The Iceberg
This is a few months late.
I will admit, I assumed this would be easy, but here we are, a few months after the first draft, wondering where the last few months disappeared to. You see, it is one thing to have ideas, and a totally different challenge to execute them as they should be – or at least as you imagined them –
Design is more than just aesthetics.
Actually, it is the perfect archetype of the metaphorical iceberg. We keep discovering daily the impact of design in our lives, even in areas we never imagined it would have an impact. Some would argue that it is (to a large extent) due to the proliferation of bad design.
After all, Mieke Gerritzen
famously said:
“Good design goes to heaven; bad design goes everywhere.”
We can all agree that today, design consciously plays a big role in the choices we make. A few years ago, we were more likely to focus on functionality.
It’s almost as if we’ve all awakened to the realization of the importance of properly designed… well, anything.
This is not to say that design is new – the principles we apply today were laid down a long time ago, and nothing has really changed – but it appears we have collectively accepted, and thus elevated its relevance on the list of criteria we consult when making decisions.
With Arido(Word Origin: Urhobo, Meaning: Knowledge), I intend to explore the concepts we sometimes ignore. The little rules that guide our choices during the design process. The sometimes obscure reasons why we love (and sometimes hate) our devices, spaces, and even cities.
Design, and our perception(s) of it, is more than a debate on taste or principles. There’s so much to learn. About our environment, and the tools we use by rote. The cars, the phones, the spaces we live and work in, about nature and the world around us, and how we interact with everything.
I honestly have no idea how deep this iceberg goes, but I’ll dive in anyway.
If curiosity kills this cat, satisfaction from the experience will be sure to bring it back.