Many will start their new semester in a couple of weeks, if not already, and the list of items to purchase is already growing! From textbooks to software, most university students understand the struggle of having their finances obliterated from buying school supplies. Although design students, professionals, or even high school students may not need a $300 chemistry textbook, design and modeling supplies can easily add up!
Luckily, we will be sharing 6 ways to help you design on a budget! All you need is to get a little creative and see what you can squeeze from what’s already available to you! It’s not about what material or media you use, but rather how you use those to support your architectural concept! This is an important lesson that I wished I learned earlier in my years, so let’s get into it and save you some money!
1. Look Around!
Why not use what you already have? You’ll be surprised about how many pencils, markers, papers, and more are lying around the house that you can simply gather and use instead of buying a new set every year. A common occurrence among designers is seeing a sketchbook or pen that piques our interest and then causes us to push the old for the new items immediately! I know it’s hard not to, but be sure to check what is still usable before purchasing anything else.
Did you happen to shop on Amazon or other online platforms this past summer? I’m guilty, but as a result, I have so many cardboard boxes lying around, and though I recycle every single box, you can break them down to use as material for studies! What about leftover material from family members or friends? The opportunity to utilize what’s around you is endless, which leads us to our next point!
2. Creative Materials
Challenge yourself to make a model out of creative materials or materials creatively – like what I did there? Take Kyle Kung’s project in the featured image at the beginning: using food scraps, he created a model that makes a compelling piece about food waste! Kyle Kung was one of the winners from our Q1 Challenge, and you can find more information on our Challenges page.
While it’s great to make models from creative materials, it’s nice to point out that you can re-envision common materials creatively! You can peel back the exterior layers of cardboard to expose the corrugated layer, sanding materials down to get textures, or challenge yourself by replicating your concept with leftover materials with a new set of rules. This pushes you to test out theories and determine if your design could be more compelling!
Using the example above about the abundance of cardboard boxes, it’s common for re-used materials to have logos or text on them. This is where peeling the exterior layer of the cardboard or sanding down the surface can change how the material is perceived and used without buying sheet(s) of cardboard.
3. Buy Nothing Group
BNG is a hyper-local gifting economy that has neighborhood groups all over the world! Join your local group, where you can ask for items you’re looking for from your neighbors. You’d be surprised what people have lying around! Straight from the source, “The Buy Nothing Project is about setting the scarcity model of our cash economy aside in favor of creatively and collaboratively sharing the abundance around us.” We’ve mentioned this group in several articles now, but that shows how beneficial this is for finding resources at little to no cost at all!
The Buy Nothing Project rules are simple: post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share amongst neighbors. Ask for anything you’d like to receive for free or borrow. No buying or selling, no trades or bartering; it’s strictly a gift economy. It’s important to note that BNG may not always be available depending on your location, but you can establish a chapter in your local area!
4. Sales & Discounts
There are so many ways to save even a bit of money: finding coupons, shop back to school sales, student discounts, shop used items if it’s feasible, sign up for email newsletters to get discounts off your first purchase, use membership points where applicable, etc. As you can see, we can continue the list, but you got the gist! This is where your extreme couponing family member or friend will come in handy, saving you from snowballing costs.
5. Avoid. Campus. Shops.
Students! Your local campus supplies store will likely have a lot of your basic sketching and drafting items in stock, but don’t be fooled! They are priced much higher than your local art store, so make the trip off-campus. Not only would you save money, but it will help local small business owners and the community! Besides, most campus shops will only hold a select few brands or types of products, limiting your chances to experience and explore other materials and media.
6. Gifts!
If you don’t need certain supplies right away or are looking for higher-quality items, ask for them as gifts for your birthday or holidays! It’s a win-win situation: you get what you would like, and the people gifting to you won’t have to think too hard about it!
Well, that’s all we have for you today, and if you’ve made it this far, you deserve a cookie. I hope you found this article interesting and took something from it! Did we miss any savvy budget designing tips that you use? Let us and others know what you do to design on a budget in the comments below! Sharing is caring! We hope to provide you with valuable insights and share them with someone who might find this useful. Make sure to follow our Youtube and Instagram for more content!
