I find myself designing in relation and in response: not only to content, but also to context and to collaborators. This situatedness drives a synthesis of elements into a specific solution that I do not anticipate from the outset. Rather, I let forms evolve from my conceptual exploration and experimentation that I then execute with an attention both to detail and to whole. A smart graphic design solution evolves from the content, the context, and the communicative purpose at hand—not from a preconceived idea of style or form to be imposed. I strive to develop my creative processes in ways that cultivate understanding of content and purpose through analysis, research, and iteration.
In recent work on books, products, exhibitions, and mobile websites, I have identified a common thread: a reliance on sequence. Whether this sequence is spatial or temporal, it is integral both to the cohesion of the project and to how I envision my work being encountered and used. In order to hone sequence and gestalt, I have been emphasizing contrast in my process. Through the study of semiotics, I have come to see spectrums as manifestations of contrast and as maps
of possibility:
← representation | abstraction →
← expression | restraint →
← simplicity |
complexity →
← specificity | generality →
← originality | accessibility →
I recognize that I am more of a planner now than I used to be—and yet I am also more willing to change course. I realize that there is not only wisdom in following through with ideas, but also in abandoning them and moving on to develop new ones. Maya Lin speaks of her need to let ideas percolate, and this notion really resonates for me. I find that my creative processes are invaluably bolstered—and indeed re-routed—by seemingly random or unrelated input; if I remain alert and open-minded, I can count on my surroundings and the passing of time as collaborators. I have therefore come to embrace chance as an element with which
to work.
