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When one encounters with “whoa” in creation of any kind, he or she just experienced lightness of design.
The lightness is accomplished by designers who carry the attitude which demands to create awes in any given project. Any creative piece that adheres intellectually is the one contains the lightness. Not only is the piece carefully processed with deep consideration, also often it is playful or humorous. Lightness is indeed an experience all designers of twenty-first century should aim to create.
Design a work lightly is not an easy task to accomplish. Periodically, a designer is required to arrive at his or her discomfort zone to create. Such is no simple job either. However, only then the very same composition results in lightness. Thus, when a creative manages to continuously woe his or her audiences, one is considered successful.
Kashiwa Sato, one of top contemporary Japanese graphic designers, once created a series of advertisement for Honda’s step wagon. Unlike his ordinary style, Sato decided on a contrary direction to produce an entirely unique campaign. Unexpectedly both Sato and the campaign succeeded and it earned him the present fame. Now Sato’s field of work ranges from full conceptual branding to space design. He has earned the lightness.
Acquiring lightness requires courage, also known as the “can-do” attitude. When a designer is certain of his or her capability in delivery, the lightness is within the reach.
It is so difficult to create a sentence that is beautifully composed and deliver what one exactly wants it.
When you start writing, the general thoughts that contains many extra words come out and form a sentence. Then you have what you want to say there thought it is not anywhere near beautiful or powerful. Look for the right word to fit in the open spot is like looking for a piece of puzzle. It is time consuming and frustrating at the same time.
Then you realize how little vocablary you have and kind of being ashamed of it. I want to write well. I need to read more. Learn more.
Writing is totally an art.
This might sound silly, but I’m so IN LOVE WITH the colorful POST-ITs!!!
The reason I emphasize it so much is that it is so wonderful and convenient. I can juggle down whatever I have at the moment in my head, (just about starting to count how many and often thoughts comes out of my head…). Just doing my morning shower, there was nearly 10 pages of post-it that was ripped out of the stuck.
I write my though down, I peel it off, and I paste it with same thoughts category in order of bottom to top. The process helps me to organize my undiscovered notions since my brain tend to go all over the place in a very short amount of time.
It also is fun to see the color and immediately you know what category of things you are looking at. I use different colors for personal, school, and work. It only has been 3 days, and I am already addicted to it.
I have to say… 3M—one great invention!
credit: to my friend James. H. His wall full of small post-it written new English words he wants to learn everyday was my inspiration.
I cannot stress this enough: this is the reason why, I LOVE my friends and people who are around me. You never know what you can learn from them every day.
I find myself unaware. Had been having opportunities to be in three different countries and cultures for almost equally long period of time, you would think that I would be very well informed and wildly knowledgeable. However, the reality is not.
There are things one recognize as information and one don’t. I guess you could say that because the hierarchy of which the information priority changes.
When I was in China, during the first nine years of my life, I was a bookworm. I read, read and read. Simply because Chinese was my first language and I loved to read. I absorbed information as I was being given anyway possible. Couch and a book was my weekend ritual. It was natural.
After I moved to Japan with my parents until I finished high school I still read, just not as much or often as I used to. Japanese was my second language but I didn’t have problem communicating. I had perfect Japanese. However then, academic and social activities became more important. Blending into the society which you ‘belongs to’ was an important part of Japanese culture. Had have experienced bully in 3rd and 4th grades, I wasn’t going to let myself fail off of the ‘normal’ category for the second time. I paid more attention in fashion, trend, and current entertainment to be able to keep up the conversation at school. Occasionally I read at home for hours, however, the 15 minutes one way train commute to school was my majority of time for the books and homework sometimes.
In college, the readings I did were 95% text books, or articles used in the class. Spending hours starring back and forth at sentences and dictionary just to understand the content in the text books was exhausting. English as third language didn’t inspired me enough to keep reading. Reading in English was exhausting and boring. It was more fun using English to converse with friends or watch movies. Reading on my own was no longer something I was interested in. On the other hand, designing was a lot more interesting and fun. Creating non-literal communication was fun.
Then I realized; I wasn’t reading any more.
Now being at DMI, I have been forced to read since the last semester. I have to confess, that I hadn’t been reading in a very long time. Because of the heavy load of readings, I found myself eased while reading. My English improved tremendously and reading is not timely torture any more. Though if I want to read something thoroughly and understand it completely, I still need occasional dictionary help. Well, I’m not perfect trilingual after all.
I am though, very grateful for my situation despite there are more than enough publications for me to read from three different languages. It was extremely time and energy consuming to perfect each language. Especially in English where I couldn’t separate grammar that I learned in Japan from sentences I hear naturally. I was overly annoyed that I couldn’t just “memorize” it in my head and repeat and use it simply by the sounds I hear from native English speakers. I guess that is the result of getting older; one gets duller to the natural instinct every time the brain learns something technical. It’s just my observation.
So far, I am happy with who and what I am. And I am certainly glad to recognize this problem I had, and by that I am going to fix it by start read more. I am forever refuse to be an English-book-phobia.
The 21st century—our society is more internationalized than ever; businesses happen at the different parts of the world, designers share ideas and thoughts across the globe, and students have wide options of foreign educations. Borders between countries are increasingly thinner. However, much appreciation including understanding of foreign cultures as well as education for younger generation in such subject is absent.
Though many historical conflicts still exist between countries, designers need to educate themselves about different cultures and affairs include customs and traditions meanwhile carry on respects to others’ design works. Others are people who do not have the same cultural background or the same value with yours and yet create amazing works. Cognitions and notions that were born from these differences should generate much contribution to individual’s work and give contrary dimensions to the same creative conundrums.
On the other hand, as Bonsiepe addresses, “the discussion about Self and Identity, about Presentation and Representation,” in my opinion, each of us needs to recognize what we could offer to others because of who we are with the values we have. The distinctive backgrounds between us are in fact the most valuable assets a designer has to be unique of his or her own. Our work is essentially a representation of our gathered ideations, which illustrates the best solution to a particular design problem. Regardless of what the mainstream culture is, preserve our “own-ness” would bring another delightful dimension to the cultural education we could offer to the others and ourselves.
