Originally Posted by Blue Ire But, once you do get that bit of personality in your designs, don't let it rule them. It's easy to fall into a rut of reuse.

good point. i've fallen victim to this already. now, there are things that i love, which i hated a couple years ago, and vice versa.

the best advice i have for that is trying to make up personal/mini-objectives when you have the creative freedom to.

for instance, with my latest web site design, i felt i was falling into a rut with shadows/form & layout so, because i had the creative room to, i set out to design the web site like a digital flyer - like it was something i would print in the end (so flat, solid colours, crisp edges etc).

sometimes that is determined by the project specs, but it's a fun way to stay fresh when you get the chance.