Posted by Lindsay , Saturday, April 9, 2011 10:05 PM
"The word inspiration is derived from the Latin verb inspirare-to breathe into- as in the action of gods breathing life into their creations, a scene found in creation myths worldwide." -The Design Process by Karl Aspelund
This weeks chapter in the book was about inspiration. It begins with talking about how inspiration is what motivates the designer and how, without joy, working on a design can prove to be tedious. The book talks about how inspiration needs to be sought out, not waited for, like in the stories of the Greek Muses. It was said that without being visited by the Muses, you would not be inspired to create. A quote that really stuck with me in this section was, "Inspiration is attainable when we can follow our emotions, control them, and rein them in when necessary." I thought that was an interesting thing to say, but it also seems to be true. Almost everyone is inspired by their emotions. The next section in the chapter talks about how, once we look at a certain source, we create a momentum that will lead us through the project. Sometimes it takes us in the direction we want, and other times it does not and we have to start over. It cautions to be vigilant about where your idea is heading. It is recommended to seek inspiration everywhere, to broaden your horizons, and learn everything that you can. This idea of always being curious has been repeated several times throughout the past two weeks.
I enjoyed the next section of the chapter. It talked about how an artist needs playtime, much like children do. It offers a new way of looking at things, and most people lose touch with this ability when they become adults. The sections talks about being able to imagine a stick as a guitar, sword or a magic wand. Being able to see the world like this would definitely help people find inspiration for their work. The section also talks about how getting 8 hours of sleep helps the brain process information better, rather than staying up all night studying. I think I might try that next time I have a large test to take.
The next section talks about a problem that I often have. It talks about avoiding getting lost in the research part of the project, and taking a long time in moving on in a project. This happens to me a lot; I take a lot of time to research, and end up putting everything else off until the last moment. It is something that I've been working on, and have been getting better at.
A whole section of the chapter is dedicated to the fashion designer, Yeohlee Teng. I had never heard of her before today. She came to New York from Malaysia. She begins by talking about how she thrives on information, and is constantly asking different people, like taxi drivers, questions about the local economy, and how the fashion industry is doing. She then talks about how design should be efficient, and sustainable. She trys to make one-size-fits-all garments or when using expensive fabric, trys to construct the look with minimal amounts of time and labor to even the costs. I think these are both great ideas, and not enough people take the time to consider these aspects. She goes on to talk about how she gets various ideas throughout the process, and uses some, throws away others, or saves them for later. She finds inspiration through travel, architecture, and other life experiences. She learned through experience (another topic that has been discussed various times in the past few weeks) and thinks that a design should have universal appeal. I like her idea that her designs are validated by how many people wear it, not who. The section ends with talking about how designing requires a strong personal involvement and how they have to find inspiration to help them through various problems that are encountered.
The chapter ends with a few different exercises. It gives thirteen different topics of things to consider and reflect on to help you understand the chapters ideas better. They seem to be interesting, and the questions are probably helpful. So far, this has been my favorite chapter out of the book.
Hola!
Next time that you allow yourself to have time to play, you should watch "Persepolis" is a great movie. I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it too. By reading your summary of the readings I got contagious by inspiration of reading the following chapters.