It is a feeling that all of us has had - that sense of peace and comfort that envelopes your being after a good spring cleaning or the final touches on a meticulously arranged dinner table. For a brief moment in time, everything is where it should be.
Good design chases that same feeling, but with a greater permanence that consistently soothes the stresses of daily life rather than amplifying them. Getting there requires standing at the crossroads of practical problem solving and artistic expression to craft a completed work that really communicates with the homeowner on a visceral level.
“Wow, this is beautiful!” So goes the likely initial reaction when someone encounters a space that has been designed well, not too surprising given that us as human beings are extremely visual. Aspects such as brightness, contrast, texture, tone, and color are all processed within our minds faster than the speed of light, to indicate within ourselves whether or not that this is a space that “works” and “flows” with us, and our own inner architecture. After all, most of our exposure comes from high resolution magazine prints or highly edited pictures online. There is a second, more potent effect that can only be experienced through the physicality of actually being there: how it feels when taking in all the elements with every sense engaged at the same time.
Beyond first impressions, this comes across in waves and stages as more and more time is spent interacting with the space whether it’s your living room, office, or even favorite restaurant. The novel excitement gives way to comfort and appreciation -- a well designed space stays out of your way while keeping you energized, motivated, and feeling at ease; maximizing our mental and physical health.
“Styles come and go. Good design is a language, not a style.” -Massimo Vignelli
Good design, then, is not just about the newest collections from favorite brands or the latest trends. Of course there is nothing wrong with getting a trendy new couch or replacing an aging vanity with something similar to a newer one you may have seen on TV, but the goal of any good designer is to dig deeper and understand what is really causing friction for the client's day-to-day. Is it really just the furniture, or is it the layout of the entire room? Luminesio excels at analyzing these sorts of situations and is able to walk the client through this process.
As Massimo Vignelli once said: "Styles come and go. Good design is a language, not a style." In all of our projects, we are fully engaged in finding a way to really speak with the client through our work. After all, design is a language that is not only spoken but performed.