The eyes do the thinking.
Driving down a tree-lined street with leaves glowing in shades of gold, red, and orange imply it’s autumn. A sales rep dressed in an expensive suit, designer shoes, and flawless hair may imply they sell very expensive products. A beautifully plated meal with bright green veggies, crispy skinned chicken, and fluffy mashed potatoes may imply a delicious dinner.
What we see very often depicts how we think and feel—but is it accurate?
Could the trees be turning colour prematurely due to drought conditions? Could the well-dressed sales rep simply want to boost their self-confidence? Could the beautifully plated dinner be tasteless due to lack of seasoning?
While the eyes do the thinking, we must also incorporate other senses for a more complete picture. Art and design activate and magnify all of our senses everyday.
Over the last several decades, I have observed life through the lens of a graphic designer. Somehow, I thought this was my unique gift and quite different from most people. While I believe my artistic talents are special, as I progress through my journey, I have realised that art is etched in each of us, as we are all gifted with creativity in different ways.
My engineer friends may seem more analytical and process-oriented than me, but they also have incredible problem-solving skills that merge logistics with creativity. My race-car obsessed husband seems driven by speed and horsepower, yet I see his mechanical mind churning as he faces various challenges. From adding three new gauges to the already crowded dashboard of his Cobra, to tackling a leaky faucet in the bathtub, art and design abound. Hi new car gauges are neatly installed, balanced, and attractively placed—optimised for the driver’s view. The bathtub faucet is carefully removed and examined. Worn out gaskets are replaced, and the faucet is reinstalled with flawless craftsmanship. It is centred, straightened, and polished. These are examples of artistry in everyday life.
Everything we do is encompassed in art—from how we dress to how we speak and present ourselves to the world. It is very clear that art and design are not for just designers. Art is everywhere, within everyone and encapsulated in everything we do.
When I wrote my first book, The Green Velvet Chair, I compiled essays written about art and design in everyday life. As I embark on a second edition and write more short essays, I focus on both the visual––as well as what lies beneath the surface. One of my new essays is about sewing Barbie doll clothes, but it’s not a silly story about making doll clothes; it’s a story about growing up in the sixties. The ethics and values of a modern housewife (my mom) and her influence on her young daughter (me). It’s a powerful story about empowerment, art, and design in everyday life.
Whether we are a doctor, a sales person, a bus driver, or a server in a restaurant, art influences us in ways that may not be obvious. Cues like colour, language, attitude, and actions are artfully displayed to make us see or feel a certain way. Typically, doctors wear white lab coats to represent professional, sterile environments; sales reps craft language to appeal to various audiences; bus drivers exude a friendly, confident demeanour for their passengers; and servers are polite, attentive, and sensitive to the needs of their patrons, all offering the best service they can. This is artistry. Whether we want to exude confidence, trust, or persuasion to a situation, we do it very deliberately and purposefully. From our dress, to our attitude, to our language, art is the center of how we communicate, visually, orally, and non-verbally.
As I progressed in my career, I learned that I shouldn’t dress for the position I was in—I should dress for the position I want to be in. This is an intentional and very visual ploy to be perceived in a different way—an ambitious designer. Of course, my actions had to reflect this more than my physical appearance, but it was part of the artistry.
A sales rep for farming equipment once commented to me that he was a neat freak and worked hard to ensure his parts van was meticulously clean and well organized. While farmers wanted to browse the equipment in his van, they would hesitate before entering his vehicle with their muddy boots. The sales rep remarked that perhaps he shouldn’t have been so fussy. However, it showed his audience (farmers) that he respected the products he sold, held them in high regard, and wanted to display them in the best possible way. This speaks not only to how we present ourselves but also how we portray and display our products and services.
There is art at play here.
Human beings inherently seek harmony. Although some art forms may be rebellious, like modern graffiti, influenced by the hip hop culture, it is always balanced. Even when there are contributions from different people at different times, the colours and shapes within the street art are well composed. Of course there is the famous British street artist, Banksy, who has mesmerized the world with his graffiti as well as his identity. Much of his work was influenced by trip hop bands characterised by broken beats and a somewhat darker subgenre of hip hop. While many love his satirical work, others consider it vandalism and quickly paint over it. Art can be beautiful and calming but it can also be thought-provoking and contemptuous. This shows that we, as human beings, have a natural sense of balance, symmetry and colour—and also illustrates how art reflects life, integrating music, politics and social consciousness as part of our very being.
Art can be beautiful and calming but it can also be thought-provoking and contemptuous.
When we close our eyes or gaze into the sky, we can access the deepest part of our creative mind. This can evoke profound thinking, enabling us to let go of “what is” and focus on ‘what could be.’ When we are in this quiet mindset, we are not distracted by visuals, but we access our other senses. While our eyes may be the window to our soul, perhaps they are also the window to our brain, allowing us to focus on internal energies.
Having graduated from art college many decades ago, I often find inspiration in the post-impressionist art movement that captivated me in art history class. One painter from this era, Paul Gauguin, shared how he accessed his creativity:
“I shut my eyes in order to see.”
Quiet reflection engages creative thoughts and powerful outcomes. Art is life.
