Design decisions are done subconsciously?

Good evening, peeps. Another week of craziness has gone by. Last week, I worked on some intense matters with a client in regards to her separation case, unfortunately. On occasion, life does not go according to our plans. I reassured her that she did not fail in her life at all. When we are hit by bad times, we need to prepare to adapt, modify and reconstruct as situations change.

I’ve always really loved watching people who are at the top of their game, who are absolutely exquisite at something, regardless of what that ‘something’ might be. I guess I’ve always hoped that, by witnessing awesomeness, it would somehow rub off on me and make me better at what I do. Does that make sense? In those moments, when I realise that I am being struck by the sheer brilliance of someone or something, I make a conscious effort to completely open up my heart and my mind, and absorb everything that’s going on in hope that my creative battery can get charged by this source. You see, I truly think that experiencing as many moments like this as often as possible makes one a better designer. Designers’ hearts and minds are vessels of all these experiences. The more inspiring experiences we expose ourselves to, the better we will become at creating outcomes that capture the essence of the extraordinary.

With the little spare time I had last week. I managed to create a few interesting clay and plaster shapes as shown below. I often dream about landscapes and large open spaces with fascinating curves and channels. In week 4 of our studio exercise, I was requested to think about the wooden structure and the painting I created. In response, I fabricated an object which carries through the concept. It needs to be attached to the original wooden structure. These plaster blocks were created by the following process:

1. Make a wooden holder

2. Press the clay inside the wooden holder, just like play with play dough

3. Using metal scrapers to create the channels and curves

4. Pour the liquid plaster mixture into the wooden holder and let it set for half an hour

5. Carefully remove the wooden sides and the clay

6. Allow the plaster blocks to set and dry. That's it!

Do you ever ask yourself how you design? As a designer, do you ever question your own process? Have you ever realised that many of the design decisions that you make are done subconsciously? I do! A lot of my design inspirations come through when I am not thinking about designing.

However, I do need to think about a creative way to attach them to the wooden matrix. Meanwhile, have a lovely weekend and I shall catch up with you all next week!

ps: only 6 more days to go till Easter break!

Michelle x