Design workshop is a new series where I’ll share practical advice for aspiring graphic designers. Today, I’m talking about taste.
Discussions of taste have always felt a bit snobbish to me. I feel as if I’m in the chokehold of a turtleneck whenever I hear myself saying the word. Why? Because when people talk about taste, it’s often a preamble to an impassioned critique of the last work of art or design they consumed that gave them indigestion.
But taste isn’t so much for trashing things we don’t like, as good as that sometimes feels, it’s a practice of truly seeing the things that inspire our attention, curiosity, and joy. Its intentional development brings a sense of deep satisfaction.
Developing your own taste, preferences, and visual style is essential to success in the field of graphic design, and besides that, it’s fun. Whether you feel you have good taste or bad, it can always be developed further.
Here are three simple ways to do so.
Collect
Be present, pay attention, and collect what you’re drawn to. One of my college professors called this filling the well. Inspiration is everywhere if you’re looking for it.
Curate
Over time, you’ll notice patterns, themes, and subjects that come up again and again. Once you’ve mapped these out, you can start pulling the strings to explore them further and even organize your collections for easy reference and later use.
Create
Now that you have a well of resources you can draw from, you have all the elements to create something new. How you remix and repurpose these sources is what will make them your own—this is where the magic happens.
“The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.”
—Romare Bearden
Starting in design, you’re going to imitate a lot. That’s fine. Shamelessly copy great designers and design and learn to work in the style of others; this is the only way you’ll ever find your own.
What you’re drawn to will naturally become a part of your work, a sort of signature. Some folks seem to be born with an innate sense of style, a refined taste. Not me; I admittedly cringe when looking back at my early logo designs. That’s as it should be: we all have to start somewhere. Just don’t stop there. Keep making things. The quality will come as you increase the quantity of your work.
A designer who finds inspiration for their work in design only is a bit like a snake eating its own tail. Your work will feel like everyone else’s. Find inspiration in books, fine art, films, plays, fashion, nature, and so on and so forth. You get the idea. A designer can’t live by Pinterest alone.
This collect, curate, and create cycle is a process that lasts your whole career, but it’s also repeated in miniature on every project. We research and collect at the beginning of a project. Then we curate the things that feel right out of all the exploration. And lastly, we synthesize all this knowledge, inspiration, and work into something new.
The longer you keep up this practice, the less daunting each new project will become, and eventually you’ll develop a sense of ease and confidence in your design process—whether you’re designing a resume or a brand identity.