DAYDREAMS AND DELIBERATIONS
a manifesto of sorts
there are two things i can say to be true: 1) design is everywhere.. and 2) We Live In A Society.
over the years, the democratization of tools + knowledge has simultaneously expanded its demand and supply as a service, thus laying forth a new creative class..
as is inevitable with its rapid commercialization and General Business Incentives at work, the landscape has slowly shifted towards prioritizing for the result rather than the method. the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the creative process are distilled into buzzwords and standardized jargon; the people behind the work are flanderized and viewed as a means of production, rather than individuals with their own perspectives and stories to share.
with the growing optimization of efficiency and output (something something World’s Fastest Web Designer??), the real intent behind it all seems to have faded into the background. the act of creation is, at its core, an inherently human, playful thing — and yet, both factors have never felt so removed from the process.
in many ways, the industry seems to take itself too seriously. as it “optimizes for delight” in its own stilted, affected way, a superficial sheen coats the authenticity it aims to manufacture, further widening the chasm between designer and designee. as such, in spite of all its progress, design almost seems feels more inaccessible to breach than before.
a product of its people
i’ve been able to reflect on the question quite a bit recently, but one of my answers to what drew me to daybreak in the first place (and eventually led me to working here.. wahoo!!) will always been its focus on its people.
we are social creatures.. studies have found that we harbour these otherwise imperceptible biases towards remembering humans and face-like stimuli. on that note, the face of the studio has not been sterilized into a homogenized, robotic front for the work that goes on behind the scenes. containing multitudes, an amalgamation of personalities, motivations, ideas.. it is more upfront with its humanity, and that is what lends it a perceivable warmth and a particular tangibility — what makes it memorable.
making space for play
and so it follows: as we begin to recenter and unstifle the human voices in the process, we might also unlock new capacities for exploration (not solely driven by utility/performance) in our work.
as a studio, daybreak serves as living proof that seriousness and playfulness can co-exist in a meaningful way. deeply integrating delight into the way ideas are conceptualized and actualized, a certain liveliness comes through — all the while, not taking away from, but bringing the functionality, integrity and impact of the work to a whole new level.
with this knowledge of what makes us work, we are truly able to look inwards and share little parts of ourselves in fun and sincere ways that feel especially real to us.. and by extension, the other humans that we design for.
some related/relevant reading:
https://www.typotheque.com/articles/the-importance-of-play
https://anticiplay.medium.com/deep-seriousness-and-deep-playfulness-are-not-opposites-c57ee718105
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/theory-user-delight/
some intentions to set w/future community initiatives
→ to better inform how we tell our stories and prioritize internal projects
i. emphasizing the human aspect of the studio
lending a special appeal, an emotional investment, to our studio and our work.. akin to the way sports teams accrue cult followings, at the end of the day, we form attachments with the people who do the work and that is what continues to drive us to follow what they do
ii. extending the physicality of our work
aka more creative exploration.. bridging the digital gap and affording a physical approximity of sorts by playing with bringing the aforementioned tangibility of our work through with different (unconventional) creative mediums — that might not just be limited to the digital realm
iii. cultivating and democratizing delight
tied into .. curating and sharing elements of delight. something something charles eames talking about taking pleasure seriously. making daybreak more synonymous with play and #beingthechangewewantoseeinthisworld