At some faraway point in history, even the most familiar craft techniques were figured out — or accidentally stumbled upon — for the first time. lt’s not hard to imagine, for example, an early stonecarver realizing the possibility of wearing an amulet as a pendant, and then devising a way to drill a hole through which a string of sinew was tied. Devising and discovering techniques that serve a design need or a functional requirement still occur as part of our work today.
When I think about design, I think of it in terms of how we use expressive elements such as line, contour, form, space, colour, light, texture, pattern, and their combinations. These elements are the designer's raw materials. The way we manipulate an expressive element, such as line, can move a wide range of feelings in the viewer. For example, designs composed primarily of horizontal and vertical lines tend to feel stable, strong, secure, or even static, whereas those with diagonal lines feel more dynamic. Angular or disjunct treatment of line can seem uncomfortable, reckless, angry, or chaotic, while smooth, flowing lines feel calm and are easily followed by the eye. In my designs I instinctively strive for smooth continuation of line that can be followed by the eye in the same way that a long lyrical melody in music is followed by the ear.
