Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Over the centuries, our predecessors have established guidelines, rules, and laws that
you need to know. Yet, unlike other kinds of laws, it may be acceptable to break design
rules at times—as long as you know why you're doing it. Basic design principles and
rules are important and useful to know. That's where this simple topic comes in.
Design and Presentation Zen
This is not a topic about Zen, although there are references to Zen in it. In the West, we
use the term Zen to represent that which feels harmonious—perhaps in a way that's hard
to articulate. We just know or feel that something is great, that it works. In Japan, Zen is
rarely used in everyday conversation. You hardly ever hear anyone outside the Zen arts
use the word, let alone use the idea of Zen in relation to visual communication. And yet
Zen has had perhaps the single biggest influence on Japanese culture and aesthetics.
As a 20-year resident of Japan and a student of Japanese culture and the Zen arts, I find
it impossible not to be influenced by the Zen aesthetic and all its lessons. I've found that
what Zen teaches about life can also be applied to design. While many concepts are
embodied in a Zen approach, the fundamental concepts related to communication are
restraint, simplicity, and naturalness. Restraint in preparation, simplicity in design, and
naturalness in delivery. These are the three concepts that run through the Presentation
Zen approach to communication and design—ideas I touched on in my first topic,
Presentation Zen
. In this topic that focuses on design, simplicity is the underlying theme.
Simplicity
Wagasa,
traditional Japanese umbrellas, are beautiful, colorful creations made by
master craftspeople who use only natural ingredients such as bamboo and washi paper,
just as they have for centuries (see sidebar, “
Learning from Wagasa
”). The kanji
characters for wagasa are (harmony) and (umbrella). The wagasa embodies both
elegant simplicity and complexity. For the user, the wagasa is an item with both a
practical function and great beauty. It seems to be the very essence of simplicity in a
manmade creation—simple to use and beautiful to behold. Yet it is also complex.
The making of a wagasa requires the special knowledge and skill of not just the master
wagasa craftsman but also of several master craftspeople who make many of the
individual components. The design of wagasa—an inspiration for me—also serves as a
subtle visual theme running through this topic. The beauty of the wagasa design is a
fundamental reminder that simplicity and complexity can live side by side in harmony.
While simplicity is not easy for us to achieve, nor for the master wagasa craftsman, the
simplicity will be greatly appreciated by the user.
The lesson here is that far from being easy, simplicity in design is actually hard to
achieve. In other words, simplicity is not simple. We should not be concerned with what
is easy for
us,
however, but what is easy for
them.
Thinking like a designer, our goal is to
