As I posted earlier, in our design studies capstone class we’ve been thinking about analogies to our chosen topics to gain insight into areas of our topic that maybe wouldn’t occur otherwise. I was having a hard time this past week thinking of an analogy that truly got at how I feel about handmade design, but was also immediately understandable to others. Yesterday, I had a breakthrough. I thought about it from the user’s point of view, instead of just what handmade design is “like”. What I came up with is that, for the user, handmade design is like receiving a love letter instead of an email. Good, right?
The valuable thing about this analogy is that it can be plumbed for concrete details on why the evidence of the hand in graphic design is so good, which I hadn’t articulated before. Firstly, the medium alters the content of the message. In hindsight it’s completely obvious, but just went from fuzzy thought to tangible words on paper yesterday. Several elements of the medium, the letter, alter or add additional content to the message. The paper or card is chosen specifically for the recipient, communicating that he is valued in a personal way by the author. The handwriting shows the humanity of the author. Some words could be scratched out; perhaps she struggled to find the right words to say? Is the envelope scented? Are there rose petals inside? The time spent to write out a letter and put it in the mail box, not to mention the 42 cent stamp, also communicates the worth of the recipient to the author. She could have bought four packs of Top Ramen instead of that stamp, but she didn’t. These details wouldn’t be communicated in an email.
An email is almost an afterthought, a quick message dashed off before leaving for the day. A letter, especially a love letter, is a joy to see in the mailbox. An email in the inbox is just another task to deal with. Of course I’m speaking in generalities and not every email is drudgery and not every love letter is joyful, but you get my point.
You also may be wondering why I’m saying love letters, rather than all letters, are analogous to handmade design. I thought about this for a bit and I came to the conclusion that when a designer loves her work, it shows through to the audience. Perhaps it’s not noticed on a conscious level, but the extra attention to detail, the loving way that the content is treated all converge in the same feelings as a love letter.
I’m still working on other analogies to the experiences of handmade design from different viewpoints. I will report back when they make sense.
