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The Triangular Relation Between Design, Art and Life

Inspire

A beautiful video by Matt Greenwood to reflect on the arts and design.

The foundations of design are inscribed in every product, every art form and in nature’s thousand creations. They are the implicit rules in every good image, film, device and video that exists. If we go beyond, certain aspects of our everydayness are permeated by the elements of design —men like art critic John Ruskin, or precursor of the Arts and Crafts movement William Morris, perceived design, art and aesthetics as the basis of man’s relationship with his environment and society. “The knowledge of beauty is the first real path and the first step to understand good things,” said Ruskin at the end of 19th century.

While not everybody can be a designer or an artist, they can all benefit from being aware of, and understanding the elements of design. Harmony, transparency, color, rhythm, movement and balance could translate, metaphorically, into any aspect of life and society. A conscious appraisal of the images which surround us could place us in a more egalitarian stand before mass media. A flirty synthesis of the latter is transiting the Net, presenting 25 of these design elements.

The motion graphics video, work of Toronto based designer Matt Greenwood who, in a matter of seconds, unfolds the essence of design and the arts —those elements behind each logo and every great work of art.

The video concludes by reminding us that “design is not a science, just move things around until it feels right.” Experiments, randomness and play are the most important elements of creation, although many could argue that art and design are science and that each artist or designer is, like Marcel Duchamp, “a humble scientist of artistic creation”.

 

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