The Designer's POV

The world needs design. The world moves ahead with design. The prehistoric man designed the spear so that he would later use it for his own protection. It was design that gave birth to the first horse carriage. The Burj Khalifa that stands tall today was concocted by its architects and is regarded as one of the most appreciated and admired structural designs of our times. Designers are an eclectic brand of people that give the people exactly what they want but cannot convey. They visualize and they implement. They think and they empower.

Design Is Everywhere

Every nook and corner is alight with design. Every turn, every curve has its own story to tell. One of the biggest examples is Nature itself! Look around you and you'll see numerous such design stories. The way everything works, the seasons that come and go, the leaves that change colour, the intricate processes that make the Earth go round everyday are all a part of a design. From the shape of a petal to the creepers that spread out gradually, from the French window of an edifice to that peculiar fountain that you may have seen somewhere, from the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal, everything is based on the concept of design. Our parents are one of the first designers that you'll ever encounter because they designed us!

Inspiration

As a designer, you constantly search for inspiration. That little spark that makes you come alive. It could be anything. Many a times I find inspiration for my designs from unusual sources. The way the page of an old book is dog-eared can cultivate an idea in your head. A doodle scribbled on a napkin during idle hours can give birth to a full-fledged concept. The cartoon on a kid's tee can initiate an outline to something massive. Standing in the rain one day I started observing umbrellas and the random shapes on them - stripes, slanted lines, polka dots, paisleys, bokeh, floral motifs, geometric patterns, etc.

The Designer's Block

You've heard of the writer's block. Sometimes, I and many more designers go through a 'designer's block'. It's that awful phase where you can't churn out something worthwhile. There's static in your brain. That little glitch that makes you very irritable because you can't come up with something that'll draw marvels from one and all. It is temporary, of course, but the duration varies. A steady jolt of stimulation can surge our skills back to normal. Again, that little iota of motivation can find us anywhere, anytime. Hence, we're always on the lookout.

Vision

Most of the designs that we devise are the brainchild of our imagination. The vision with which we lead our lives makes a big difference. There's an endless storm of opinions in our minds. A relentless pattern of dreaming that eventually brings out the results. A thirst to conceive images that stand out. The way one looks at things also plays a huge role in determining their conceptualizing powers. Never forget to visualize. It is one of the greatest gifts that we have been blessed with. It can make us travel miles by sitting in one place. It can achieve the impossible. Great things always have small beginnings and those beginnings had their advent in the form of brilliant ideas that were pictured in brilliant minds. The key is to envision.

By dEEV Sana Shaikh