Taste for Makers article
Just came across this article, and I wanted to share it with others who want to improve their game, in finding beauty in what they create.
Taste for Makers
Some interesting quotes I liked:
For architects and designers it means that beauty should depend on a few carefully chosen structural elements rather than a profusion of superficial ornament. (Ornament is not in itself bad, only when it's camouflage on insipid form.)
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Strangely enough, if you want to make something that will appeal to future generations, one way to do it is to try to appeal to past generations. It's hard to guess what the future will be like, but we can be sure it will be like the past in caring nothing for present fashions. So if you can make something that appeals to people today and would also have appealed to people in 1500, there is a good chance it will appeal to people in 2500.
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In most fields the appearance of ease seems to come with practice.
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It's not cheating to copy [from nature].
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Good design is redesign. It's rare to get things right the first time. Experts expect to throw away some early work. They plan for plans to change.
It takes confidence to throw work away.
[sarahbellem, I thought of something you wrote when I read this.]
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I think the greatest masters go on to achieve a kind of selflessness. They just want to get the right answer, and if part of the right answer has already been discovered by someone else, that's no reason not to use it. They're confident enough to take from anyone without feeling that their own vision will be lost in the process.
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I also like his last paragraph, but I don't want to give that away... so read it. It is a long article, but I think worth reading and thinking about.
Taste for Makers
Some interesting quotes I liked:
For architects and designers it means that beauty should depend on a few carefully chosen structural elements rather than a profusion of superficial ornament. (Ornament is not in itself bad, only when it's camouflage on insipid form.)
...
Strangely enough, if you want to make something that will appeal to future generations, one way to do it is to try to appeal to past generations. It's hard to guess what the future will be like, but we can be sure it will be like the past in caring nothing for present fashions. So if you can make something that appeals to people today and would also have appealed to people in 1500, there is a good chance it will appeal to people in 2500.
...
In most fields the appearance of ease seems to come with practice.
...
It's not cheating to copy [from nature].
...
Good design is redesign. It's rare to get things right the first time. Experts expect to throw away some early work. They plan for plans to change.
It takes confidence to throw work away.
[sarahbellem, I thought of something you wrote when I read this.]
...
I think the greatest masters go on to achieve a kind of selflessness. They just want to get the right answer, and if part of the right answer has already been discovered by someone else, that's no reason not to use it. They're confident enough to take from anyone without feeling that their own vision will be lost in the process.
...
I also like his last paragraph, but I don't want to give that away... so read it. It is a long article, but I think worth reading and thinking about.