Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Reed Knecht UC Revolution Facebook Page

Why you should do it and how you can win

Never send a designer to do a developer’s job. At least, that’s what I always believed.

I have experience in HTML and CSS under my belt. Barely.

In fact, just go ahead and scratch that claim since I usually forget the difference between a class and an ID, and desperately need a developer’s help in any coding venture I undertake.

So, why in the world did I decide to join a Hackathon?!

First of all, if you aren’t aware of what a hackathon even is, here’s a little definition:

hack·a·thon (ˈhakəˌTHän/) noun—informal

an event, typically lasting several days, in which a large number of people meet to engage in collaborative computer programming.

“Oh yeah. Totally sounds like something a designer should do,” I hear you say sarcastically, but hear me out because going to UC Revolution’s hackathon was one of the best decisions of my career. As a result, I’ve decided to write about my personal experience, tips-and-tricks, and advice on how to win.

My Story

Why in the world did I sign up?

It’s a valid question.

A little while back, I contacted a girl who was currently in an internship I was interested in. I asked her for information on her personal experiences at the company and asked about any advice on what she suggested I do to be accepted in the future.

One of the number one things she suggested was going to any hackathons, startup weekends, conferences, or any other events that would be able to enhance my portfolio. She said that while those projects were not for real-life clients, they demonstrated that she could design under high-expectations, a stressful time-frame, and alongside other members in a group, and still create something awesome.

For me, getting hired at any of my past jobs has largely been a matter of differentiation. Whether it was over-dressing or bringing a personal sketch-book vs. just a portfolio to my interview, it has definitely helped in getting past jobs.

So, with differentiation in mind, I decided to sign up for my first hackathon.

My Advice

Before the event officially starts, mingle. Talk to a lot of different people to get a sense of who needs team members and ask them what type of project they’re thinking of undertaking before you decide which team you want to be in. Not every team will be a good team for you. I was specifically looking for something that would be digital like an app. If my team had wanted to create a robot, I probably wouldn’t have been much help. As it was, we did virtual reality. There was enough work for me to do, but it wasn’t exactly something I was personally interested in, and I wish I would have talked to more teams before deciding which one I wanted to join.
Visit every sponsor at the venue. Ask them about their APIs (also, learn what APIs even are before you go), chat about their company and job openings, and snag every piece of merch they throw at you. Your mission at this point is to get as much free swag as you possibly can.
Idea formation is arguably the most important part of your entire process, and you as a designer are extremely crucial at this stage. A huge part of our job as designers is to not only solve problems, but to be story-tellers. You’re working with people who are good at front and back-end development. You need to be the person who makes the project mean something deeper, so getting that story down pat is one of your most important jobs.
Be willing to learn code and be prepared to not code at all. I think it really depends on what sort of project you work on, how comfortable you are with code, and who your team members are. Everyone on my team knew multiple languages and had worked in several different programs. They were able to figure out Unity (the VR program we used) much faster than I ever would have. At any rate, I didn’t have to touch a single line of code throughout the entire process. I worked on textures for the room’s multiple surfaces, the set-up screens for the game, and the general branding for the program. However, I was 100% willing to learn anything new about coding if nessecary.
Bring deodorant, face wash, toothbrush/toothpaste, body spray, and anything else that will keep you from looking and smelling like a stereotypical engineering college dude. Trust me, it’s bad, and if you don’t bring this stuff, you’ll end up like 80% of the participants there. You definitely don’t want that.
Bring a pillow/blanket and actually sleep. The whole time I was there, I felt I was in a competition to see who could survive with the least amount of sleep possible. Don’t be that person. You’ll be a lot more productive after a 2hr power-nap than you‘ll be if you attempt to make it on a deathly amount Red-Bull. Also, the Noisli app/Spotify’s “Rain Sounds” playlists are life-savers because they allow you to partially drown out the 4am sound of your teammates yelling in jubilation because their code is finally working.
When I got into the hackerspace there were a variety of couches, armchairs, and tables spread out across the room. My team grabbed a table and pulled some arm-chairs up around it. Honestly, in terms of sleeping, it was one of the best decisions we made throughout the entire event. So get a good space to hack/sleep that’s as comfortable as possible and you’re gold.
If you work in computer science/engineering, you probably have some massive PC laptop. If you’re a graphic designer, you probably have a Mac. Don’t get me wrong, Macs are great. But, if you’re trying to download something like Unity (which is the program we used to code our VR game) you’ll probably run into some downloading issues like I did, simply due to the size of the program. So, do what I wish I would have, and bring an external hard-drive. At any rate, it’s just nice to have as backup
Eat as much real food as possible. Otherwise, you’ll fill up on cookies, chocolate, and chips which, despite being the best junk food known to mankind, will probably give you heart-palpitations that make you feel like you’re at a AC/DC concert. Also, make your life’s motto “hydrate or die.” Red-bull is not a substitute for water.
Give yourself long breaks every couple hours. Go to midnight tech talks, participate in the most competitive sport known to man: cup-stacking, or take a long walk. One of my favorite parts of the event was running around the abandoned campus with two of my team members at 1am. It allowed us to give our brains a break and have a little fun.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day, our team of four freshman coders and one sophomore graphic design student beat out about 400 other students, most of whom were much older. The reason?

We created with real-life people and a solid story in mind.

We reached far and ventured into programs, techniques, and languages that were beyond us, but which we worked hard to master.

We ensured that it not only worked well, but it looked professional and well-designed.

If you’re not 100% happy with what’s in your portfolio, then be pro-active. Go to events, participate in Hackathons, or do anything you possibly can to make your portfolio the best it could possibly be. At the end of the day, you’re in control of what work you have in your portfolio. Do what you can, and then watch the results.

<a href="https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href">https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href</a>

A Graphic Designer’s 10 Top Tips for Hackathons was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A Graphic Designer’s 10 Top Tips for Hackathons

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