How to find your audience as a Designer

Great work doesn't market itself. People love what they can find, understand, and imagine using.

As a designer you often hear, “the design speaks for itself.” In reality, context speaks much louder. The right publication, a well-chosen showcase, or the right creator’s feed gives people the the frame they need to understand where this work can go. Pick the medium that reaches the people you want, not the one that flatters your friends.

Put your work where your audience exists

There is a lot of different ways to post your work today, the good news is that you don’t have to reach every eyeball, just a couple serious eyeballs. Before publishing another render on your website, ask yourself where are people looking? Where does my audience hang out? Are they comparing apples-to-apples with multiple tabs, or are they comparing different designs on our website? Or are they organizing by architects? Understand what your demographic is searching for, and what is their search process.

In architecture it’s private decisions, with public outcomes

For homes, we often design in private and hopes the market approves later. A process that our predecessors did before the internet, and the architecture industry is one of the last industries to enter the market. Instead we use old tricks, for a new world. Instead, make the conversation public as earlier as possible, show concepts, get feedback, and learn how people imagine living their life within your design. The goal should not be likes on your instagram, it should be signals of who engages, the questions they ask, and the situations they are in right now, and in the future,

A simple loop to find your audience:

Show your work next in context: Display your work in specific environments that the user can see themselves in.

Monitor feedback: Create a feedback loop to understand what your audience is asking for.

Adjust to fit: Update your plan and explain why, you’re not guessing your adapting.

Start using technology for what it was meant for: Connection.

No matter how many automated floorplans you see, tech can amplify volume, but it can never replace taste. Your superpower as a designer is having taste, use feedback as a tool to communicate this taste to real-world situations that need your help. When you begin to know who cares and why, you stop designing into the void, and start designing buildings that are used and loved.

If you are designing homes, upload your designs here to start understanding your audience and how you can bring more beauty to those that need it most.