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What Getting Tattooed Taught Me About Graphic Design (and Why That Matters for Your Creative Business)
If you had told me ten years ago that tattoos would profoundly shape my approach to graphic design, I’d have called you crazy. Yet, here I am: in my mid-fifties and proudly sporting six tattoos, each one a unique reminder of the surprising lessons ink can impart to an experienced designer.
Tattoos, once icons of rebellious subcultures and sailors, are now widely accepted and celebrated as artful, personal expressions. But beyond their cool factor and personal meaning, getting tattooed opened a whole new perspective on the permanence (and impermanence) of design, one I think every creative professional should understand.
My Tattoo Journey: From Curious Onlooker to Living Canvas
I was well into my fifties before my first tattoo. Why then? My daughter, an artist far more gifted than I’ll ever claim to be, decided to become a tattooist. As a supportive dad (and, let’s be honest, a little bit of an art guinea pig), I volunteered to help her practice, which meant getting inked myself.
My first tattoo was meaningful and practical: my original business logo for Marksman Design, a stylized archer, not just an ode to my name’s playfulness but to my lifelong love of fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons. Watching my daughter prepare, sketch, and finally tattoo the archer on my shoulder, I was captivated by the artistry and the gravity: once that needle touched skin, there was no going back.
Six tattoos later, dragons, a wraith, a spider, all rendered in line art with minimal shading, my preferred style, I learned not only to love my tattoos but to appreciate their permanence. Yet, staring at the dragon on my forearm one day, I realized I wished the eyes were just a bit bigger. Guess what? Unless I want to endure a painful and costly laser removal, that minor irritation is mine for life.
The Critical Difference: Design Can Change. Tattoos Cannot.
Here’s where the big lesson hit me. In graphic design, nothing is truly permanent. You can refine, revise, and even overhaul your designs as often as you please, or as business needs dictate.
Think about all the major brands: Apple, Coca-Cola, and Ford. Their logos, colours, and messages have evolved over the decades. When a client wants to update a logo or tweak a web page, that’s our power as designers: we can adjust, delete, reset, or rebuild anything. Even a printed poster can be re-run or tweaked for the next round.
This flexibility is both a blessing and, sometimes, a curse. Many of us, myself included, fall into the perfectionist trap, believing every pixel must be flawless before we can call a project done. We nudge elements back and forth, obsessing over imperceptible differences. The truth? Often, only we notice these micro-tweaks. The client and their audience likely won’t.
But think about a tattoo: permanence means making choices, living with them, accepting minor imperfections, and moving forward. Once it’s inked, it’s there. No do-overs. This mindset shift, learned from my tattoos, has liberated me as a designer from the crippling chase for “perfect.”
There Is No “Perfect”, Only “Done”
My late brother was an extraordinary artist, and I’ll never forget one lesson he gave me as a teenager. After spending hours perfecting a watercolour landscape, he paused and signed it. When I asked how he knew the painting was done, he said, “No painting is ever done. At some point, you, the artist, have to decide you’re done with it.”
This idea is the antidote to perfectionism. In design, as in painting or tattooing, you need to accept when a work is complete, warts and all. That doesn’t mean you don’t strive to do your best; it means you accept that things can always improve, evolve, or shift with time and perspective.
The Designer’s Unique Advantage
Here’s the powerful takeaway: designers have what tattoo artists don’t, the freedom to revise, adapt, iterate, and even start over. Use it! Don’t let the pursuit of flawlessness paralyze you or waste billable hours. Deliver your best, let your work live, and embrace the fact that you can always return and improve it later.
Sometimes, the wisest design choice isn’t about adding more but about simplifying, clarifying, and removing the unnecessary. Less is often more, both in design and in life.
Call to Action: Embrace the Power of Change
Whether or not you wear ink, let this lesson inform your creativity: mistakes aren’t fatal, and nothing digital is ever really permanent. Take bold steps, accept occasional imperfections, and refocus your energy from endless edits to true impact.
Are you a designer with tattoos? I’d love to see your art, and hear what your ink has taught you about creativity and commitment. Drop me a line at feedback@resourcefuldesigner.com. Let’s celebrate the beauty of both change and permanence, and keep pushing the boundaries of our craft.
Stay Creative, tattoos or not!
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