2023.0816 / DESIGNING A LIFE

One of my (seemingly countless) motivations for entering the design profession, and specifically architecture, is having the skill to shape the world as I see fit, informed by the things I value. Not unlike art, I see architecture, and design in general, as one of the highest forms of self-expression, maybe even next to entrepreneurship which I think is what takes design to its ultimate conclusion. Whether through an industrial product, a work of art, or a building, understanding the world as something first imagined, then willed and created liberates individual ability and the soul - I actively take part in tangibly shaping the world and visibly determine its direction. The sense that I'm passively shaped by it loses its strength. It becomes easier to see through social and cultural trends and easier to buck them.

The realization that one can design his life is the liberating realization of agency - the fact of one's freedom to actively make his path, not simply choose between sets of prescriptions, as if his life was already determined by something beyond himself. Agency is fundamental to design as it is to individual living... Designing your world must necessarily include the design of your own body, and thus your own life. The domain of your physical condition is not a separate project, but one that fits into a whole, a totality of design, a total work of art. There is no design context without the inclusion of the human body, and ultimately each of us, individually, is the designer, author, and artist of his own life - for the minutiae of our daily routines to the grand concepts and visions of the future we each desire. How we think, what we choose to do, and how we act are all up for design, and the more we address each aspect of our life as a design project in itself, with intentionality and awareness, the better we improve our conditions. Life is the ultimate design project - pay attention to, scrutinize, and take seriously all the details, prioritize the ones that matter, redesign the details that don't work, refine and experiment at will - you have everything to gain. Beginning with the easiest, the improvement of your physical condition which many of us know by now has a significant effect on mental wellness and even intellect, everything else will eventually fall into place, not magically, but by your own effort. We can design the means to sit, but we can also design how we sit. Do we squat, slouch, hunch over, maintain a straight back? In what context? Are any one of those better than any other in any context? Similarly, we can design the tools to enhance physical ability, but what is appropriate and when?

2023.0612 / ONWARD!

Re-evaluating the usefulness of the previous design which consolidated all site content into a tight chronology and mixed all categories of work, research, journal/sketchbook, I've decided to revert back to a categorized structure that's not only better for navigation but more appropriately focuses user attention. The design brings back dedicated project pages (now "Operations"), a separate journal for sketches and writing, travel or urban exploration dispatches, and dedicated pages to ongoing special operations.

Over the next few months the site will undergo a much overdue cleanup in content and presentation, but no further substantial changes in overall concept this year. The aim for the second half of 2023 is to write more, practice more, research more, and continue with ongoing projects in the coming year, while closing out some old work that has been collecting dust.

Much is on the agenda for the remainder of the year in terms of design and life and much like the prior two years it has all thus far been productive in all the right ways, and therefore totally fulfilling. Looking forward to sharing more work.