What is this?
Cultural criticism from a design theorist, exploring the matter, manner, and mannerisms of form.
Why?
The way we make speaks volumes about the way we are, the ways we have been, and the way we orient ourselves toward what we wish to become. To put it tersely: form matters.
As a designer, my practice is informed largely by my education in critical theory and fine art. Beyond my obvious interest in the graphic world, I’m also interested in how aesthetics works: how the things we dream and design are so able to empower us, enthrall us, drive us, and ultimately define us, as a species. My work in this area can probably be best described as an attempt at “structuralist aesthetics” — an exercise in determining the origins and effects of choices made in the creative process.
About the author
I’m Devin Halladay — or as you may know me, @theflowingsky — a multidisciplinary design practitioner and theorist based in Manhattan. Currently, I’m 1/3 of a small product design team at Sanctuary Computer; previously, I spent time as a designer and engineer at Palantir and Quora.
On the side, I am building creative cognition tools.
