Since a few people have sparked some interest, I thought I'd start writing them every once a while. I'll be tagging all with "#design thoughts" if anyone's interested in reading them.
The first thing that I often tend to do as a level designer, is finding a niche that I really enjoy messing around with, whether it's a gimmick, design style or just difficulty. I've always been a fan of trying to pick something that people are split on in terms of enjoyment, and trying to make it as good as I can, or doing potentially risky things to try out something new. I've done that in some of my current mods, where I focused on an underused gimmick or something people weren't sure if they'd enjoy playing, and try to make it palatable to the majority of players.
Another reason why I try to go out of my comfort zone, is because there's a lot of stigma around niche level design. It's often seen as bad, unfun or poorly made. I've seen so many people imply that something that's not inherently what they're looking for, is often perceived as not enjoyable, or made "bad on purpose". Something not being fun for you doesn't inherently mean it's terrible or low effort, it can be fundamentally strong and have a lot of brilliant ideas, but it might not necessarily be something you're looking for, and that's okay! You're not obligated to like everything, but I think understanding this difference is very important.
I try to experiment with new ideas to show people, that niches have their target audience and sometimes a certain design philosophy can interest someone, who may not even be a general fan of this kind of idea, if it's made in an approachable way. I've definitely played a selection of fanmade content that usually I'd not be a big fan of, but the amount of polish or a different approach to the gimmick made it fun even for me.
Of course there's absolutely nothing wrong if someone has found a style and prefers to stick within their comfort zone. Those will always have their audience, and in the end level design should be something that you find fun, and the best work comes when you're having a great time making it, but if you've ever wanted to branch out a bit, or try something different, don't be afraid of doing that. It can be a rough start, and whatever you do, it will always have someone who isn't gonna enjoy everything you made, but hey, modding is free, and they're not losing anything if a certain piece of art isn't their cup of tea, and if you've had a blast creating something, I think that's something worth valuing as well.
