i feel like you can only have truly your style while working on personal projects. or when you have total freedom in some design request which rarely happens. also in my opinion having a unique style goes more for illustrators rather than designers.
Thread
Does anyone ever feel like they haven’t found their style in terms of design, but have been designing simply for what people want? How did you work through this, if you have?
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I dont have a design style per se. My ‘style’ changes from project to project based on the project need. I do have have design thinking/sentiments that carry over from project to project tho and that’s where I place most of the weight in my skillset.
I was ~10 years into my career and worried I didn’t have a design style that was truly “mine.” Then one day a peer randomly mentioned “that’s definitely your style” in reference to a project. I’ve never worried about “having a style” since.
I’m of the opinion that the designer should not have a specific “style”. The designer must be able to employ their own techniques in order to satisfy the requirements of a project. In other words:
For me, I started my career freelancing so personal style was a big focus. Historically, I’ve had difficulty toning it down when designing for big companies with conservative styles.
I’ve always aspired for the ideal scenario, where taste and style can be used as tools to achieve a goal. Examples include: - Feature films (Kubrick, Scorsese, Wes Anderson) - Fashion (Virgil and luxury streetwear) - Music (producers leaving their mark on each song)
So the real lesson here is to create volumes of work — over time, your personal style emerges and becomes apparent to you and everyone else!
I used to have a problem with that too, until I realized it’s ok wether you’re visuals focused and you develop your own style, or you’re more product focused and you adapt to a project. Also changes how you get jobs: people hiring you bc of your style or bc of your flexibility.