Monday 21 February 2011

hands, brain & heart






i used to smittenly think that as a designer i was special.
as most of my friends were pub-hopping in university, i was being a serious art student, dressed in black and obsessing over honing my skills in my new-found craft of graphic design. when i graduated, i was a true artisan and like thousands of master craftsmen before me, I nobly embarked on my journey to set up shop and make a living.

today, however, i see more & more people integrating craft into more than a profession but into their daily lives. some knowingly and some beautifully unknowingly.

a simple CD burned by a friend of delightfully refreshing alternative music.

a meal effortlessly prepared for 20 of handmade spƤzli and seasoned chicken drumsticks with a side of perfectly contrasting sliced cucumber salad.

a blog post of pictures taken by a house-bound mom devotedly documenting the precious, daily moments of a toddler's routine.

my daughter's fountain pen permit she received from school, lovingly glued together as a portable passport smothered in pride.

never-ending wittingly condensed tweets, articles and posts link us to a world of innovative products, people and places. craft is no longer reserved for the master craftsmen but is what sets the dedicated man's ideas apart and draws us to them – the internet as modern-day guild.

whether you humbly produce it or simply admire it, craft is part of the creative process that lies in each and every one of us to explore, harness and express.

2 comments:

  1. looking at ancient cultures we see how people have always had a need to design. nothing is more satisfying than the act of creation.

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  2. Man, I was always envious of you art students and your black portfolio bags!

    This has actually inspired me to go forth and create and an old-school Pentax might just be the thing!

    Housebound indeed but loving this book atm - Naive: Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. LOVE!

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