Originality becomes easier once approval stops being part of the design brief.

Wanting approval quietly rewrites the brief. Every decision starts getting checked against a predicted reaction, and prediction can only draw on what has already been received well. The work ends up shaped by an audience’s past rather than your judgment.

Before starting something, write down what you are trying to do in terms that do not mention anyone’s response. Return to that note when you feel yourself hedging. Approval can still arrive, it just should not be one of the design constraints.