Design is in the eye of the beholder

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just as design is.

Within the contexts of this class, I have not only been influenced by new experiences, but I have also been able to look at the concept of design in an entirely different light. McCloud's article in some ways helped me realize that. I particularly enjoyed his point about the human brain and our ability to form connections and impressions and I think that's the key to design and the visual element: the openness of a mind and its subjective experience.

In some ways both this course and it supplements -- such as McCloud's reading -- has allowed me to think about my own experience with visual elements, how this shapes my perception, and thus be impacted by the beauty that is design and art. I also think this has much to do with the visual person I am by nature. I hold this belief, as cliche and as beat into the ground as it is, that having an open heart and mind allows a single person to be exposed to the most wonderful elements the world has to offer. I also believe the beauty of design also parallels some of the beauty of the real world: that anyone and anything can teach you anything at any time, and the only way that process can be functional and successful is if one opens the means through which perception happens. It's like nature and nurture at work; the psychology of the brain we are born with and how we are nurtured by outside influences and participate in society and how these two coincide. 

In this way, our design and projects also take on a certain uniqueness. Of the various project that we've completed throughout the quarter so far -- even podcasting -- I have learned much about myself as a designer. When I was younger, I basically lived for making collages of anything I enjoyed, and during middle school, that was either basketball and soccer, or my favorite television show at the time: One Tree Hill. When I entered high school, I tried my hand in a few different graphic design classes and still have the desire to expand that knowledge base. But from reading about McCloud's icons to Williams' view of design, and Ginger and Spiekermann's notion of fonts, I have realized design comes in so many different forms. Yes, there are many commonalities and widely accepted ideas of what it means to be a designer and design, but there also exists such variety in even these notions. Anyone can be a designer. Shoot, the colorful smoothie I made for breakfast, before blended up, was very aesthetically pleasing, just as the words on this page are in some way. 

It's effort and thought and rawness. It's a form of a expression we make our own. And I think it's safe to say that's the most beautiful realization I've had all week.