EP 006
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Full Transcript
Hi, so happy to have you here! This is where I share my thoughts on how design changed the way I think and do, and why I think design is simply a part of life. My name is Sandy, and I’m A Design Mentor.
When does the word taste come up in a conversation for you? Is it when you are asked to express your point of view?
Just like creativity, I looked up the word taste in the dictionaries. I like this definition. “Taste is the sense of what is fitting, harmonious, or beautiful.”
Throughout my career, in the creative work environment, people engage in a lot of experiments and discussions to identity the most fitting and harmonious beauty for the moment. Not only for the subject matter, but also for the medium, the client, and the users. The point of these conversations is usually to reach a consensus, to achieve the definitive creative direction for a project. So that the team could use it as the compass to craft a solution that is harmoniously beautiful and fitting, that suits’s the team’s vision of good taste, for the moment.
Why did I use the term “for the moment” twice? Perhaps, it’s because almost every creative project is a problem to be resolved for that moment. The same problem might never arise again in the future. Or perhaps, even when a similar problem arise, it requires a completely different creative direction. Because taste evolves with time. What’s considered good taste right this second, could absolutely be deemed the opposite in a few years.
Okay, so within a group, good taste could be achieved for the task at hand. What about personal taste?
Let’s imagine two young people.
One of them grew up in the woods with nothing but trees around his home, and animals in the forests. Outdoor activities filled his days. Physical chores don’t phase him. He learned to design and build tools from scratch with his family.
The other grew up in an inner city with nothing but concrete buildings around his apartment, and shops on the streets. Art camps and music lessons filled his days. Creating on paper or screen don’t phase him, He learned to paint and sculpt using mixed mediums with his family.
These are two very generic, but extremely possible, extremely different upbringings.
Now let’s imagine again. If these two young men see the same car on the street right now, and they are asked to share their thoughts on it. From what angle would they assess the car? Is it good looking to them? Is it functional for them? What does good looking mean to each of them? What would this car be used for? In what environment?
Now let’s switch out these two characters, and make it you and I. What do you think we might say? How do you think we would assess the car? Is it absolutely normal for us to have completely different tastes and point of views? Yes, without a doubt, yes.
As soon as we’re born, every single thing around us is shaping our perceptions of the world. Yes, we could be born with built-in attractions to certain things. But the environment, the language, the culture, just absolutely everything around us, shape our personal tastes early on. Then, once we leave home to walk our own journeys, whatever we experience, the good or the bad, reshape it again and again. In fact, anything that happens in life, as long as it pushes us outside of our comfort zone, we could potentially pick up new seasonings to reshape our personal taste. It all depends on how open we are to receive, and how willing we are to expand.
This evolution is absolutely fascinating. My personal taste had changed so much from when I was in my twenties. Looking back at my younger self, it’s almost like I’m looking at a different person. What draws me in at the moment, was probably overlooked by my younger self. What attracted my younger self, is usually dismissed by my current self. Through the years, I collected a ton of perspectives and values of what people told me were true, real, and of good taste. I had no reasons to doubt them, they were recommended by great people. But as I grew older, I realized only certain things make me feel that tingling warm flow inside, the one I described in Episode 4. The flow I feel when I’m writing. Only certain sceneries, colors, music, materials, voices, books, experiences, art, activities would make me feel connected inside. So I’ve learned to rely on this feeling as my filter to develop my personal taste. The more I use this filter, the more honest I am with myself.
And just like me, I’m sure you also use your personal filter all the time. We all have our own personal tastes. There is no right or wrong, because we each walk our unique journey, and our current personal taste is a result of our journey so far. Developing our personal taste is about being true to ourselves, and trusting what makes us happy.
This is really important.
Because when it’s time to unleash our art to the world, we know we’re combining our taste, craft, and creativity, we are sharing the best of us, the truest of ourselves.
Also, because in a creative work environment, we’re required to bring our personal taste to the table. Not only that, we’re required to be open to receive other people’s tastes. So it is really important for us to know ourselves well, to continuously hone our filter and craft, and continuously distill what we’d like to contribute.
When it’s time to execute a creative solution with a team. We can then understand it’s a melding of many worlds, many backgrounds, many individuals, and many beauties. It’s potentially a privilege to be able to hear so many different point of views all at once.
We will learn to not take things personally, and to not look at all the compromises within a team as defeats, but potential learning opportunities to expand our horizons. Because within a team, the goal is always to identify the BEST solution for the problem. It’s not a personal battle, it’s about winning with the team, the client, and the users.
Refining personal taste is a lifelong project, as it continues to influence how we create and execute our visions. As we walk our journeys, our tastes are ever-evolving.
I’m curious, how did you shape your personal taste?
Next time, I will share some thoughts around curiosity.
If you’d like to hear more, please subscribe, and turn on your notifications, I am beyond excited to go on this journey with you.
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