Welcome... to my very first blog post on my website where I want to converse about our approach to design as a practice.
For the last three years I have been trying to find a voice and a method to address my thoughts and my time at Parsons have led me here.
As you are reading this on my website, you know that I own a brand. The brand has been the medium in product form to give me a reason to talk about exactly what I want to talk about today.
The approach to an authentic design that is unwavering to commercial success.
The title of this post is mindfulness the foundation to creativity and authenticity for the reason that this is the practice I have used to create.
Creation is our way of life. As artists, designers, and humans, we were born to create and mindfulness sits right at the middle of it all.
We are dangerously in the midst of losing the purpose of it all in creation, especially in fashion. Too many people are doing it for the money and when I mean doing it for the money, I mean people are designing with the intent to think what will sell to someone else. I'm also not here to discuss what method or approach is right or wrong. I'm here to discuss what feels fulfilling and purposeful.
How can we as humans change the direction or restore the beauty of creation that felt innately real and authentic to our lived experiences?
Mindfulness.
Have you ever sat in a park or walked down the street and you noticed the birds chirping? And then you focus on the chirping, and you start hearing the different tones and rhythms of each bird's chirp? Once you start noticing the differences as you focus on the sounds, you start becoming more aware. Then, you might also think, wow what beautiful unique sound each bird has, and we can relate that back to ourselves. We are all unique in our own way, and we all have something to offer in our own ways.
These sort of recognitions in our everyday lives help to facilitate our creativity internally, and we allow ourselves for the creativity to flow outward externally as we learn to execute our thoughts into the real world.
Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks...
BK
4 comments
This felt like poetry. The birds analogy hit. Creativity really starts with paying attention.
appreciate your art and perspective my croski. don’t hold back 🩶
I have this dogmatic opinion that humans are biologically programmed to create. The context can extend across every industry. There is an epidemic of feeling lost or having no purpose as a CIVILIZATION—i believe this is related to the ever decreasing exercise of creativity. Our lives are EFFICIENT; Society is optimized towards capitalism. Whatever fire and inspiration we have as young individuals is IMMEDIATELY redirected toward the herd path. We see the evidence of this in our ARCHITECTURE, CULINARY, music, eTC.. we are in the great recession of creativity. Although there are exceptions, Everything looks, sounds, feels, tastes, and smells the same. Ideas are Regurgitated, RECYCLed, and then celebrated as being innovative.
As a result, Authentic design must be intentional and personal. Anything outsourced is a byproduct of IMITATIVE EFFICIENCY.
Great read brother, looking forward to what’s to come!