Curation: the First Step to Finding Your Style

I should first immediately correct the record and choose the word “articulating” your style instead of “finding” it. Finding implies that your style is absent or missing, whereas I believe it’s already inside you. It might be buried, unorganized, or under developed, but it’s there. And although it may evolve over time, it is intrinsically tied to who we are as people and the things that give us joy. So YAY! You have the pieces. Now let’s sort it all out!

An interesting paradox may be observed when I state that your style is both inside you and heavily influenced by the world occurring outside of you. In a way, we as people can be perceived as a culmination of the things inside us as well as the external forces that have shaped us. It is the age old “Nature” vs. “Nurture” debate.

On the “Nature” end of things, consider your personal history, especially childhood. These are the interests and experiences you had that feel embedded and have impacted who you are now as an adult. List them out! For me, I think of things like summertime at the lake, running around wild with my pals in the neighborhood, and being babysat most of my childhood at my grandma’s house. You can’t necessarily pin these memories to a moodboard, but it’s important to sift through them and stay aware of some of those feelings and topics you want to re-connect with.

On the “Nurture” side, consider your personal taste. This is the biggest piece of the puzzle. The next, and most important step is to visually curate images from a range of categories that inspire you and make you feel something. I used Pinterest to organize this because I like seeing everything in a grid. Make the following sections to sort your influences: Art, Travel. Spaces, Nature, Fashion, and Pattern. For that last one, you might opt to pick a category that suits you better depending on your specialty- photography, textiles, baking, etc.

We’ll be pulling about 20-30 images for each section. Here’s how I thought through mine, but feel free to build your boards in a way that is true to you!

-Art: I gathered a mix of contemporary art and illustration as well as historical favorites like Matisse and Frankenthaler. Consider film, photography, or theatre work if that interests you as well.

-Travel: Mine ended up being a lot of Indian and Moroccan architecture as well as tropical pools and swimming coves. Yours will probably be a bit different, but ultimately choose the images that make you feel some wanderlust!

-Spaces: Think domestic spaces. Interior design, creative studios, kid’s rooms, bathrooms, home exteriors, etc. 

-Nature: Mine was a lot of floral arrangements and pretty gardens. Yours could be forests, oceans, or mountains! It might cross over a bit with travel, so try to find a way to visually separate those.

-Fashion: what are your favorite brands, prints, silhouettes? Consider pieces you’d actually wear, and the fanciful couture designers too.

-Pattern: Pretty straightforward, just found a mix of my favorite pattern styles. Remember this board could be any niche interest you choose!

The final task is to narrow all of these down into one finished board of around 30 final images, with roughly even distribution of each category (5 or so). This might be a bit challenging, so take your time! Lastly, step back and visually analyze your board. Is it full of light pastel tones, or dark and moody imagery? Is there a dominant color or neutral carried throughout? What are the visual similarities of the art you’ve picked? Is it technical and tight, or loose and brushy? Are there common materials such as wood or concrete used throughout the architecture? How does this analysis match the work you’re currently making, and what are some new elements you could try adding in?

In Conclusion… It is important to recognize that our style is a huge, complex combination of all of our unique interests and experiences. Some parts will probably always be the same, while others will change and evolve. If you’re feeling a bit creatively lost, this might be a useful way to re-center and reconnect with yourself. Most of us collect inspiring imagery, but the biggest takeaway with this exercise is to put the different categories of our influence up side by side and analyze the common threads that run throughout!