Directing Design Concept at Dribbble of Sunny Day to Generate Leads and Grow Design Talent
TeamUp was a design agency I co-founded with four partners. As Art Director, I led 5 designers through internal initiatives. One of those was Sunny Day Lab, a space for design exploration that turned downtime into opportunity. It wasn’t just about growing skills, it was about turning creative practice into real business value.
We built a system where creative growth met business strategy, elevating visual quality, attracting client leads, and giving junior designers the structure they needed to thrive.
Disclaimer: This is a high-level project overview. For the full case study or more details, feel free to reach out at olehabib98@gmail.com.
Key Challenges
The team was passionate but still growing, with different styles and skill levels. Designers worked during the day, while I could only lead and review at night after my full-time job. We needed a workflow that fit our time constraints but still encouraged quality and growth.
- 01
How can we run smooth collaboration with limited overlap between day and night work?
- 02
How can we unify design direction while still allowing space for personal style?
- 03
How can we balance visual exploration for growth with consistency for business impact?
Design Process
- 01I define seasonal theme and moodboard
- 02I confirm designer availability with PM
- 03I share brief and design goals
- 04Designers do research references and propose concepts
- 05Designers create visual design explorations
- 06I give design feedback through Figma comment
- 07Designers revise and iterate
- 08I finalize design (Art director polish)
- 09Designers make a caption and upload to Dribbble
- 10We promote on social media
Key strategy
We built a system where structure empowered creativity—so even with time limits and mixed skill levels, great design could still thrive and grow the brand.
Key Solutions
- 01
Day+Night Workflow
Designers worked during the day while I reviewed at night, allowing steady progress despite my full-time job. This async rhythm helped everyone stay focused without real-time pressure.
- 02
Style Guide Foundation
We created a unified visual system: layout, spacing, typography, mockups, avatars, and personas, ensuring all work felt cohesive while allowing room for personal touch.
- 03
Seasonal Theme Cycles
Every 1 months we launched a new design theme based on trends or moments. It kept things fresh, inspired creativity, and allowed designers to explore new styles.
- 04
Dual Review Process
Designs went through two reviews: first with comments in Figma for feedback and learning, then final polish by me—with reasoning shared to help them grow, this also to make sure the visual style achieve quality standar and consistency.
- 05
Post Promotion Tactics
We treated each upload like a campaign, scheduling Dribbble posts at peak hours, writing catchy captions, and re-sharing across social media to maximize reach and leads.
Here are the other final results after my review and final design touches:
For more design, please visit Dribbble
dribbble.com/sunnydaylab
Outcome Highlights
-
49 Shots
Consistent output across seasons, proving the value of our structured review and mentorship process.
-
123 Avg Likes
Strong engagement confirmed that our theme direction and visual quality resonated with the design community.
-
4,875 Followers
In under 1 years, we grew a solid audience on Dribbble, validating our style and building brand credibility.
-
23 Client Leads
Our design work attracted real business interest, showing that strong concept exploration can double as lead generation.
Collaborator
- UI/UX Designer (Syamil, Surya, Tazkia)
- Graphic Designer (Husna)
- Illustrator (Nuri)
- Project Manager (Umam, Fariz)
