I’ve been thinking about design, specifically on Modernism, neo-Futurism, and similar things. I‘m a pretty big geek for good design, architecturally, products, anything really. I‘ve thought about the whole minimalism/simplify your life movement going on too. The amount of well thought out design and unobtrusive complexity that’s tucked away in my Apple products really inspired my thinking on this part. So much so that I actively avoid buying anything that just seems in poor taste and/or unnecessarily complex. (there‘s enough stuff to think about in the rest of my life!)
Haven’t really put that into practice yet for everything, but I notice after buying my new iPad and some other neat things I definitely feel more comfortable more of the time. (Maybe that’s something to do with the colour scheme too, if you believe some of the literature, I’ve tried to get the most minimal white coloured version of products that offer the choice, like a mug, thermos, etc.)
i definitely believe good design and pleasing aesthetics can improve mental and physical wellbeing. Which also ties into this whole personal wellness trend and authenticity in everything that is getting more popular. These ideas mesh very well.
I don’t believe in minimalism/modernism all the way though, you know with the whole “ ornamentation is a crime “ and stuff like that. Practically most aspects of human lives consist of some amount of “fake” superfluous details that people generally just accept. Like in normal home architecture (with baseboards to hide uneven floors, fake pillars and other non load bearing structures in the common styles of homes, etc.), fashion (fake pockets anyone?), even cars (fake wood, non functional tailpipes which personally irks me, etc.).
So good design, which has a lot of positives, definitely come with some sacrifices for anyone who really wants to go all in on it. Personally, it still seems like a good idea, the less “fake” things and unnecessary complexity in our lives the better.
M. Y. Z. 