PagePlane.com

December 30, 2011

Basic design

Understanding and experiencing design on a natural level

Some folks write books because they're talented at researching and organizing ideas and communicating them in ways that make them entertaining and useful to readers. Some people write books because they are compelled to share the subjects they live and breath. Maggie Macnab's new book, Design By Nature, Using Universal Forms and Principles in Design is clearly a book that is as much about the heart as it is about the mind.

What I come away with is a new sense that nature does not merely provide ideas from which we can draw inspiration for design, but rather that it is nature that forms the context and framework from which much of design emanates. That to understand these concepts — the origins of patterns, shapes, and other elements of nature -- will help the designer find new ways of discovering intuitive, "gut-level" solutions to design problems. Solutions that our audiences will absorb on a different, deeper level because of their scientific truth.

The book is well-designed and beautifully illustrated. I particularly like the lists of "Key Concepts" at the beginning of each chapter and the "Guest Designer Studies" — explanations of how other designers use the concepts described in their own work.

I suggest buying Maggie's book as a gift to yourself for the new year. If you're like me, you'll soon be understanding and experiencing design on a whole new, natural level.