Your startup shouldn't look like a startup

There's this plague sweeping through the startup world. You've seen it. Hell, you might even have it. The gradient logo that looks like it was squeezed out of the same Figma template as 10,000 others. The hero section with a person grinning at their laptop like they just discovered fire. The words "innovative" and "disruptive" sprinkled around like holy water.

Everyone's trying so damn hard to look like a startup that they all end up looking like the same startup.

I've been designing for thirteen years now. Airlines. Sauna companies. Hospital robots. (Yes, hospital robots.) Cryptocurrencies. DOTA-2 tournaments. Rock festivals. And you know what the good ones have in common? They look like themselves, not like a Pinterest board titled "SaaS Inspo."

Here's the thing about trends: by the time you notice them, everyone else already has too. That perfect shade of startup purple? Every pitch deck has it. That sans-serif font that whispers "we're a serious B2B company"? Your competitors heard that very same whisper.

The best design I've ever done is when someone's brave enough to look weird. When they're willing to stand out instead of blend in. When they understand that fitting in is the fastest way to get ignored.

I designed my first paid logo when I was fourteen years old. Some California window covering company paid me what felt like a small fortune at the time. I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew one thing: it had to look like their thing, not like everyone else's thing.

That's still the job.

Your design should answer the question "what makes you different" before you open your mouth. It should make people stop scrolling. It should make them feel something, even if that feeling is "wait, what?"

The startups that break through aren't the ones with the prettiest gradients. They're the ones with the clearest point of view. They know who they are, and their design makes damn sure you know it too.

So yeah, let's make something that doesn't look like it came from the same assembly line as everyone else's brand. Let's make something that's so clearly yours that your competitors can't copy it without looking like idiots.

Because when you stop trying to look like everyone else, you stop competing with everyone else. You're playing a different game entirely.