How to Find your Niche & Position Yourself as a Designer

One of the perks of being a designer is the ability to position yourself in a way that helps you establish a specific niche and stand out from the crowd.

Before we get into the specifics, I think it’s important to note that the point of finding your own niche is not to limit yourself. Instead, it allows you to focus on attracting your ideal clients and position yourself as the go-to expert in that type of design service.

I’ve put together some tips to help you settle into a design niche and start attracting an audience that aligns more with your interests and purpose. ↓

01 / Focus on your brand values and relate them to your potential clients through your shared values.

When you highlight your core values, potential clients who share the same values will start seeking you out. Maybe you’re passionate about sustainability and showcase that through your work; this could help you connect with people and brands that share the same passion and would be interested in collaborating with you and referring you to their network.

02 / Get clear on your brand’s vision and strategy.

The way you market yourself as a designer through your website, work, and social media shows a lot about your brand’s vision and strategy. Having clarity about how you want to be consistently perceived and what you want your visual style to look like allows you to make informed decisions that showcase your uniqueness. This can be seen through your positioning, vision statement, and storytelling.

03 / Decide which industries you envision your ideal clients to be in.

This is typically the most common method discussed when establishing your design niche. You gain clarity on which industries to focus on and who your target audience is once you know your design style and brand values. For instance, if your best and most successful work revolves around health, you can niche down further and market yourself as a designer working with health, wellness, and lifestyle brands.

04 / Tailor your work and portfolio to the specific design services that you offer.

It’s important to hone your portfolio into a specific area of design services. This will not only allow you to be recognized as an expert in those services, but it will also attract more clients who are looking for the same services that you offer. A good tip to start doing this is to create design work from passion projects. The time and commitment you put towards this will eventually pay off as it will increase your visibility to your target audience.

05 / Adopt a unique design style.

If you’re a designer who is regularly approached by clients for specific services, this might indicate that your style is naturally suited to these clients. Recognizing these patterns will allow you to tailor your portfolio more to their needs. Also, finding your distinctive design style will help differentiate you from the rest of the crowd, whether that’s through the visual look and feel of your work or the meaning behind your subjects. It also increases visibility as it allows your audience to associate you with your specific style and come to you for that specific service.

06 / Mix and match your niche type.

Mixing and matching your niche based on a couple of niche types, such as industry, service, or design style, allows you to position yourself as a designer in a more personal way. However, you also want to limit how much you specialize, as doing so in multiple fields can lead to limitations in finding client leads in the future.

What if I’m not sure what my niche is?

It’s okay if you’re still exploring different areas of design and haven’t figured out a focus that feels right for you. Take the time to keep experimenting with different design disciplines while enjoying the process until you find something that you are naturally drawn to.

To conclude, finding your niche and positioning yourself as a designer requires some reflection and strategy as you want to make sure you make a decision that best fits your needs. However, it’s important to mention that doing so is not mandatory for a successful design career.