Welcome to this special design series from Rachael Taylor: ‘Developing your signature style’.
Wherever you are on your surface pattern design journey, one of the fundamental keys to success is to have a well-honed signature style that is instantly recognisable as YOU and communicates your personality and the essence of your brand. It is what attracts clients and potential buyers, and will be the special quality that sets apart your designs from the rest.
Over the course of five videos Rachael will be sharing some great tips, as she guides you through what you need to do to develop your signature style and what has worked in her own design practice.
The videos will be added daily between January 3 – 7 2015 and will be available until February 27 2015. Each day you’ll get an email, a video, and a short exercise. We would love to hear your thoughts on the series – please share on our Facebook page or via Twitter @makeitindesign #dyss #signaturestyle
PART 1 (Jan 3):
Why do you need a signature style? Why is a signature style so valuable? Rachael shares some of her favourite designers and spills the beans on her formula for creating designs that communicate her unique style.
[vimeo width=”550″ height=”412″]https://vimeo.com/115752048[/vimeo]
If you have any trouble viewing this video or want to download it please click here.
Here are links to the designers Rachael mentions in this video: Orla Kiely / Louise Tiler / Johanna Basford / Lucienne Day
Share your thoughts on this video on Facebook or Twitter #dyss #signaturestyle
PART 2 (Jan 4):
In this video Rachael talks about how to create a ‘recipe’ for creating your signature style. She asks the questions that will help you to find the common thread that runs through your work. We often receive questions from our Make It In Design community about how to be original when there are so many designs around us all the time so Rachael shares how you can put your own take on a theme and still make work that is an expression of your style.
[vimeo width=”550″ height=”412″]https://vimeo.com/115752113[/vimeo]
If you have any trouble viewing this video or want to download it please click here.
Share your thoughts on this video on Facebook or Twitter #dyss #signaturestyle
PART 3 (Jan 5):
In this video Rachael talks about what to do when you have several different styles or perhaps you use several different mediums to create your work. How can you express this yet still have a signature style? What do you show on your website? Rachael is most known for her organic and floral designs that have proved incredibly popular with buyers worldwide. She shares how she also manages to produce character designs and typography work, yet still keep this within her style and still be immediately recognisable as ‘Rachael Taylor’. In this video Rachael also gives us a sneak peek of some of her favourite pens, paints and other media for designing!
[vimeo width=”550″ height=”412″]https://vimeo.com/115752186[/vimeo]
If you have any trouble viewing this video or want to download it please click here.
Here are links to websites Rachael mentions in this video: Jessica Swift / Blurb.com
Share your thoughts on this video on Facebook or Twitter #dyss #signaturestyle
PART 4 (Jan 6):
In this video Rachael talks about why it’s important to take time to nurture your creativity early in your career, and try to find your signature style before you launch your brand into the world in a major way. She explains how long it took her to do this and how she balanced time developing as an artist with the financial necessity of bringing in money. She also shares her top tips on staying motivated and enjoying the journey without putting too much pressure on yourself.
[vimeo width=”550″ height=”412″]https://vimeo.com/115752269[/vimeo]
If you have any trouble viewing this video or want to download it please click here.
Share your thoughts on this video on Facebook or Twitter #dyss #signaturestyle
PART 5 (Jan 7):
In this final video Rachael suggests how to know when you re ready to launch yourself into the surface pattern design world. How many designs should you have and what should you show? Rachael also highlights what opportunities are out there for surface pattern designers and how you can thrive in the market by finding the area that best suits you.
We hope you find this and the rest of the series helpful and we wish you luck with your designing. Be sure to check out the rest of MakeItInDesign.com for courses, resources, inspiration and industry advice to support you at every stage of your creative career.
[vimeo width=”550″ height=”412″]https://vimeo.com/115752359[/vimeo]
If you have any trouble viewing this video or want to download it please click here.
Share your thoughts on this video on Facebook or Twitter #dyss #signaturestyle
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