Instructions Below
Hang your art like this…
I instruct myself to post a blog every Friday. Once a week for 52 weeks.
Hard? Shouldn’t be.
Yet, sometimes, following instructions can be difficult. Why?
Freedom. Independence. Laziness. Just because.
As a designer, my goal is to be as clear as possible with instructions. Why? Because design is done with intent. Like a recipe found in a cookbook. It’s been researched, created, sampled, written, shared, made again. Perceived perfection.
You alter the recipe. Add paprika instead of cayenne. What just happened?
Instructions became suggestions.
As a designer, I’m okay with this. Trying shows interest. Initiative. A willingness to experiment. A desire to go against the norm. Originality.
It also proves we are accepting of failure and capable of a do-over.
Example: Left with a client, my quick sketch manual for hanging wall art. The way I would do it. My diagrams were used as guidelines. “Must follow” rules like hanging height, distance between pieces, odd numbered groupings look best, like items together, etc. were considered. Executed with a high percentage of accuracy. Results… exactly what she wanted. It’s her house. Her way. It works.
Interior design floods the internet. So many pictures. I’m not a fan. I like mail, paper.
Decorating magazines and catalogues are inspiration.
Handbooks. Examples. Blueprints. Instructions.
Pictures show what to do. Articles explain why and how. Designers, via written word, share strategy, resources, rules, reasons behind decisions. Steps to a well curated space. Remember, the look shown in print was not achieved overnight. As with a recipe, a process existed - thorough research, careful planning, experimental design, trying, failing, trying - before success was achieved.
Summary of this post. Instructions have purpose – penned with a specific goal in mind. When instructions morph into suggestions personal creativity overrides; for better or worse.
Detailed design instructions are vitally important but not always absolute.