The most important trend you need to follow.

As a professional creative: designer, writer, illustrator, whatever your flavour, you’re constantly bombarded with “what’s trending.”

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• This year’s colours
• This month’s typefaces
• The latest “everyone’s doing it” visual style (remember grunge?)

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But here’s what’s funny: My clients have never asked me to follow trends.

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Not once.

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They want something that stands out, not something that blends in. They’re paying for distinction, not duplication.

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Following trends is safe. It’s easy.

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It’s also the fastest way to become invisible.

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When you follow the herd, you end up grazing in the same field as everyone else. And I’m not built to be a sheep. You shouldn’t be either.

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Know the Crowd, Then Leave It

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Knowing trends is useful — it tells you where the crowd is heading. But your job is to shift away, not settle in.

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Every creative you admire, every name that leads instead of follows, got there by ignoring the noise and making something new.

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So, the most important trend you need to follow?

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Don't follow trends.