By Lagos Creative Enterprise Week ( LCEW) Team
Every creative has a voice — a distinct way of expressing ideas, emotions, and perspectives. But in a world filled with trends, algorithms, and endless comparisons, finding your unique creative voice can feel overwhelming. This Monday, take a breath and remind yourself: your voice isn’t lost. It’s developing.
Your unique voice is not something you invent; it’s something you uncover. It’s shaped by your history, your interests, your culture, your struggles, your dreams, and the way you interpret the world. Trying to sound like someone else only delays your growth. The more honest you are in your work, the faster your voice emerges.
Start by paying attention to what pulls you in. What themes appear repeatedly in your ideas? What stories do you feel compelled to tell? What colors, moods, topics, or messages feel most natural to you? These patterns are clues. Creativity leaves fingerprints before it reveals the whole identity.
Don’t be afraid to create freely without worrying about whether it’s “good enough” or “on trend.” Your voice grows when you stop censoring yourself. Try writing or sketching or designing or composing without any intention of publishing. Some of your most authentic ideas appear when no one is watching.
Influences are important, too. No creative exists in isolation. Study the work of creators you admire — not to copy them, but to understand what resonates with you. Ask yourself why certain pieces inspire you. Is it the storytelling? The boldness? The minimalism? The emotion? The structure? When you identify what you love in others’ work, you get closer to defining your own style.
Another key to discovering your voice is consistency. Your creative identity becomes clearer through repetition. The more you create, the more patterns you’ll notice: the themes you return to, the techniques you prefer, the feelings you want to evoke. Over time, these patterns solidify into a signature that is unmistakably yours.
Give yourself permission to evolve. Your voice at 18 won’t be the same at 25, and certainly not at 40. Growth is a sign of life. Don’t cling to old versions of yourself because you’re afraid to outgrow what’s familiar. Your voice deepens with every new experience, challenge, and chapter.
And remember: you don’t need everyone to understand your voice. Not every creative is meant for mass appeal. Some are meant to inspire small groups deeply. Some are meant to disrupt. Some are meant to comfort. Some are meant to provoke. Your job is not to appeal to everyone — only the ones who resonate with what you create.
As you move into this week, trust that your unique voice is already inside you, waiting for space to breathe. Keep creating. Keep exploring. Keep listening inward.
You don’t find your voice in a single moment — you find it in every moment you choose to create.