Avoid this
- Only changing colors without solving the real design problem
- Choosing something too large or vague to redesign clearly
- Ignoring the audience
High school project idea · Design & Creative Arts
Redesign Something Ugly
Find something visually confusing, outdated, or messy and make it clearer, stronger, and more useful.
Great designers notice what others ignore and improve how people experience the world.
Original Compass project by Davisville LabsReviewed August 2026Goal real work, evidence, and reflectionEditorial standards →
Why this project matters
Learn by doing something real.
Design shapes how people understand, feel, and act. Students often think design is only about making things look good, but strong design also improves clarity, usability, emotion, and trust. This project helps students see the designed world around them, identify what is not working, and create a thoughtful before-and-after redesign that shows both creativity and problem solving.
What you will create
Your project plan
Use these deliverables as milestones for Redesign Something Ugly. Adapt the details to your interests, available time, and real-world opportunities.
- 01
Design Problem Snapshot
Choose something that feels confusing, outdated, cluttered, awkward, or visually weak, then document what is not working.
- 02
Audience & Purpose Analysis
Identify who the design is for, what it is supposed to communicate or help people do, and why the current version falls short.
- 03
Moodboard & Design Direction
Collect visual inspiration and define the style, tone, colors, layout, materials, or design principles guiding the redesign.
- 04
Before-and-After Redesign
Create a redesigned version using sketches, mockups, digital tools, photos, layouts, diagrams, or visual prototypes.
- 05
Design Case Study
Publish a polished portfolio case study explaining the problem, process, design choices, feedback, final redesign, and lessons learned.
Make the work stronger
What separates a finished project from a meaningful one?
For Redesign Something Ugly, use these checkpoints to protect the quality of the work without turning the project into a performance for admissions.
Evidence that it is working
- A weak or confusing design was selected
- The design problem was analyzed
- A moodboard or design direction was created
If you want to go further
- Test the redesign with five people
- Create multiple redesign concepts before choosing one
Skills you can build
Capabilities that travel beyond this project.
ObservationCreative Problem SolvingVisual AnalysisIterationDesign Communication
College application value
Use the project as evidence, not decoration.
Demonstrates creativity, initiative, visual thinking, problem solving, attention to detail, communication, and the ability to improve something through thoughtful design.
CreativityInitiativeProblem SolvingAttention to DetailCommunication
The goal of Redesign Something Ugly is not to manufacture an impressive activity. Do real work, keep evidence of the process, and reflect honestly on what changed.
Related college majors
Which fields connect to this work?
Use Redesign Something Ugly as a clue, then open a related major guide to compare coursework, career directions, reality checks, and other ways to test the field.
Major guide
Design
Turn ideas into experiences people can see and use.
Major guide
Human-Computer Interaction
Study the space where people and technology meet, then design systems that are easier, safer, clearer, and more humane to use.
Major guide
User Experience Design
Design digital experiences around what people are trying to do, then test whether your solution makes their lives genuinely easier.
How this guide was made
Read editorial standards →Redesign Something Ugly is an original Compass educational starting point designed around real work, visible evidence, feedback, and reflection. It is not an admissions guarantee.
Ready to build it?
Try this project in Compass