DESIGN…You can do it!
DESIGN and OTHER PAINTERLY NOTIONS
Most people are fairly comfortable using words like DESIGN, STYLE, FASHION, AESTHETIC, ARCHITECTURE, etc. These are pretty flexible terms; precision isn’t usually an issue. That’s because most people aren’t in the practice of actually designing something. But that changes dramatically when something is actually in the works. If you’re designing a house, a kitchen, a chair – really anything - you need to know what these words and concepts mean….for you. Why? Because your definition is the only way you can determine if your work is getting better or not, on your own terms.
DESIGN is probably the easiest to work with IF you can be honest with yourself. Design simply means “intention” as in, That was done by design, meaning on purpose, intentionally.
We all design all the time. We design our meals, our gardens, our correspondence, our choice of clothing, how we wear our hair…the list goes on. Every time we intentionally configure or make something we are engaging in design – intentional decision making. Regardless of what we call it; design is how we want our lives to be. Yestermorrow was created so you can design your best life with the resources you have on hand.
Simple but Reiterative!
Design is always trial and error. We lay out the dinner table but then decide we want different placemats, or it needs candles. After we make those adjustments, we reassess. Then we decide the tablecloth doesn’t go with the placemats, so one needs to change. And hmmm, will a floral pattern diminish the effect of the flowers and candles? Then, uh-oh, the colors of the placemats clash with the flower arrangement.
This is the Design Helix – reiterative design thinking.
Every idea gets tried, tested and assessed. It’s that last item that most people aren’t clear on. They imagine there’s a “correct” version of anything that’s designed. But when you’re the designer, that correct version is entirely up to you. And that’s why each of us needs to understand and articulate what our design preferences are. Not that they need to be rigid or unchanging, but one must know and be able to articulate them. Otherwise, how will we assess whether one version (of anything) is better than another? How will we know our design iterations are evolving or just going in circles?
Style! not just for movie stars!
Getting clear on your preferences gives you a yardstick to assess your various designs. These are the metrics used to judge whether the current iteration of a design is better than the last. And these personal preferences, taken together, make up your Personal Style.
We all have a personal style whether we articulate it or simply suspect it. If you look around at the designed decisions you’ve made in your life, it’s pretty easy to discover your personal style….unless you’re completely without one. And that’s certainly possible!
If you’re a little vague on your personal style, commercial media would love to sell you one.
And that’s called Fashion.
We’re all aware of fashion in clothing but it also exists for pretty much anything else that can be marketed – cars, computers, books, sporting goods, vacation destinations and, of course,…..Architectural Style! (but we’ll come to that later)
Today’s “influencers” are yesteryear’s marketers. They exist to sell you readymade decisions on pretty much any aspect of your life.
Being a Designer simply means making those decisions for yourself.
Aesthetics: more than skin deep.
To be continued….