Designer. Architect. Maker. Lister of synonyms.
A while back I came up with the tag line of "Designer by trade. Quilter by nature." However, that lends to confusion. What does that really mean? This became quite apparent when actual quilters want to connect with me. Quilting is cool, don't get me wrong. It's an analogy.
I, like quilters, love putting things together that, on their own, do not necessarily seem to go together. Mostly, I'm talking about technologies. There's a quality of listening and understanding what needs there are, then meshing that with the what I know about various proven and not-so-proven technologies. The results of which are possible solutions to a given problem.
It's thrilling being in the midst of this process and extremely satisfying seeing the final outcome.
In truth, that's what a Designer is. Someone that expertly utilizes their tool-set to synthesize data to produce an experience.
Specifically for an Architect, this experience is at a multitude of levels. From the impact on the cityscape to how the occupants experience their individual environment. Even then, the scale gets smaller and smaller. From the look and feel of the space to the look and feel of the door handle to the conference room.
Designers of all kinds benefit from an iterative and prototype-laden workflow. As a Maker, I understand that. We make things so that we can test the theories. We make lots of mistakes - and we learn from them and adjust.
There you have it. I am a Designer, an Architect, and a Maker. In one sense, they are all the same yet embody distinct characteristics of the creative spirit.
