The Spirit of Design

For the last year, we've explored the heart and soul of design. It's been a strange journey. I don't really know where we're headed, but I feel called to travel there just the same. Along the way, we've trudged through deep valleys, walked across endless plateaus and have gotten completely lost. Then there have been those moments where we crest a steep hill and glimpse an oasis: beautiful and refreshing and yet seemingly untouchable and unreal.

It makes me wonder why it's so difficult to touch the heart and soul of design? Is design heartless? I hope not. Is it soulless? I think not. But maybe we've not touched design that gives Life because we've not touched the spirit of design. I'm not talking about rah-rah school spirit, or about spirits floating through the air. I'm talking about a deeper level of design that goes beyond what we see or even experience. Let me explain by comparing people to design.

I assume we can agree that each person has a physical body, a mind, a heart and a soul. Our physical body is "touched" with our eyes. Our mind is understood with our intellect. Our heart is experienced with our feelings and emotions. And our soul is connected to our identity. But there is another part of us that is equally important--our spirit. And let's say that our spirit encompasses some of our body, mind, heart and soul, yet is separate. Since I'm not a teacher or scholar, that's as far as I'm willing to venture into this area theologically. But if you'll just accept what I've said at face value without throwing up any red flags based on your own beliefs, I'd like to extend this metaphor to design.

The visible part of design is easily grasped. It is the physical "body" of design--that which we can actually see with our eyes (colors, shapes, type, contrast, form, style, function, etc.). It dominates most of design. We critique it constantly and rant about it when it's not done well. You find a multitude of books and competitions that feed off visible design.

Beyond visible design is the "mind" of design. It's what we've done a lot of on BLANK. It's what forums like Design Observer and Speak Up do so well. And it usually engages design on an intellectual level and would include even the business of design. This part of design is coming on strong as evidenced by business' recent infatuation with design, the growth of professional design organizations and frequent design conferences.

The third layer is the "heart" of design. It's that part of design that engages the emotions or pulls on our feelings in some way. This the Holy Grail of advertising design as it seeks to elicit emotions that drive people's actions toward a product or service. We've talked about how design used in this was is manipulative. Yet, there is a flip side to the heart of design when where design engages the community to support a cause or raise awareness of a particular issue for the common good. I call this "do good design." And it does do some good.

The fourth layer is the "soul" of design. The soul layer goes beyond the design work to the designer themselves. In many ways the soul of design defines who the designer is as a professional to include their personal insecurities, self view, position among peers, etc. Thus an individual work of design becomes an extension of the designer. But don't confuse soul with style. Style is part of the visible layer. Soul is much deeper. For example, most of David Carson's work defines a visible style (deconstructionist), while Paul Rustand's work "Have I Missed You" expresses the soul reflective of the designer. Soul design connects the identity of the designer with their passion and purpose and reflects it in a particular work. And after decades of being lost to industry, advertising, and corporations, designers are just now discovering their soul. Stefan Sagmeister's work is a great example of the work of a designer becoming an extension of themselves. You can also see soul in Dave Werner's portfolio.

Now, before we jump into fifth layer of design, I want to share some observations I've made over the last year that bring things into perspective. When we first started this journey to gain a Christian (yes, that's where I'm coming from, so hold your breath) perspective on design, I kept bumping into some interesting people along the way. I'm not sure they know they are on a journey somewhere, but it seems obvious to me by their design. Some are Christians, and some are not. Those designers closest to grasping what we're looking for at BLANK are the ones whose design reaches beyond what is seen, felt and understood to something intuitively perceived by the viewer.

Their design work is a an extension of themselves…not just a physical, trendy style or an intellectual rant about some political issue or even an attempt to move the viewers emotions. No, their work actually contained some of their spirit, and when we view their physical design work, our spirits connected with the spirit of their work. Now the question is, what type of spirit is being communicated through a work? What is that unseen connection made with the viewer? Is it life giving? Searching? Dominating? Controlling? Depressed? And why do we care?

Let's bring this down to earth. Think about surf/skateboard graphics. We could talk all day about the influence of Carson's Ray Gun style on the rest of design. We could oogle over the "cutting edge" nature of the skateboarding industry's trendy work, and how it drives everything from teen fashion to TV commercials. But what is the spirit of most of the design we see in skateboarding? It is a spirit of death or rebellion. Now, let's jump over to "high design" (think fashion, art and even design for its own sake). Again we can discuss the modernistic tendencies or the stereotypical typography commonly used to denote luxurious or elite. But what is the spirit behind most of that design? It is pride, pleasure, arrogance, self above others and live for today. Do you see what I mean by the spirit of a design?

Often the spirit of a design is set in place by the client. For example, Joe business owner calls me up and says he needs a logo fast and cheap. What's the spirit of that request? Or Whack-o-mart, a big prestigious client that pays all my bills, wants a complete product identity for their new widget so they can make millions. What's the spirit behind that design request? How about Fred small business owner needs help with redesigning his website to better serve his customers? What's the spirit behind that design? Catch my drift? Each client/company/organization/request has not only requirements and dollars attached to it, but also a spirit. Discerning that spirit is key to knowing how to handle a client or whether or not to handle them at all. Why? Because our spirit as a designer must connect the client's and produce a work that speaks to the spirit of the viewer. Who do you want to connect your spirit to?

I know. I know. Not every design work has a spirit. Most have only a visible body, part of a mind and very little heart. This is what makes our journey difficult. To grasp the spirit of design is to grasp the heart and soul of design. I hope you can help me clarify and add to these thoughts with your own.