Enjoying 'Coincidence': The 'Savage Mind' We Want to Incorporate into Design Now
When creating something, if you proceed too carefully and methodically to ensure it goes well, the final result can sometimes become uninteresting. Sometimes, by overusing the left brain, things end up feeling small and constrained. I have experienced this myself.
In recent years, because many diverse tools have been developed and become convenient, there are more things that can be done without exercising creativity. Cooking has also become something where you can get the exact result by measuring ingredients and following steps according to a recipe. And in that, 'unexpectedness' or 'products of chance' have disappeared. (Long text follows)
🪑 Mismatched chairs found on the spot
This is a bus stop the author photographed at a certain location. Chairs of various sizes, shapes, and designs are placed there. Perhaps someone lined up existing chairs so that people could sit while waiting for the bus. There is no sense of planning or intention there. That 'disorderliness' felt interesting, and I couldn't help but take a picture of it.
French social anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss discovered that the wisdom and culture of indigenous peoples, often considered primitive, form the foundation of civilized society. He advocates this in his 1962 book “The Savage Mind”. In it, he introduces 'bricolage,' the act of making things with one's own hands using available tools and materials, and explains that way of thinking. Furthermore, he contrasts it with modern scientific thinking (engineering thinking) and demonstrates the universality of that thinking (bricolage). What he calls scientific thinking is setting a goal, gathering the materials and means necessary to achieve it, and proceeding according to a plan.
Bricolage is often compared to cooking where you quickly make something with what is on hand. Considering that staff meals (meals for employees made from leftovers), which are assigned to apprentice chefs, are also a gateway for them, one realizes that this method requires a considerable amount of imagination/creativity.
The example of the bus stop in the photo is not about making something, but merely the result of circumstances. However, I felt it was close to bricolage in that it was not planned, but accidental.
🏢 The chaotic landscape of Shibuya
Speaking of the results of circumstances, the landscape around Shibuya Station is also like that. The disorder creates a unique world. It is subtle whether it can be called spontaneous bricolage (a broad interpretation), but compared to orderly urban planning that redevelops from cleared land, it feels 'wild' even though it is artificial. It reminds me of the vibrant vitality of weeds growing in a vacant lot.
🖊️ Unconscious art: Test writing
Even before it is unplanned, there are products of chance where human consciousness is not even at work. It is the 'test writing' in the stationery section.
Businessman and writer Hiroki Terai is fascinated by test writing from around the world and, calling it 'unconscious art,' is working to share its appeal through books and exhibitions. Last year, the French luxury furniture brand Ligne Roset released a sofa that adopted test writing as a fabric pattern in a collaboration with artist Ran Tondabayashi. It is interesting that artistry is being found in test writing, but as someone involved in design, I was struck by the fact that there are scenes close to us where people write/draw freely as they please without any intention.
Accidentality, dynamism, freedom.
I feel that same wild goodness in the innocent drawings of children, drawn just as they feel. That magic also fades in exchange for reason.
'The Savage Mind' also practiced by artists
Yoshinori Sunahara, a former member of Denki Groove who is still active as a techno musician, said this about songwriting on a J-WAVE program.
In my case, I often start by creating a rhythm. I'll first lay down a drum pattern and write emails while it plays, then add synths or other elements when an idea strikes, and then continue working on other things while that loop plays—that's the kind of feel it has. Actually, I don't usually include chords in my own process. The reason is that once you decide on the chords, the result is already known beforehand, so I try to create without including chords as much as possible. My way of thinking is that I want chords to be a matter of hindsight. I like it when I'm pulled by sound effects and it ends up sounding like a different chord.
I took it to mean that thinking from chord progressions leads to falling into a mold and stifles inspiration.
When asked about his songwriting method on an NHK program, Shikao Suga replied as follows.
I don't use instruments when composing; I start from humming.Since I've written hundreds of songs, if I compose using instruments, they start to sound similar.
Like Mr. Sunahara, he seems to compose freely as his emotions dictate without being bound by chords.
Professional designers have a brief and must clear various conditions, so they cannot think completely freestyle like artists who are required to have artistry. However, proceeding logically and systematically can also lead to predictable results (as Mr. Suga said, his songs sound similar when he uses instruments). Recently, speaking on impulse is often frowned upon, but having opportunities to vent intuitively conceived ideas before examining them might be a good thing. It also seems to have the effect of increasing the instantaneous power of inspiration.
“Enjoying and finding fun in chance”—we should also learn from artists to have peace of mind and curiosity. I feel that “curiosity” in particular is lost when thinking becomes rationalized.
The album “async” released by Ryuichi Sakamoto in 2017 was themed around “asynchronicity,” as the title implies. Most music, including orchestral music, is built by synchronizing multiple sounds. Fascinated by the creaking of Antarctic ice and the noise of construction sites, Mr. Sakamoto found the asynchronicity of those “environmental sounds” interesting and incorporated them into his own music. He spoke about this at a talk show hosted by GQ JAPAN.
Since many people enjoy music in their cars, I wanted to know how it would sound. I tested it myself to see how it would sound with car noise and city noise present. I deliberately drove through the noisiest areas, and by adding the engine sound and the city noise coming from outside, a new kind of music was born. I thought it was better than I had expected.
Design that enjoys chance
So far, I have proposed incorporating wild thinking into the creative activities of the creator, but one can also think of designs where the user of the creation (=product) 'enjoys chance.' It is a design where the fun lies in things that people cannot control, such as being uncertain, unpredictable, or inevitable.
🖐️ The finish changes depending on the pressure applied
The 2015 winning entry of the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD, a design competition held annually by Toyota Lexus, “Instamp” (created by Yuzo Azu), is a stamp that uses the elasticity of silicone so that the typeface changes depending on the pressure, angle, and number of times it is pressed. I felt it was an excellent idea in that it allows the user to “actively” engage their five senses.
Depending on the amount of ink applied, it can even result in white-out text. You don't know how it will appear until you lift the stamp from the paper. It is a design that enjoys chance. The shape is simple, but the idea of turning uncertainty into value is not something one easily comes up with.
👜 Patterns created by chance are unique
Born in Switzerland in 1993, the iconic bags from 'FREITAG' are characterized by the fact that each one has a different pattern.Because they are made by reusing worn-out truck tarps,the original patterns are split when the fabric is cut, naturally resulting in this outcome.
Although these are familiar products, when you think about it, this is also a design that enjoys chance. While the previous stamp was chance through experience,this is chance through design.I also just realized that the composition, which combines discarded bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts, is also a form of 'bricolage'.
📸 The inevitable distortion becomes a charm
The 'titanium' used on the top and bottom plates of Fujifilm's mirrorless camera 'X-Pro3' (released in 2019). While titanium is beautiful, lightweight, strong, and resistant to deformation, it has the drawback that it is prone to deformation during press molding, making it difficult to achieve uniform precision. In this camera, while artisan techniques are used to achieve the precision of a mass-produced product, the slight 'distortion' that appears on the surface is presented as a charm (the way it distorts inevitably differs for each one).
Distortions that occur by chance are considered NG in industrial products, but in crafts, they are regarded as 'yuragi' (fluctuation/sway) and seen as emotional value. I was impressed that this could also be incorporated into precision equipment! It's a pity that it seems to be no longer in production.
A recommendation for wild thinking that doesn't rely on a ruler
The manager of my regular hair salon once told me about a colleague who used a 'centicomb' to measure hair length while cutting a customer's hair. A centicomb is a comb with markings like a ruler. Since the shape of the head and the way hair grows are not symmetrical, it's a mystery whether this method actually results in a good finish. It seems that person used the markings as a mental crutch.
An acquaintance of mine laughed, saying her husband made a gauge out of cardboard so he could cut homemade lasagna at right angles. I wonder about seeking mechanical accuracy even for organic things, but even if it's not a ruler, we might be doing something similar. While we talk to family and friends on a whim, when it comes to work or studies, we tend to worry about invisible rulers like theories when coming up with ideas. Maybe it's time to try some wild thinking!?
In the first episode of the drama 'We Are Made of Miracles' (starring Issey Takahashi), which aired on Fuji TV in 2018, there was an exchange like this.
The protagonist, a university lecturer who loves living things and is eccentric, asks his students in class about the reason for the black and white stripes of a zebra.
They say, 'We want time to look it up.'
The lecturer replies like this.
'There is no need to bring knowledge from the outside. You just need to think with what is inside you right now. I want to know what you are thinking in your own words. So, who would like to present?'
Reprinted from NewsPicks Topics article published on July 8, 2024 (Author: Self)
Thank you for reading until the end. (o^∇^)ﾉ
I view design as a means to bring happiness to people and society, and I share my insights accordingly. I hope that people outside of the design field can also feel the interest and potential of design.
I am currently in charge of design consulting, where I gain insights into consumer values and latent market needs from the perspectives of design, culture, and lifestyle, and formulate concept scenarios and conduct trend analysis to generate ideas for concrete product/design development.
If there is anything I can help you with, whether it is a business consultation or just something you would like to ask,mie_shinozaki@trinitydesign.jpplease feel free to send me a DM. 😀
The top image was created by combining an illustration from 'Tegaki Desu no Beta' with drawings of a chair and a bus stop that I drew myself.
Giving shape to business from human aspirations.
Trinity Inc., Design Consulting