Are designers the best judges of beauty?
Today, we begin with the age-old philosophical question – what is beauty?
Ask anyone from the creative industries, and you’re bound to get more than their two cents on this mega subject. As visual communicators, we not only thrive on but are also driven by aesthetic beauty, arguably more than any other profession. But let’s face it, designers and clients don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to aesthetic taste. Even the most seasoned art directors have experienced the pain and frustration of having clients reject their stylistic choices – be it a graphic layout, a colour, or a font. Regardless of these differences, however, the world continues to value designers as modern-day ‘aesthetes’ and visual tastemakers.
This leads us to our next question…
How do we define beauty? Are there parameters with which we can measure such a thing? If it were that simple, we could all create things that were universally acceptable to be beautiful. On the other hand, if beauty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder, how can designers justify being better judges of it than others?
My answer is simple. Designers produce work that have wide-ranging visual appeal. Whatever the assignment may be, our goal is to come up with unique interpretations of beauty to appeal to different (or specific) groups of people, depending on the brief. This isn’t just for the sake of satisfying our creative appetite, designers present original ideas that resonate with intended audiences, both visually and emotionally.
One of our ex-colleagues was a young lady, whom most people in our office described as an “average-looking” girl. Yet, she was never short of admirers. What her admirers saw was probably more than her looks – perhaps there was something about her personality, or her voice, or her bright eyes that demanded their attention.
A skilled designer is one who can translate seemingly ordinary qualities into meaningful (and beautiful) creations for its audience.
Designers should never let personal taste take over a project. Rather than designing purely on the basis of aesthetic pleasure, the focus should be what’s right. Instead of wasting time debating about individual aesthetic preferences, we should make time to initiate discussions with the client to agree on solutions that work for the brand.
Many years ago, I saw a movie and one line really stuck with me: “One can only call themselves a creative genius, if they can turn a pile of poop into dim sum and sell it…”
Give me the same opportunity and I’ll go beyond dim sum – I’d turn it into ice-cream… Ice-cream-flavoured poo, surely that will be a hit with the kids!
So, how will you re-design poop?
#Aesthetic #DesignSolutions #UrbaneDesign
Written by Raymond Kar Kit, Tam, Founder of A Green Hill
Translated by Nicole Koo