A Chair In There

Keep it simple……

A good friend, architect Mark Jones, once told me the design philosophy he adopted while director of the architectural firm Architectus.

Make the design as simple as possible and, after that has been achieved, as elegant as you can within the constraints of the budget. In the context of architecture, the budget is time, money, and resources.

I think his philosophy is great for many things in life and business, not just architecture: painting, business structures, family dynamics, creative pursuits, music, and writing.

It reminds me of the design philosophy of shaker furniture. Only make an object if necessary and useful, and only then make it as beautiful as possible.

Over the last 10 years, I have been learning to write so that I can tell better stories. It occurs to me that a combination of these two philosophies — simple and useful, then elegant or beautiful — has been what I have unconsciously been trying to achieve. David Hieatt recent writings and upcoming microblogging course have inspired me to write and post daily. I have found these philosophies particularly useful in both my writing and the illustrations that accompany the words.

I am curious, does this resonate with you in any aspect of your life or work?

If you find it useful (if not necessary or beautiful), please repost it to your network.

#writing #useful #creativethinking #simple #elegant