Who Are You As a Designer?

Do you know who you are as a designer?

How does that question make you feel?

Unsure?
Confused?
Filled with self-doubt?
Anxious?
Stuck?
Lost?

To determine who you are and how you want to show up as a designer, you need to choose how you want to feel first.

Yes, that’s right, choose how you want to feel!

Feelings drive actions

It’s your feelings that drive your actions.

You need to find a feeling that will lead you towards taking action.

This shift is necessary in order to open yourself up to all the possibilities available to you, to all the choices you have.

When you feel confusion and self-doubt it’s nearly impossible to find answers for yourself because feelings of confusion don’t result in finding more clarity.

How do you want to feel?

• Excited
• Empowered
• Curious
• Confident
• Motivated
• Content

These feelings can produce clarity. For example, feeling curious about yourself as a designer and your future provides a space to explore all the possible options.

So, how can you produce feelings that will better serve you?

What are your thoughts?

When you don’t know who you are as a designer, you’re often thinking something like this:

“I no longer enjoy my work and don’t know who I am as a designer.”
“I want to develop my own style and be known for my work but I don’ t know who I am as a designer.”
“I want to move my career to the next level, but first I need to define who I am as a designer.”

To move forward though you need to make a decision.

“I don’t know who I am” is doubting yourself and staying in a state of confusion and self-doubt.

There’s no wrong answer to who are you as a designer. But yet you still stay stuck.

The F word. Failure

Do you fear failure?

Do you fear that in the end, you’re just not good enough? Do you fear failing yourself, disappointing yourself and others?

Or do you fear that you’ll end up where you started? You’ll try something new and you’ll end up right back where you began.

I promise you if you “decide to decide” and you choose to feel more empowered, you will move forward!!

You won’t know who you are as a designer until you pick a direction for yourself.

Say yes to whatever you’re thinking right now, try it on. What is there to lose by testing it?

Do you feel the pressure to make the “right” decision?

Is this keeping you in the constant state of “I don’t know?”

Here’s the very good news and the truth of it: You do know.

What you know

How do you want to spend your time? Only you know the answer to this.

What’s in your heart? What lights you up? Only you know.

Do you want to do more meaningful work as a designer? How can you move from a focus on yourself to making a contribution to others?

What are your gifts and talents you can offer to the world?

How can you make this part of your creative practice and how you show up as a designer?

Do you want help and guidance to work on this together? How can you develop more clarity about who you are as a designer?