Did someone say butts?
This list of the latest trending searches on the rise on Spoonflower gave me pause…
• “Butts” +644%
• “Geek” +461%
• “Highland Cow” +237%
• ”Baseball” +144%
• “Music” +91%
• “Funny” +88%
• “Books” +85%
• “Cannabis” +82%
• “Pickleball” +80%
• “Dragon” +78%
• ”Dogs” +65%
Not because I am judging…who am I to say butts don’t make the best pair of curtains you’ve ever laid eyes on? But why is this THE MOST UPWARDLY TRENDING WORD? What universe am I living in?
And yay for geeks, I mean ‘Revenge of the Nerd’ was one of my fave films of the eighties…Booger I am looking at you…but for many reasons I would not be tagging my work with the word geek. Highland cow? Love them! Not in my portfolio. Baseball? Yeah nah.
As designers in the pattern design game we are advised to look at the trending searches and topics and follow the trending colour palettes of that year. This is really great advice if you want to sculpt your portfolio to be more saleable. And within the range of trending subject matter you can usually find something there that sings to YOU. But what if you feel no kinship with the current trends? What if they make you feel like an outsider?
I think, for me, the answer lies in following your inner compass. Sometimes your outer compass is good too, when people respond to a design you show them. But mostly it’s that inner ‘zing’ that you get from choosing certain colours together, that quickening of your senses like ‘ooh ooh yes that!’
And of course if you are tailoring your portfolio to work in a desirable field, like say textile design or stationery design, then just be prolific and show all that you can do. Versatility is a skill and takes time. You can still have a signature style, as this will usually shine through no matter what. The ‘you’ part becomes more obvious the more you practise. And colours can usually be changed or swapped in or out for a new client design.
And as they say, YOUR people will find you. Just get the work out there! That may mean doing a market face to face, or just good old Instagram for better or worse. So I am going to keep on following my excitement, and for now the butts can wait…
Big love
Tamsin