Finding Your Style

1. Research artists to see what types of graphic design exist and what styles you like/don't like.

• Protfolios.AIGA.org

• CreativeBloq.com

• Pinterest - create multiple boards: Photography, Illustration, Layouts, Sculpture, Collage, etc.

• Behance

• Google Images - "Famous Graphic Designers," "Graphic Design portfolios" "Graphic design marketing"

• Getty Images

2. Find three artists who's work you like. They can be similar or completely different. 

Study their style in terms of technique.

• Form – shape, volume, depth, height

• Line - marks that span a distance between two points, thickness, line variation

• Color: Hue (red, yellow, blue, green), Saturation (the color's intensity), Value (how light or dark)

• Space - background, foreground and middle ground, & the distance between those

• Texture - the way a work actually feels when touched, or the depiction of textures in works. * Texture occurs where the shadow meets the light

Study their style in terms of the art movement. What was going on at the time of that art movement that may have influenced the technique and tools they used? How does this apply to your work?

• retro

• modern

• psychedelic

• art deco

• futuristic

• hipster

• punk

3. To make your style unique, merge the styles of your favorite artists with something of your own in order to make it unique.

If you want to develop your own style, see p. 290 "Exercises."