PHOTO BY: JOE LEWIS

I found the following passage, taken from Jeremy Denk’s writing on Bach, to be particularly thought provoking. My background as a violinist continuously seems to infiltrate my ideas about life in indirect ways, therefore I can appreciate Denk’s thoughts. This passage is an interesting insight into the sometimes ignored nuances of music that are yet profound.

At the beginning of the measure, all three parts are in beautiful E-flat major. By the downbeat of the next measure, the E-flat has been “re-thought” as a part of C minor.



But I like the beat in-between: when the E-flat doesn’t know yet that it has been rethought. Where the melody’s and harmony’s tendencies clash, where the parts diverge, you get a kind of blurred double image of past and future. If you agree with me that Bach is a particularly profound essayist in the nature of time, you might agree with this leap of association: that dissonant beat is the present.



It is neither here nor there. In its in-between-ness, it is the most beautiful, tastable moment of all. Why is it always the moment you want to hold onto, that is passing by?

Read full article at Think Denk »
(discovered via Bobulate)

The leading innovation firm Ideo has put together this informational how-to guide (118 pages) and hands-on workbook (40 pages) outlining their ideas and insight into designing for social impact. I found these materials both interesting and informative on how to develop meaningful projects, re-strategize my process, and lead my intentions into successful outcomes.

The guide begins by describing ‘What is Design for Social Impact?’ and is then divided into the following three sections:

• Design Principles
• Modes of Engagement
• Inspiration

The workbook is intended to be used along with the guide as a general framework to help define one’s own process in creating design for change. It is divided into:

• Goals
• Tools
• Plans

These materials contain a vast amount of ideas and exercises, and certainly not all of it is applicable to every design firm or project, however it is a great source of inspiration to get ideas flowing towards design for positive social impact.

Download here:

• Design for Social Impact Guide (pdf)
• Design for Social Impact Workbook (pdf)

Design Mind (by Frog Design) displays this interesting infographical look at what it means to create meaningful design. I am often asking the question of what makes design meaningful, therefore its interesting to see the visual thoughts of others regarding this topic.

Facebook is leading new initiatives towards promoting peace by using technology as a mechanism towards positive change. They are helping people to connect and better understand each other through social networking.

View the Facebook Peace Site »

PHOTO BY: CARLOS BOHORQUEZ NASSAR

“In cultures like India or in previous times, people had traditions of apprenticeship. They’d want to be a blacksmith, so they’d spend 12 years at the feet of a master. By the time they were done, they became a master themselves. That’s how people learned things in the old days, they would fully master them.”

The above statement was made by Buddhist Lama Christie McNally during an interview with GOOD. The interview discussed the practice of a meditation retreat that consists of 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days of complete silence, no speaking, and no contact with the outside world. Some Buddhist students embark on this retreat in order to truly master the art of meditation.

This lead me to thinking about questions of true artistry. Is this a tradition we are losing in modern times? Are we no longer artisans of anything? Have we lost the ability to focus on and master one thing? Is this a positive or a negative? In the interview, McNally goes on to discuss the negative effects. But in contrast, I wonder if maybe we’ve progressed into something bigger.

Jack of all Trades, Master of None

“In this culture, we dabble and we educate our children to be dabblers. That’s what I did in college. I’d take this psychology class or that philosophy class, but there was no emphasis on going to your full potential. There’s so much potential in everybody, but nobody is living up to it.”

I agree that modern education consists of learning a little about a lot of things. However this should not discount that we do in fact learn something. We study the basics, but then we are pushed to innovate on our own. I had an Anthropology professor, Kathleen Young, who challenged me to “think about the way we think.” This one lesson applied to everything else I learned in college and is still influential in my life. Furthermore, I continue to reflect back on anthropological, mathematical and scientific ideas from college when tackling design problems.

Maybe I didn’t master any single discipline in my education, but I learned how to learn, how to connect contrasting disciplines and how to organize my thoughts into new ideas.

The Ability to Focus

“But in this society, we are anti-concentration: we surf the web all the time and our minds are going from this object to that object in a nanosecond. There’s no tradition for just sitting down and keeping the mind on a single object. “

I agree with McNally here. Focus is something I continually struggle with, and I think is an even bigger problem in our society. Lack of focus detracts from every aspect of achieving artistry. We may not need to master one particular thing, but we certainly must be able to focus clearly to be successful. How can we improve focus in an era of extreme information overload and a rapidly increasing pace of life? It’s challenging, but developing focus should be an exercise we all practice on a daily level.

Mastering Design Thinking

Ideas of mastering artistry are fascinating to me because of my vast array of interests in different disciplines, and I strive for perfection in every one. Unfortunately, perfection is unlikely, but maybe there is something else to achieve by drawing connections, developing inter-disciplinary relationships and problem solving.

I am a designer, but I am far from reaching design mastery. I view design as encompassing elements of every discipline, but I cannot master everything. However, maybe design artistry can be achieved by mastering the way we think about design.

Holistic Perspectives

Fusion of disciplines allows for the most interesting and innovative results. The world is becoming continually more interconnected, and it cannot be denied that viewing from a single perspective is limiting. By taking on multiple viewpoints, we are able to develop a bigger and truer understanding.

In modern times, maybe we are becoming masters in the art of thinking.

I am fully aware of the loads of design blogs flooding the internet today, and I realize how overwhelming it can be for every blog reader, including myself. As most of us, I enjoy reading blogs for several reasons. They help me stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations, but more importantly they provide a vast amount of inspiration. I’ve now decided to join the blogosphere flood in order to hopefully inspire others and to give another voice to growing movement of like-minded individuals emerging from the design industry.

Interdisciplinary design…
Healthy living…
Cultural paradigms…
Anthropology…
Synthesis of design and culture…
Travel…
Traveling designer…
Globalization…
Technology…
Social media…
Communication…
Discussion…
Creativity…
Understanding…
Ideation…
Collaboration…
Innovation…
Social design…
Smart design…
Solutions…

This is a string of topics that is consistently flowing through my mind. I’m here to discuss these ideas, to connect with others, to share and to learn.