In setting up what appears to be the next step in my/ our career (something I’ll most definitely talk about in future posts), I have turned to a few of the old masters for inspiration. As such, I’ve been dabbling back into the words of Bruno Munari, who in Design As Art inspires the designer of then ( Design As Art is a collection of papers by Munari for Il Giorno, originally published in book form in 1966) and the designer of today still, with words as these:
>Today it has become necessary to demolish the myth of the
‘star’ artist who only produces masterpieces for a small group of ultra-intelligent people. It must be understood that as long as art stands aside from the problems of life it will only interest a very few people. Culture today is becoming a mass affair, and the artist must step down from his pedestal and be prepared to make a sign for a butcher’s shop (if he knows how to do it). Without losing his innate aesthetic sense he must be able to respond with humility and competence to the demands his neighbors may make of him.
Anyone who uses a properly designed object feels the presence of an artist who has worked for him, bettering his living conditions and encouraging him to develop his taste and sense of beauty. (…) I hope that other designers will make similar efforts to spread knowledge of our work, for our methods are daily asserting themselves as the fittest way of gaining the confidence of men at large, and of giving a meaning to our present way of life.
Interestingly, the delicacy of Munari’s words brings me very much the same feeling of delight I get when using a well designed product or service, a carefully crafted experience. Keep that last paragraph in mind. How often do you really have that feeling of “this has been designed with me in mind”? And if you are a designer, how often do you think about creating delight?