My Standout Memory

Its difficult to find first memories and even more difficult to dig through and distinguish between them. When asked to give my first positive memory of the impact of design in our lives, I can only see the one that stands out most.

It was a large landscape print of a lake and mountains. It was framed in plastic and under glass. It might have been of a painting or illustration or photograph, I’m not sure. The image was set at dusk where the various mountains in the horizons were various shades of dark blue. The lake in the foreground seem to melt into the back as one blue transitioned to another. A hint of pink highlighted the sky. At the time, it appealed to me with its subtlety. The scene was serene, the colors were calm, and the sight was beautiful. There was only blue, but the different variations made it interesting. Looking back now, I realize a larger significance to the picture. It was a generic print created to be a simple decoration in the home. Unlike any other piece of furniture, there wasn’t anything that made it physically special. The paper on which it printed was probably cheap and the ink it was print with was probably low quality. Yet, through the use and combination of simple colors and lines, it appreciated the value of the wall and home it hung in.

Link: The Color Wheel: Positive And Negative Emotions

The image is design without embellishment. It used little resources to do relatively much more. At the most abstract level, the image added an atmosphere to the room, creating a sense of quality and class. It used basic lines and colors to draw these emotions and ideas. At the simplest level, it gives balance or a focal point to what would be an uninteresting wall. Design at its best is function on multiple levels. It is making the most out of what was given. It is more than just art; it is also ingenuity. 

Though the image was never a loud part of my past but it persisted in my memory. As with many good design, its qualities only stands out as one looks back on it. Even now, though the image is not vivid in my mind, its design is still clear and purposeful.

Though not the same image, it is very similar and gives the same feel.