What type of designer am I?

As a designer, I would describe myself as a one-legged pigeon who is deaf, lost in a foreign country and trying to draw himself in a broken mirror. 

I don't really know which way is up or down, right or wrong when it comes to designing... You may think that this is a bad way to describe myself, and you're probably right. 

I sound like the last person you'd want to be designing your precious ornamental garden or a detailed section of the Chelsea flower show. 

..However...

We have quite a few rules for design, but we have very few for creativity. 

My confusion, concern and fascination with the duality of the uncertain certainty of human action, with the constantly flawless adaptation of the natural world, is the engine that drives my personal creative flare. 

Nature is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent. Humans are less so at the best of times...

This is not a cynical view of life, but a treasured one and one which I think should be explored further.

I believe that eternal and ever-present beauty exists within us and everything. Nature possesses all of the wrong and right answers. We (as humans) have a duty to extract this information and use it at our own peril. Nature will always survive and thrive. We are the protectors and potentially the destroyers... of ourselves and life as we know it. 

Sounds dramatic?

To most people, it definitely is. This is because change is most apparent when directly viewed through the eyeballs of one's self. Thou shall not listen to see! - sounded the Gsus cord when strummed at the birth of the third member of the holy trinity. 

But there is so much more to reality than the objective realm. I believe that the objective realm is actually the least important of all. Material serves many purposes, but I believe that one of the main purposes is to give humans a framework to navigate along our unique frequency, without losing our minds with uncontrolled emotion or lack of direction. This could be predetermined, but it is more likely that we have simply latched on to the material realm due to social and political constructs.    

Imagine this. 

Think about how you perceive a human being. What are we? You'll probably be thinking of a person right? But what are you actually thinking about there? Arms, legs, head most likely. But now completely remove the objective (anything physical or material). You then have a literal spirit floating around finding other spirits that evoke positive emotions within that SPIRIT. Now, this is beautiful. The balance and complexity of relationships is captivating, to say the least. 

We only ever do anything that requires effort to ultimately feel happy and love. Even if you run a marathon, which is physically painful and mentally difficult. The feeling of finishing the race is what drives the runner to complete the task and when that feeling comes, the hardship is worthwhile.

There is an invisible, ever-present web of spiritual connections between families, friends, enemies, squirrels, trees, fish, rocks and even your annoying neighbour Chris, who bursts your football when it goes over the fence. This is love and the potential for love. Love sounds very cheesy, but love actually transcends into many things. Its hope, happiness, kindness, compassion and motivation. 

The true you is true power and has the ability to give and receive true love. But it needs lots of maintenance and care - similar to a puppy.

Feed it, love it, pet it, and take it on walks to meet other dogs. 

If we make the effort and try to reach out to the pure part of ourselves every day, we could experience the true value of existence and the richness that life could bring. Feeling is seeing, and seeing is believing. This can be done in many ways such as meditation, pursuing passions and spending time with the people who are most important in your life, as well as making time and always being open for new relationships to blossom. These are all extremely hard practices with the pressures of modern life, so this is no easy task. 

Now getting to the point. What type of designer am I? 

One that wants to reach out and feed the connection between everything. 

I want to connect the dots between broken connections - that being place, space and the internal home base. 

I want to form new connections between people, who would usually not interact with one another. 

I want to make people use their minds, stop dwelling on the past and look towards a beautiful future. 

There is so much potential, so much to look forward to, so much to create and so much to give. 

We are all so pure and kind inside. Why can't society be designed to focus on helping these traits flourish? Happy people are most creative, generous, caring and gorgeous. Religion has tried to teach this, and Christianity is interwoven into western society's to try and blend these teachings with capitalism. People with religious beliefs are becoming rarer. Maybe some of the teachings that religion tries to explain could instead be believed and interpreted uniquely through the personal experience of a person. 

When I design I want to address these issues. Directly and indirectly. 

So how do I intend on reconnecting the spiritual layer of existence?

By leading by example and helping the people who feel forgotten about or discriminated against. 18% of the UK live in poverty (Commonslibrary Parliament UK, 2020). That is disgusting for one of the 'wealthiest' countries in the world. 

I want to redesign deprived urban areas. To equalise the divide and show compassion to people by providing resources to low-income areas. Urban food systems, parks, green infrastructure, art, skateparks and even street layouts and lighting improvements could all enhance the lives of the people who are less fortunate. 

There are 280,000 homeless people in the UK (Crisis UK, 2021). Many of these people have been rejected by the system they once were a part of.  This can cause many of these people to then reject the idea of ever integrating back into society. I believe that every community is capable of educating and understanding the needs of individuals, and provide help to them when they were most desperate and vulnerable. These current homeless people need to feel valued, and reconnect to people again. 

I want to create safe social spaces for homeless people, whilst advocating for sensible policies such as the legalisation of drugs in order to prioritise the welfare of the people. I am a person who will always consider people and nature first in every design I approach. I think it's time to innovate urban jungles, which connect all areas of the city (similar to CPUL strategies).

Finally, I am a designer that wants to make people stop and appreciate something beautiful. Art has unlimited benefits to people, which will be completely subjective to the person perceiving it. I believe that any social space I create must adhere to artistic narratives in order to represent the story I'm telling more clearly (relating to the specific context of place and time). This doesn't mean that I will design a bench and then paint an abstract duck on the side. It means that I will priorities the deeper meaning of a project throughout the design process. Art to me is deep consideration and reflection. When people gather in my space, I want them to believe that I have deeply considered them and that they appreciate and regain lost hope from past rejection or disregard. Detail is so important, as it is usually the details of a design that resonate most with people. 

Thank you for reading and I appreciate your time. I just want to end by reiterating my opinion that we are all connected. I do not want to say we are similar as I don't believe that at all. But remove the objective and you may be able to then find more of what you are searching for. Let's all become more considerate of peoples unique circumstances and try to help one another through this journey. As designers, we have access the pencils and pens that could be the key to a more sustainable, respectful, peaceful and culture-filled future. Let's be brave and push the boundaries of legislation and design to make some serious change.