Process - Act One: Beginning
It all begins with an idea.
What is Design? What makes a good designer? What are the things that he/she does that differentiates them from the rest? These are questions I have asked myself many times. While I don’t claim to have complete and definite answers, the one word that comes up, again and again, is process. Being a creative person is great, I can still remember being very young sitting down, taking a box of crayons and drawing for the first time. The only limitations were the materials themselves. My mind was untethered to any thoughts of outcome, comparison or even procedure, it was free and spontaneous. What does a child care about those things anyhow? The beginner's mind was wide open to any and all possibilities.
Fast forward to adult life, I am a licensed Landscape Architect. My creativity and ingenuity are a large part of my livelihood. Time is of the essence and so is the budget. It is not enough for me to just draw or is it? When I first began the practice of learning to design I was amazed at how freely my teachers, employers, and mentors would draw. The so-called napkin sketch, quick, rough and even ugly was where it would begin. Downloaded in real-time right before my eyes an idea, a detail, a thought. What seemed like a random act was actually rehearsed and well-practiced, this was the beginning of their process.
If showing up is half the battle then this was it. I had been given the key that unlocked the door and inside was a cornucopia of ever-changing furniture. From CAD to 3d modeling software to Photoshop there is an endless array of tools at my disposal. Ultimately though it is that first idea and gesture that begins it all. In the words of one of my beloved teachers- “no software will ever teach you how to think”.
Designers think with their hands. No idea is so great that it can’t at least begin on a piece of trace paper. The true value of that thought will be weighed in time through a myriad of checks and balances (more on that later) but for now, no one can read my mind. The beginning is all that is required. A few small scribbles on a page like a kid with a box of crayons.
