Design and Build Something

There’s something truly satisfying about turning an idea into an actual, real thing in the world.

That applies if you create a beautiful piece of art that you only imagined before. Or if you build a treehouse. Or a desk. Or a model car. You name it.

Along the way, you might learn to use design tools, like SketchUp, as well as new building tools to make your design real. You can learn how to work with money, because building something usually takes some budget planning. You’ll hone your skill of managing a project, which is useful to all kinds of challenges you might explore later. And best of all, you’ll get to take an idea all the way from an inspiration in your head into a real, beautiful and/or useful thing in the world.

Getting Started:

Generate Ideas: Do you already have an idea for what you would like to build? Or maybe you have a problem in mind, like needing a desk to do school online, and want to design something awesome that you can use? The first step is simply to generate ideas. For some people this might be by sitting down with a clean sheet of paper and starting to jot down ideas or sketches – if that’s you, go for it and let even the craziest ideas come out. Others might want to brainstorm by talking with friends or looking up inspirational examples online, which could lead to a design board with images you found, or a shared brainstorm list with a friend.
Narrow down: Once you have some ideas, start to think about which ones are possible with the time, tools, money, and skills you have. You don’t have to have all the skills now, but knowing people who have them, or finding good resources online, will be important. See if you can narrow it down to one idea – we’ll call it Version 1. Depending on what you’re building, you may want to make a more detailed sketch of what Version 1 looks like.
Plan it: Take that Version 1 concept, and either by yourself or with someone who has more experience making things like that, make a list of what you need. What tools? What materials? How much money will it cost? How much time? What kinds of skills or help will you need to learn the right skills? See if you can identify a test build – a small part of what you need to create, or a rough version of the whole thing – that will let you practice before making the real thing.
Tools & Allies: Once you have that plan, start to gather your tools and your ‘allies’ – the people who will help you, perhaps by teaching you a skill, letting you borrow their tools or materials, etc.
Test Build: Finally time to start building. If possible, before making the real thing, make a test build to practice all that goes into building your design. Once you’ve done, evaluate it to see what worked about your design and build process, and what could be improved? Are there other skills, tools, or materials you need?
Build it Better: Now that you have some experience from your test build, you can build the whole Version 1.0. Bring the tools, materials, skills and allies you’ve found together to make something awesome. And at the same time, be kind to yourself – if it doesn’t look perfect, remember this is just Version 1. If you have time and interest you can take this forward to Version 2, 3, or more, by which point your skills will be getting strong and you’ll be making something far beyond what you could have done at the start of this process.