Life: Designed

This week I began preparations to launch my own digital product. Before we get into what I’ll be creating, we need to talk about who it’s for. I began with market research, evaluating what’s out there, defining potential audiences, and seeing what products might fit.  

The Audience

I knew from the start that I wanted to make something for creatives like myself. I wanted to create resources people actually need in their creation journey to take their piece one step further. That’s why I chose two potential audiences for my product: a creative professional and a hobbyist. 

The creative professional is someone who works as a designer, social media manager, art director, agency, or something similar. They’re either working freelance or as part of a bigger company and need resources because they don’t have the time to make their own. This group can typically bill their clients to cover the cost of any necessary resources. 

A hobbyist is someone who has creative hobbies on the side, like scrapbooking and digital art, or owns their own creative side business. They want resources for their work and may not know about or have the technical knowledge to use the resources currently available on the market. This group is very price-conscious and values convenience.

My Ideas so Far

I’ve got a few ideas so far; we’re still pretty broad right now. There’s a lot of research that still needs to be done to finalize my plans before any one idea stands out. So far I’m thinking of an icon pack, a seamless pattern pack, a PNG pack, and a vintage-inspired typeface. 

The icon pack is the most fleshed-out idea I have so far. I’m thinking of having mine center around the topic of beauty. The idea is to create a variety of icons for packaging design, informational content, and more. 

What makes it unique? It’ll feature icons for a variety of hair and skin types, opening up the door for greater representation. As someone who has run the social media for a curly hair salon and who has curly hair themselves, it’s not always easy to find icons that represent you. This icon pack would aim to fill that gap and allow everyone to feel seen by the beauty industry.

My next idea is a seamless pattern pack that would feature a variety of handmade patterns that can be used in different scenarios. I’d love to include a mixed-media element in this pattern pack, but at the very least, the patterns would be hand-drawn. The patterns would be available to use in Illustrator, Photoshop, Canva, and as PNG files.

Through my research, one idea that really stood out to me is a PNG pack that can be put over existing images to add depth or personality. I’ve seen people upload random everyday objects, paint swatches, texture overlays, etc. I’m not sure what kind of images I would collect just yet, but this is certainly an idea I’m excited to investigate. 

My final idea is a typeface inspired by vintage typography. This could give a brand a unique feel and make it stand out, be used for personal projects, or make a project feel more period-appropriate with a vintage type feel. It would create each character in uppercase and lowercase, as well as special characters, and, ideally, come in a light and bold font.

Making a Market Research Plan

One of my first steps in creating my market research plan was taking a step back. I began by looking at the current state of the digital marketplace and noting any common trends or problems. The major problem and trend I noticed was the influx of AI-generated products and listings being sold for really cheap. These listings feel cheap, like the seller is just trying to get a quick buck, not actually solve a problem I have or offer me something I can’t get anywhere else. This, to me, makes the handmade products I viewed stand out even more. 

Next I looked into online selling platforms. I knew sites like Creative Market were where my audience shops for what I hope to sell, so I concentrated my search there. To familiarize myself with other platforms and to brainstorm other product ideas, I also looked into sites like Etsy, Notion Marketplace, Gumroad, Buy Me a Coffee, and LemonSqueezy. Ultimately, I decided Creative Market was the best place for me. 

While nailing down my product ideas, I searched Creative Market for people doing similar things. I selected three products, a typeface, a PNG pack, and an icon pack, and noted what was working and what could be improved. This step helped me understand what competitors are doing, instead of blindly starting the creation process. 

My final step was to look at the reviews on competitors’ products and on Reddit to understand what people liked and didn’t like about the products they were seeing. I noticed people loved the quality and uniqueness of products. I saw they were worried about file sizes and the number of resources the packs would come with. Users on Reddit emphasized the importance of file naming and consistency between assets. 

View my full market research report below.

In the coming weeks, I’ll finalize my idea and start creating my product. Stay tuned to see what product idea I end up going with.