’.
So, a side project can be related or unrelated to what you do for a living. But it’s something you get a lot of satisfaction out of, and are willing to spend time doing really well.
And sometimes it does feed in to what you do at work.
Thus, I am Fish Boy.
Gone fishing
Fish Boy Clothing is a side project I started earlier this year. It brought together design (what I do for a living), strategy (what I do for a living), storytelling (part of my work), my fascination with denim and especially the patches on the back of jeans (not my job), my love of Japanese advertising visuals from the 1930’s and 1940’s (also not my job) and my appreciation for music festivals and love of all things pop (neither of which I work with).
And the name? One of my happiest childhood memories is from when my cousin Micki took me out fishing during summer breaks. I couldn’t care less about the fish. Getting to hang out with my super cool, artistic, kind cousin was the main thing.
Put all of that together and you have my side project Fish Boy Clothing.
Who has time for a side project?!
Most of us I hope. For me side-project-time is when I’m travelling, or between meets. The Fish Boy designs come together when I’m in a hotel room in Japan or on a flight across the Atlantic. Or having coffee at my fave coffee spot here in Stockholm.
I’m not saying it’s easy for everyone to find the time, but it’s usually doable. Maybe 30 minutes in a random week to get started, followed by an occasional morning when it’s possible to get up an hour earlier. Or using one’s commute time.
Why side projects benefit from having an audience
While the act of doing is worth a lot, it is also exciting to share the results. For some it’s a requirement.
Personally I don’t like doing stuff only I get to see. I need an audience. It doesn’t have to be a huge audience, but more than just me for sure. It’s about validation, relevance, and finding one’s crowd. It makes me happy when my work makes others happy.
It’s personal
Fish Boy Clothing is a way for me to work with illustration, brand, communication and subject matter precisely the way I want. To make my scribbles and sketches in to something, if I feel like it.
It’s also, contradictory as it may sound, exciting to do something under a different name. Will something fly without being associated with me (or do better because it’s not)? What does it take to build a product alone when I normally work with large teams for clients? What can I learn about myself by sharing my work publicly without putting my name on it? Am I capable of doing other things than my usual work reasonably well?
However each of us would answer those questions we will have gained a different understanding of ourselves, and become better at our jobs in the process.
Yes it’s all deeply egoistical and that’s as it should be. Side projects should be about one self.
From side project to daily work
I am thankful Fish Boy has been so well received. Despite a tiny (tiny!) social following, but massively thanks to word of mouth, the first drop sold out quicker than expected. Two additional drops later, the orders keep trickling in and several of the new items are already sold out. Fish Boy even gets photos from fans who have spotted others wearing the gear!
Fish Boy will never be a full time thing for me. It doesn’t have to be and I don’t want it to. Fish Boy allows me to bring together things I’m good at with things I didn’t know I knew how to do. And that's enough.
Never stop
Despite being a long time professional designer/strategist and partner at several agencies over the years, I’ve of course learned a lot in these short months. And the positive effects on my regular work have been plentiful. From a new take on decision making to designing for new materials to promotion and international logistics. The other day I referred to my own experiences in managing online fulfilment of physical goods in conversation with a global client. It resonated extremely well with them because it was a lived, earned experience.
This is why one should never stop having side projects. It's akin to putting the brakes on ones own growth and relevance if one drops all the side goodness.
While writing this post I kept thinking of friends who also manage side projects. They are all very experienced, senior and successful in their roles. You've likely used services they’ve built, bought their designs or benefitted from their work in some shape or form regardless of where in the world you live.
Suzy is an in-demand DJ on the side. Andreas bakes bread and pizzas to the delight of guests when not “at work”. Kimberly is also an artist. Mikael does field recording in his down time.
They all have two things in common.
They’ve kept these and other activities as side gigs, not allowing them to become work. They make a little money, just as I do with Fish Boy. Yet that’s just a perk. The secret to side project longevity is to keep it on the side. Not that work isn’t fun but the freedom allowed by side projects is worth more.
The other thing is that my friends and those around them can clearly see how their side gigs have made them better at their main work. This is my own experience too. Fish Boy is my gazillionth side project, and every single time they’ve made me better at work.
This is likely how it’ll be for you too.
Keep having side projects regardless of how successful you are in your career. They’ll keep making you better, and they will be joyful.
People react positively
I have never had a negative reaction when I tell people about my side projects. The occasional sceptic, sure, but they too have been curious. Clients, employers, colleagues and everyone else I meet are intrigued or excited and want to know more. I've been invited to do more than twenty (paid) talks and workshops by people who have found out about my side stuff and want me to share my experiences with their teams and organisations.
A word of caution
The same excitement and satisfaction that drives our best side gigs is also what can eat in to time and energy better spent elsewhere.
Don't let it take time away from your main line of work or your family and friends. Find the balance.
You!
What’s your current side project? Or what would you like to start doing? I'd love to hear from you.
If you like what I create with Fish Boy at fshby.shop use the code ‘sideproject’ (one word) to get 20% off your order, and you’ll be wearing my side project this summer while working on your own!
