How to find your Signature Style as a Surface Pattern Designer — or any Creative, really
By: Jess Rose Miller
Tags: Artist, Growth, Life Lessons, Entrepreneurship, Creative

Photo by Andrew Ridley on Unsplash

Hint: You don’t find it — it finds you

How do you find your Signature style?

I’ve been practicing surface pattern design informally for fourteen months, and more seriously for the last six — and during that time I have asked myself over and over; ‘What’s my signature style? When will I find it?’

The secret is that I have no idea what my signature style is — and crucially, I’ve learned that it’s okay.

I do understand that the ‘Holy Grail’ of finding your signature style is important for a long career in pattern design (and realistically every other creative discipline too) and will allow your customers/consumers/viewers/audience/grandma to get that instant feeling of knowing and familiarity when they look at your creations.. And that is specifically why, as a beginner like myself, it’s important not to rush to the finish line before really building and understanding your own skills, techniques and passions. The adage goes ‘don’t try to run before you can walk’ and that is 100% accurate, especially in a creative industry where your style is intrinsically linked to both your persona and personality.

After wrestling internally for months on the question of ‘what is my signature style?’ I gave myself grace and time to really explore and develop my skills first to build a strong foundation of knowledge and capability as I wasn’t progressing as an artist while I was stuck worrying about something that didn’t yet exist.

In order to continually develop and grow as a designer, ask yourself these questions:

What do I enjoy — the final result, or the process of creating? For me, it’s about the process. I virtually never have an end result in my mind that I want to recreate and that means I have no pre-defined ideas about how a pattern or illustration should come out.

The most exciting part of the creative design process is having a blank page that I can fill.

What medium do I want to work in, right now? When deciding on a medium, I look for something that I am excited to create with. Currently I am loving the process of gouache — having started with watercolour, I wanted a delicate water based stroke with a bit more opacity. I like to apply them thickly in places for depth, and thinly with stroke marks and splashes in other places — this feels natural and it’s something I enjoy working with.

If you don’t know where to start, begin with what brings you enjoyment.

What media do I want to try? My latest experiment (though not a bold leap from what I’ve used previously) it’s using pastel with gouache. I watched a number of Ohn-Mar-Win’s Insta stories where she created patterns in watercolour & gouache over white pastel to add texture and dimension. I loved it! You might be surprised how natural it feels after a little practice, and how this develops your creative process. (https://www.instagram.com/ohn_mar_win)

Take yourself out of your comfort zone, and work with a medium that you’ve never used before.

What makes me excited to create? This is simple — find something you are inspired by, and let loose. I keep a photo diary of the walks I take with my dogs — there are some spectacular views close by, and there are fab flower beds and gardens locally which change with every season. Taking cues from nature makes me want to create, and this helps the process along — if I’m stuck for my next theme then I’ve got a camera reel full of inspiration. Apply this to your own passions and interests.

What excites you?

Who can I learn from? Learn from as many artists and creators as you can, especially when you’re still working out the nuances of your own style. There are many incredible teachers out there who can guide your surface pattern design journey. Think outside of your comfort zone, and even outside of your design discipline — I personally love the straight forward lessons and simple patterns from Maja Faber (https://majafaber.com/), the globetrotting business powerhouse who is a gouache girl through and through, Cat Coq (https://catcoq.com/) and the works of the amazing figurative oil painter who combines pure skill with mythology and abstract impressionism, Marco Grassi (http://www.marcograssipainter.com/).

Make sure to listen to and learn from as many artists as you can, and find out ways of working and creating that suit you.

How do other artists so clearly know what their style is? Practice, repetition and experience. Since you can’t fake your way to any of them, just focus on creating regularly, creating often (even if that is something small) and exploring art. Exploration means surrounding yourself by inspiring content from other creators in plenty of disciplines — surface pattern design, architecture, illustration, photography, ceramics or anything else that takes your fancy. Trust me when I say you’ll be able to find so much content that you like in just about every discipline, and the act of surrounding yourself with creativity in this way will help you understand what you really like in design, how you most enjoy working, and ultimately what your own style is. Check out my Pinterest board ‘Exploration’ for the art that I surround myself with (https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jessrosedraws/exploration/)

Creativity is a muscle to be flexed and explored.

How long will it take to develop my own style? That’s an impossible question to answer, and anyone who claims to is probably trying to sell you something. There are millions of google hits on this subject, and commonly it’s said that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master in any given discipline. It is also said that mastering a craft can take between 6–10 years, and to learn a new skill takes 6 months. The common theme here is time, and importantly: practice.

Instead of how long it’ll take, ask yourself; how much time and effort are you willing to put in to develop your skills?

Will I have to stick to my signature style once I’ve found it? Doubtful — everyone develops and grows as a person during their lifetime based on lived experiences, and the chances are that your signature style will do the same. My advice is to simply make the most of the process of finding out what your style is.

The chances are that you’ll enjoy the process so much that you’ll suddenly wake up one day and realise that your signature style has found you — and that it too develops as you learn and change.

Take it easy on yourself — but remember to put the time in to your passion and your craft if you want to see meaningful results, whatever they might be. There is not an artist in the world who has arrived at their own signature style without a lot of practice and hard work. There is no substitute and if anyone tells you otherwise, as I’ve already said…