Learning to Use Your Voice as a Designer

One of the most important pieces of advice I’ve ever received was from my design mentor right after college, just as I was about to enter my first real design job. He told me that I needed to develop my voice as a designer. I didn’t understand. You mean like, my style? I need to find a look that people will recognize me for? No, not style. Styles come and go, but voice is about how you approach your work and what you want to communicate. We must have had this conversation a hundred times that summer because I just didn’t get it.

Over time, I began learning how to talk about my work. I thought I was beginning to grasp what “voice” meant. I was able to share my perspective within my smaller design team, but the idea of speaking to people I didn’t know — or was uncomfortable around — terrified me. I would go to design events and physically hide because I was scared of talking to new people and didn't believe I had anything valuable to say.

It wasn’t until this past summer that I became more fully aware of this journey I’ve been on with my voice. During that time I had the opportunity to co-lead a design workshop at the Collaborative, a conference hosted by Classy for non-profit leaders and changemakers, where we shared basic design principles to apply when creating fundraising campaigns. As nervous as I was to speak in front of a group, the idea of sharing best practices energized me because I believed so deeply in what we were doing: making design accessible and helping non-profits create beautiful and successful campaigns they were proud of.

Leading this workshop not only caused me to use my physical voice to share about a topic I’m passionate about, but also taught me something about this elusive concept of “voice.” Voice is the posture with which you approach the world and the message you want to communicate through everything you do. And I know now that my message is about empowerment, authenticity, and the power of human connection.

Developing your voice means learning about yourself and what you stand for. You begin to put words to the way in which you approach the world and what you value most. Using your voice means sharing your passion, energy, and perspective with others. It means embracing discomfort and being willing to address conflict head-on. Sometimes it’s standing up for yourself, and other times it’s using your voice to amplify the voices of others. It’s being honest when you disagree, and not holding back just because it’s easier. It means risking being wrong, but in the end, knowing you’ll learn more than if you stayed silent.