I’m Building a Curated Design Resources Website — Here’s Why

sarfaraz ali syed — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 02:36:34 +0000

I’ve been working on a small side project where I curate mostly free design resources for designers — icons, illustrations, UI kits, fonts, and tools — all in one place.

It started as a personal problem. I kept bookmarking great resources across different platforms and never found them again when I needed them. So I decided to organize them in a single, simple library focused on discovery.

I shipped it early without worrying about perfect UI or features. That helped me understand how designers actually browse and what matters most.

A few things I’ve learned so far:

Curation matters more than quantity
Clean, scannable UI beats complex features
Not every visual change improves usability
Slow, thoughtful improvements work best

The project is still evolving, and I’m refining it based on real usage and feedback.

If you have favorite design tools or resources you think should be included, or any thoughts on how discovery could be better, I’d love to hear them 🙂

If you’re curious, you can check it out here:
👉 https://thearomanest.com/

I Built a Curated Design Resources Website — What Worked

sarfaraz ali syed — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 02:31:25 +0000

I recently built a small side project called The Aroma Nest, a curated collection of mostly free design resources for designers and builders.

It started as a personal need — I kept bookmarking tools, icons, and UI kits across different places and never found them again. So I decided to curate them in one place.

Shipping Early Helped

I didn’t wait for a perfect UI or feature set. I shipped early with just categories and tool listings.

That helped me understand how people actually use the site. Some users spent 10+ minutes browsing, which showed the idea had value.

How I Got Early Users (No Ads)

I didn’t use ads. Early users came mainly from Reddit and indie communities.

What worked:

Sharing progress, not promotion
Posting screenshots instead of links
Talking about learnings

Lessons Learned

Curation beats volume
UX matters more than features
Some UI changes can hurt engagement
SEO takes time and patience

What’s Next

I’m focusing on refining UX, improving SEO, and expanding collections slowly.

If you’re building in public or working on a side project, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you.

buildinpublic #sideprojects #design #webdev