Abstract, Conceptual, Minimalist or Flat? With so many design styles and techniques to explore it can be daunting to figure out what style suits you best as a designer.
The thing to realize is that even though every designer tends to have their own unique style, your portfolio doesn’t have to be pages of the same design over and over.
Here are a few pointers on how to find your style and still make designing interesting and exciting for both you and your clients.
- Copy, Copy, Copy
Every creative professional (Designer, musician, writer, etc.) starts out by exploring and imitating works of the greats before them. The best way to figure out what speaks to you is to try as many techniques as possible. Copy and copy shamelessly.
- Style evolves over time
As you become more experienced, you become better able to conceptualize. You start to have your own ideas of what shapes, colours, typography and positioning works best for a particular design for a specific purpose. Eventually others will be ones to tell you what your style is, you would have cultivated it without realizing.
- Don’t box yourself
Now there’s the risk of getting stuck doing things the same way. A lot of designers ( myself included ) find themselves gravitating towards the same approach when taking on design projects. So it becomes necessary to switch things up once in a while, deliberately try a different approach and get out of your comfort zone. This way you keep things fresh and exciting.
On a final note, remember that style is dependent on what is most appropriate for a project. Other factors like the client’s brand style and customer needs are things that should also be considered.
Style is fluid. Learn your basics then have fun!
BY BUKOLA ALADE
