The latest
It’s been a while since I have written on behalf of myself. My newsletter, Beginner’s Mind has taken a backseat for about three months. This past Fall was busy teaching two classes (which was a first for me) — two is too much and I have also been working and designing the inaugural issue of Faculty, a publication by the Chicago Graphic Design Club — which has been a great deal of fun but taking up the majority of my time. I can’t wait to share it with the world. I am really proud of all the work and thoughts that will be featured and feel extremely grateful to be in the position to be working on something that will represent Chicago’s graphic design culture.
This year, I hosted and produced a total of 25 episodes of Underscore, where I spoke with a wide breadth of designers and creatives. We spoke about education, creativity, craft, discipline, graphic design, childhood memories, love, community — and so much more. What a freaking blast to learn from people I admire and look up to.
With the Chicago Graphic Design Club, we also hosted a series of events that consisted of studio tours, a panel discussion, an art exhibition, and social events. Again — so damn fun. And I’m thankful for the great collaborators that have stepped up to make things happen.
I released a new track on Bandcamp and I look forward to publishing more soon… okay? For music, I’ve been experimenting with chord inversions and progressions to see what sounds best to me. It’s all very intuitive, which I enjoy.
Reflection on teaching design
As the year wraps, I want to share a few insights and bits of my reflection of 2023. This year, I spent much of my time teaching which has become something I have learned to love, appreciate, and a domain I would like to improve in. At DePaul University, which happens to be my alma mater, I taught two classes, a graphic design foundations class and a web design class. Teaching a design foundations class is more challenging that I expected because when you are working in the ~industry~, design principles and theory become somewhat of second-nature. Composition, color theory, typography, symbolism, etc., sadly, aren‘t discussed much in industry. The awful truth about our the present state of design is that decisions and choices are made based on what works well, what sells, and what is trending — true creative choices that rely on basic design principles are seldom made. Tools like AI and Canva are, in my opinion, killing creativity — the social media algorithm too. Terrible.
Design systems and pattern libraries have homogenized our visual culture, so the beauty of teaching a foundations class provides the ability to revisit core teachings such as “what the hell is a square”, “what is a line”, “how do we look at a photograph” — very elementary things that almost feel silly to talk about but are rather crucial to our growth and understanding of what makes design design. So, yea, that class was a joy to teach and it rekindled my appreciation for the small details that make up (successful) graphic design.
The other design class was a web design class — I walk students through the process of creating a website, which includes: research, strategy, wireframing, visual design, prototyping, and presenting. Pretty basic stuff with the exception of a strong focus on craft and storytelling. Design equals storytelling.
Studying the mind
Outside of design, I taught a class alongside my Zen teacher, titled “Wellness in Times of Darkness” which focused on
wellness, mindfulness, and meditation. It was a series of four classes which drew from Zen Buddhist
teachings, neuroscience, and psychology, to orient students towards wellness, self-compassion, resilience, and
awareness. These topics fascinate me because they are at the core of what it means to be human. We all experience a
range of emotions and feelings. Anything that is unaccounted for and unexamined, can lead to all kinds of ails,
worries, anxieties, alienation, etc. I
mean,
we
don’t have to look very far to see how distraught society is. In a world that incentivizes and rewards
productivity, speed, competition, and
status, it is imperative that we make time to slow down and reflect, and teaching mindfulness keeps that top of mind
for me.
I also believe that mindfulness and wellness go hand in hand with creativity. Mindfulness is what creates those
magical moments of creativity and innovation. Great work, doesn’t happen from a state of despair or anguish,
despite what folklore says.
The Buddha is known for saying “I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering.” — which sums of creativity perfectly. Aren’t we after all, just trying to make sense of this world by transforming our own experiences into something that is beautiful and inspiring?
The world would be a better place if we could all just slow down and breathe…
Martial arts
I also picked up a new martial art — Tai-Chi which is complementing my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practice nicely. Martial arts I have found to be a practice that is not only about discipline but also about humility and the notion of continuously having the mind of the beginner. When you train, there is absolutely no self involved. Your status, your recognition, accolades, title — any form of identity is out the door. If you focus on any of those things, you become a victim of your mind and disembodied from the present moment which leads to mistakes. So for those reasons, martial arts are a great way to come home to your body. Martial arts is moving meditation.
Moving forward
As always, being alive is a great privilege. Being of service, giving back, making a difference (big or small)—all those things matter. Question authority, act with love, be thankful for every moment. Awful things are happening in the world currently, so it is important that we become beacons of light to illuminate the darkness. Life is fragile and precious. Let’s continue to be skillful with our actions, use our voices to bring positive change into the world, be less divisive, more honest, more authentic, and fully present.
With love, Christian