Tyrone Pardue

What could be so obvious and yet so elusive? Working on some annual report designs this morning I became totally blocked. Everything is overworked. So I took a breather for some Kata practice in the back yard, by the relaxing sound of my lovely waterfall (there's a picture here).

In the practice of design and the study of martial-arts, I am beginning to realize that too much effort, strength or power just ruins the ‘feel’ of a form, and in practical terms, does not have much to offer in terms of representing exactly what has to be said.

In the much repeated one-stroke ink painting of a circle called an Enso (widely seen as the ‘logo’ of Zen) the painter executes the painting of the circle in a single stroke, presumably from a meditative state, creating a living, breathing and beautiful mark on the rice paper (picture below shows work by Nantenbo). The best renditions are full of movement and yet empty of any unnecessary movement or thought. They express the message or feeling so clearly.

I am seeking the same thing in my work and my practice: looking for the most compelling way to tell a clients story without over doing it. Using less effort and a more powerful presentation of the message itself. Today, practicing martial-arts Kata (forms) was relaxed and felt natural because I was just letting the Kata tell their own story rather than try to force my ego on to it.

Now if I can match that with my design work, I will be getting somewhere. So, I remind myself that this is the whole point of this blog. To focus on integrating the universal lessons of continual creation with no-mind. Simplicity and emptiness.

The only problem is, from a designer’s point of view, what do you do if the client has no message! In other words: “Just make it look nice.”

Makes me crazy…