09/19/2020
“The question is, What next? Shall we continue to hunt old trails, and die, not leaving the world richer than we found it? Or shall we for art and honour's sake boldly adventure something—drop this wearisome translation of old styles and translate Nature instead?” – John D. Sedding.
Both of these excerpts come from Sedding’s arts and crafts essay “Design” published in 1893. An English architect, Sedding was frustrated by the craft community’s mimicry of old styles and called for a bold step into referencing nature and that which is around us. The section I’ve chosen to illustrate explains that there is hope in the flawed designed interpretation of the real, more than the stiff direct replication if what’s in front of us. While there will always be value in drawing from life (especially as we’re learning), the goal as designers is to put our own spin on it, to create something meaningful and distinct.
I came across this quote because it was the personal motto of one of my favourite designers, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In fact he hand-lettered the quote himself back in 1901 in his gorgeous “Glasgow Style”. I think one of the reasons I admire his work so much is that, while he drew from nature for inspiration, he interpreted it with his unique aesthetic that translated across mediums, from architecture, industrial design, textiles, and illustrations. That lens through which he viewed the world was unmistakably his and no doubt impacted the people who interacted with his work. I’ll always remember the time when I became aware of his work and the excitement it gave me to pursue a career in design.
