Friday 15 June 2012

Frank Chimero: The [Thrilling] Shape of Design


Earlier this month I went along to see Frank Chimero talk at the MCA as part of the Vivid Festival. Much of his thoughts on what makes good design resonated strongly with my own. His ability to package his thoughts into appealing narratives must certainly stem from his years working as a graphic designer and design strategist. 

I was particularly interested in Chimero's thoughts on writing, whether his design practice influenced his process, and how he found the process of writing. I got the chance to grab the microphone during question time to see if he ever found the flow that happens during the design process within the writing process.
It was quite comforting to know that he battled with wrangling the words into a finished book. 

Since the talk I've been flipping through the e-book version of "The Shape of Design" and furiously thinking about his approach.

Design Theory needs to be relevant, exciting, accessible, compelling, stirring, thought-provoking! So much of the musty-dusty journal articles out there are just so... mind-numbing. As a Design Lecturer it's quite difficult to motivate students to understand the mechanisms and methodologies of design without sending them to sleep. I'm going to be passing this book onto them as required reading. Something tells me that it's going to get some fresh young minds excited about their potential careers.


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