What Designers can do to stand out in 2021

In recent years, we've seen more and more designers who choose to specialize in one aspect of design, yet they also choose to continue investing in their education. So pursue your interests even beyond the field of design. This could mean complementing your design chops with art direction. But you could also move far beyond design niche. Perhaps you could learn digital marketing or take up videography.

This works in tandem with Point 01. Invest in your knowledge, skills and work flow. These are the keys to your success - no matter what anyone tells you. To go a step a further, we encourage you to share what you know. This could take many contexts; whether that's using your knowledge of contrast to help a friend uplift their living room or just simply advising what works best for Wild West themed Steak restaurant.

If you're already familiar with Illustrator and Procreate, perhaps its time to add a new dimension to your work. We would suggest you learn typography to complement your slick illustrations. You could also take a course on After Effects and bring your work to life.

Sometimes we're so busy with creating the future, we forget about the past. It was Newton who proclaimed that all his life's work was only because he stood on the shoulders of giants. In other words, he could only reach the heights he reached because countless other thinkers, mathematicians and physicists had written volumes of work before him. As a designer, learn about who came before you. About design movements of the past.

While Digital is all pervasive, the tactility of print is still very much coveted. If you create superb brand identities, don't let your lack of print-knowledge detract from delivering results. Learning about print techniques will let you experiment more when designing identities.