Designing for Yourself Before Designing for Clients
What I learned from turning inward before building outward.
Starting with yourself
Before I ever took on client work, I designed for myself. Not because I had a plan — but because I had ideas I wanted to see come to life. A fake brand here, a logo exploration there. It wasn’t about perfection. It was about practicing how to think visually.
Why it matters
When you design for yourself, there’s no one telling you what’s right or wrong. You learn to critique your own decisions, trust your taste, and identify what actually feels finished. That internal compass becomes one of the most valuable tools you bring into real projects later.
What it gave me
Most of my early work never made it into my portfolio, but the process shaped how I approach everything now. It taught me to experiment without fear. To finish things even if they weren’t perfect. And to develop my own rhythm before adapting to someone else’s.
For anyone starting out
If you're waiting for a client to say "go," stop waiting. Start with what you have. Make something you're proud of — even if no one sees it yet. Design for yourself first. The rest will follow.
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Take a deeper look at some of inner thoughts about working as a visual designer.
