Being different just to be different gets old fast. Be different because it’s actually what you see.

Difference used as a strategy runs out quickly, because it is still built around what other people are doing, just inverted. Work made that way starts to feel like a costume, and audiences read it faster than you would think. Genuine oddity comes from describing what you actually notice, which nobody else has quite the same access to. It does not feel brave from the inside, it just feels accurate.

When you make a strange choice, ask whether you would still make it if nobody could see it. If yes, keep it. If it exists mainly to be noticed as different, it is decoration and you can cut it.