strange title for a blogpost i suppose, but i recently realized that express masculinity is what i’ve been aiming at in my personal style. my thoughts about how i present myself as designer started when i read an aiga article called the face of design. the money quote from the article, in my opinion, is the first sentence of the 2nd paragraph; “establishing their own images through distinctive personal effects like clothing, accessories and hairstyles, these designers have reinforced their individual brands, becoming recognizable, memorable figures, and as such, attractive spokespeople.”

after reading this, i thought a little bit about why i choose the personal effects that i do. a wooly, wooly beard; tightly shorn sides of the head with long, swept back hair on the top; large plaid patterns or straight up solid colors (pink included); henley t-shirts; thick, chunky shoes. i realized that i am attracted to these things because, to me, they have strong masculine overtones. i want to present myself as expressly masculine. not the sloppy-fat, belching, nuckle-dragging masculinity we see portrayed on television so often, but strong, smart and kind masculinity. real men are kind-hearted, not turds.

i don’t write this to disparage the way other people present themselves. only to say that i think i’ve been able to define how i would like to present myself, and in this way communicate more effectively who i am as a designer.

how do you like to present yourself?