designdebris

THOUGHTS
I think a lot, I can't help it. You'll find out soon enough.
(normally when doing something mundane)

Vision

90% of text found on a can of air freshener, is devoted to telling you how dangerous the product is, in 8 languages. Recently I found myself looking at things slightly differently than what I have normally done. Part of it is in my quest to be a better designer, and part is to make me a better, more observant person. Constantly we see at stuff around us but not actually look at what we're seeing, we get complacent with normal things because they are always there, we feel we don't need to look, because something's never change. From landscapes to websites to home contents and products. Everything is over looked.

I'm trying to teach myself to relook at things, and visualise the element for the first time again. We have all come across 'word blindness', when you have worked on something for so long that, errors become hidden. This recently happened with a graphic that I produced. Hours were spent on it, only to be told by a total stranger that there is a spelling mistake, months after it has been uploaded. I felt like a dick.

Another thing that has come to mind, is something I used to do as a kid, was to get hold of a large mirror and hold it horizontally under my chin, so I can look down into it and see the ceiling as if it was the floor. Being a skateboarder, this was so much fun, because beams, door frames and sloping ceilings became blocks, ledges and flat banks... everything that I wanted to skate, but couldn't.

Try it. Grab a mirror, or just look up in the air and see things differently, you may look stupid, but it's good childish creative fun at it's best. But more importantly, look closer, not just to see the object, but to see how and why it looks like it does.