How do you find your style?

Emily Forgot

“it’s less about finding a style but creating a visual world I want to inhabit.”…

From illustration to retail display to wonderful artworks in wood relief, Emily turns her hand to a wealth of ‘disciplines.’ She has a diverse range of clients, from Selfridges to Vogue to the Wellcome Collection. She also has a diverse range of styles, yet all share a certain sensibility.

Likewise her highly recommended instagram page - it captures all the eclectic things she finds inspiring and has no obvious common thread. Yet whenever a post pops up you kind of know it's from her without needing to check - it all fits within a certain visual universe.

So asking on behalf of anyone who wishes they had a distinctive style of their own…Emily, how do you find your style?

I think in lots of ways I am still looking for it. I used to think this was a bad thing but I think it is part of the creative journey and I expect it will develop and change just as I do as a person.

My style can vary from project to project which is unusual for an illustrator however it can be beneficial as it becomes possible to ride the waves of trends within the discipline.

Saying that, I do think I have a signature to my work. It feels pretty intuitive rather than learnt but its also influenced by visuals that resonate with me. Curiosity and the process of discovering aesthetics that delight me in some way is a huge part of my creative process.

Finding things I admire and love and somehow combining these thoughts and aesthetics together to create something new and uniquely mine. I think the trick is to keep my visual research varied, a project can often dictate where i look to find inspiration, but its rare i would look at other illustration styles.

I suppose it’s less about finding a style but creating a visual world I want to inhabit.

Emily Forgot
Emily Forgot
Emily Forgot
Emily Forgot

Let's talk