Whilst researching on reference artists, I came across David Carson’s TED talk on “Design and Discovery” that he gave in 2009. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFpANOqSdi8)
The whole talk was around 25 minutes, but I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. He was extremely funny and insightful.
One thing I wanted to share from his talk was when he talked about the power of emotion in design. I feel like he explained this in a really simple and concise way when he showed two pictures of ‘warnings’ spray painted onto two doors.
Here’s an extract of his transcript:
“I’m a big believer in the emotion of design, and the message that’s sent before somebody begins to read, before they get the rest of the information; what is the emotional response they get to the product, to the story, to the painting — whatever it is. That area of design interests me the most, and I think this for me is a real clear, very simplified version of what I’m talking about.These are a couple of garage doors painted identical, situated next to each other. So, here’s the first door.
You know, you get the message. You know, it’s pretty clear. Take a look at the second door and see if there’s any different message.
O.K., which one would you park in front of? (Laughter) Same color, same message, same words. The only thing that’s different is the expression that the individual door-owner here put into the piece — and, again, which is the psycho-killer here? (Laughter) Yet it doesn’t say that; it doesn’t need to say that. I would probably park in front of the other one.”
After watching just this part, I was taken aback by how the same message simply written in a different way could have such a discrepancy in affecting the viewer. I realised that there emotion is truly powerful in design- I just need to know how to express it. I’m am hoping (and will be consciously trying my best) to evoke this kind of emotion in all my work so that I can effectively relay my message and more importantly, make an impact on the viewer. But it will be a challenge to channel my emotions into my designs and choosing the best way to express myself.