Design is not a Pinterest board
This is for my people who get hung up on the word “design” because it’s so often heard in the context of interiors or spatial layouts. The word is so much broader— and better— than that. And before anyone gets huffy or feels like I am diminishing interior or spatial design, I most certainly am not. I value aesthetic design in my own life very much. I just want to help you understand how there’s more to design than a Pinterest board, although it can absolutely include a Pinterest board!
My favorite definitions of the word “design” are in the Merriam Webster dictionary. Both the transitive verb form and the noun form communicate the breadth of the word and how it can play a vital role in our lives.
Design (transitive verb):
1: to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan : DEVISE, CONTRIVE
// design a system for tracking inventory
2a : to conceive and plan out in the mind
// he designed the perfect crime
2b : to have as a purpose : INTEND
// she designed to excel in her studies
2c: to devise for a specific function or end
// a book designed primarily as a college textbook
// a suitcase designed to hold a laptop computerDesign (noun):
1a: a particular purpose or intention held in view by an individual or group
// He has ambitious designs for his son.
1b: deliberate, purposive planning
// more by accident than design
2: a mental project or scheme in which means to an end are laid down
// was never part of my design
What’s interesting to me is that there are 8 definitions under the noun form, and it’s not until the very last one that we see what we’ve come to hold as the main definition: “the creative art of executing aesthetic or functional designs”
Design is why I am on the earth. I help people and ideas see their full potential through thoughtful and intentional design. That said, my mediums are varied, and I deal mostly in the realm of strategy. If you’ve read anything from me at all, you know I preach the merits of designing life around a clear strategy and a focused vision. But thoughtful design that is truly beneficial to you has to find its meaning in your context. And that’s why I say design is not a Pinterest board. See, I believe your values should dictate your design, aesthetic or otherwise. This is square one. Values give vision, and vision is how we design our lives.
Take some time this week to think about what’s important to you. Whatever it is, don’t feel pressure to align to someone else’s Pinterest board. If you value well-curated spaces and trendy aesthetics, OWN it! Make that part of the strategy you build for your life design. If you don’t care about trends and your house remains messy most of the time without it bothering you, OWN it! If you make a Pinterest board, let it reflect your values, not someone else’s. That’s the best kind of design.
