Two quotes have been living rent-free in my head. They point to something fundamental about writing and by extension, thinking. And yet, putting them into actual practice has been slipping through my fingers.
Attributing this to a constant process of downgrading my attention span, I’m trying to find a way to counteract the course. Even now I struggle to concentrate on writing each paragraph of this text, thoughts not fixated but always drifting.
The first quote is “Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard.". This encompasses such a broad area of topics in a universally applicable way, that it resonates very clearly with me. In it’s simplicity, it can be applied to every facet of working and living. To be a designer is to think and the writing aspect get’s dragged down in the undercurrents of the daily business far too often.
Driving the idea further means the open possibility of a concept I’ve encountered so many times now. When working on projects, no matter the size, it intrigues me to put it all out in the open. Be nonchalant about the process, confront me with the problem, show me the trimmings of your conclusions, bring home the tiny specks of awareness, that tend to slip through the gaps in the process because they seem to uncomfortable or cumbersome on first glance. Showing the edifice of a grand idea in it’s early stages pulls me in. Working with the garage door up, not only giving a peak at a almost too polished, post-rationalized piece of work, but truly breaking it down, letting it drag you along the way.
The second quote, funny enough, comes from a Magic: The Gathering flavor text. When I first read it, I was taken by surprise because I found a very distinct aspect of my former self in it. Believe in the ideal, not the idol. During my academic studies I searched for a lot of role models and figures of inspiration, thinking about broadening my field of view, giving myself guidelines to follow and adhere to. And most of the time I tried to copy and replicate the style and form of these people, like so many designers starting out. Always using the same four typefaces, the same colors and the same layouts. It felt right at the time, sticking to a certain style, certain patterns. But insight comes from the margins, awareness builds at the fringes of ones knowledge and growth only really happens when you bridge those gaps between routine and your trained stride.
The things I've learned over time, the principles and convictions that have shaped my practice, never truly disappeared. They linger quietly, embedded somewhere in the background, surfacing instinctively the moment I begin a new project. But what's changed is my awareness of them. Where they once simply guided me, I now recognize them for what they are, and that recognition gives me a kind of agency: the ability to consciously invert my thinking, to push against my own instincts whenever the work calls for it.
And yet, these same principles still carry an undeniable weight. They haven't left, nor do I want them to. They remain woven into everything I make, a foundation I return to even as I challenge it. I've come to believe that this tension between holding on and letting go, between following a principle and deliberately breaking it, is precisely where my growth as a designer lives.
So don’t forget to bring some souvenirs. They’re worth it.