Building Pilcrow - Notion-like, AI-assisted text editor
Thoughts on designing a block-based text editor
Much of the art I appreciate in museums can be bucketed into aesthetics like typographic, medieval, or patterned. The boundaries feel clearly defined because we can assign names to them. I have been increasingly more stimulated by aesthetic intersections—unexpected displays of art that tastefully reject the notion of a clean, singularly defined style, yet bridges many. For my taste, often this ends up in opposition to minimalism, yet does not chaotically lean into kitschy or maximalism. There is authoring intent, purpose, and a sense of iteration felt throughout, not seemingly arbitrary excess for the sake of creative provocation. I believe there's something fascinating in art and design that treats my attention with care and instills curiosity.
Akin to excess—absence, or minimalism, and the idea of “clean design” can sometimes make me not think or feel anything special when interfacing with said art, software, or device. It often fails to surprise or force a moment of pause to ponder—why does this feel great? Rightfully so, I do not need to be intellectually stimulated when making breakfast—it is conveniently acceptable for the design of the toaster not to be influenced by contrasting aesthetics.
But in search for novelty, it can more often than not be found at the intersection of many unrelated disciplines or styles, as one is able to increase their pool of inspiration to remix from. What does the Renaissance mixed with analog technology look like? How does an orchestral French ballad with a hip-hop beat sound like? Can you have more than one style of logo?