I have recently been trying to understand my path in design. Where it is I am heading with what goals in mind? What do I try to express when approaching a problem? What is my process in my work? Many questions that I want to explain succinctly and clearly. For now, my answer is to create an understanding through design, by referencing the 'there' that is not 'there' in the initial conception of the idea.

I view design as a problem with the intention of communication. The problem is how do you as a designer convey the message in a particular form with a specific subject in mind? For example, a dance troupe comes to me for a poster for an upcoming performance series. Simple enough; format is decided (a poster) and the subject matter is fairly obvious ( a dance performance). BUT how do I as the designer create an impressionable, graphically-intriguing poster that may (it does not have to, though I would the final solution is stronger as such) aim at trying to expose more about what the performance entails than simply dance. Now there are countless ways this can be excuted, though I feel that many designers, including myself, are seeking ways of adding meaning to the poster through portraying the subject matter in an unfamiliar context. By showing the 'there' that is not 'there.' The aim is to bring relevance and insight by showing other objects that may un-noticingly help create the meaning associated with the original subject.

A real life example is a poster series Bob Aufuldish did for the MFArch lecture series at CCA. Using imagery of jellyfish Bob was able to create a visually interesting poster that was able to speak more about the subject than a simple picture of, say, the structures designed by those speaking. Through metaphor, the jellyfish represented structure without structure. Objects that have form, but are manipulated by the currents around them, much like architecture in their surrounding environments. With a little thought, the jellyfish becomes an extremely strong metaphor through contrast. Such is the goal I strive for in my design projects, often able to add supplemental meaning about something when not directly addressing it (though the contrast is not always necessary or pursued. Supplemental meaning can be added in other ways).

This idea is nothing new, and one of post-modern thought. We understand what objects are by what they are not. If I did not know what a dog was, I wouldn't know that a cat is not a dog, or a chair is not a dog. Jacque Derrida coined the term Différance to explain, though in much more detail, that understanding is known through absence. it is a valuable tool to realize what it is you are working with through ideas or objects that hold alternative ideas on how to address the same subject.

So, the aim of my work is to hopefully create visually-enticing through provoking pieces of design that can add meaning to the original subject matter. The process is much more tricky, and one that is reflective of each problem. I am on a path of learning, one that will not stop, for their is always something new to learn and always a new problem to solve. What my process is something a bit more complicated, and the process is something that is continually on-going. Why do I design?

This is not finished, and it has not yet begun. If something doesn't end, it could never have started. ...