This week, I thought I’d do something different. It is my blog—after all—so I thought I’d write about me.

I’m a graphic designer. I don’t consider myself a graphic artist and certainly not a fine artist, although I often wish I had those talents. In fact, I’ve never been very comfortable with the term “artist” at all. It’s just not a shoe that ever really fit. “Graphic designer,” “creative,” or even just plain “designer”—now that’s comfortable. Like a favorite threadbare t-shirt, I can wear those terms with comfort and ease.

Speaking of comfort and ease, I have recently come to the conclusion that those two words—comfort and ease—have become synonymous with my design style. Not that there’s technically anything wrong with that, but how many people become great by doing things that were comfortable and easy for them?

Now, just to clarify, I AM a good graphic designer. And not just in the “my family and friends think I’m good” sense. I’ve had my work published, won a few awards and have even been a featured subject in a book about being creatively self-employed. So I know I’m good at what I do. But here’s the rub—I want to be great. Maybe not Paul Rand, Saul Bass or Milton Glaser great, but great in my own way…whatever that may be.

I understand that this may sound egotistical…but I assure you it’s not. I mean how many people start off their career thinking, “I just want to be good at what I do?” Granted, I don’t have any numbers, or hard statistical data, but I’m guessing a good many people start out hoping to someday be great at what they do…maybe even the best. And why? Because it gives us something to aspire to, something to work towards, to try harder and to do better—a goal to be fulfilled.

So…after coming to the realization that my design style, while good, has been living snugly between “comfort” and “ease,” I’ve decided it’s time to move out of my creative comfort zone.

What does this mean, you ask? Well, for starters, it means experimenting with new styles of design, new techniques, new methods. It means examining the work of people I’m not familiar with and finding new ways of looking at some of my favorites. It means opening myself up to opportunities and possibilities that I’d previously been too…uncomfortable to try before. And yes, it means redefining, repositioning and renaming my business.

This is a very exciting and exhilarating time for me, and I suspect some of my very best work will be born from this experience into unchartered territories. So stay tuned…and if you’d like to be kept up-to-date, please sign-up for our newsletter, Design+Marketing Monthly.

Oh, and one more thing—if you are currently living somewhere between “comfort” and “ease,” it’s okay. I completely understand. Free free to share your story with me, and maybe we can move out of our comfort zones together.