Ooo...Purty

I have been thinking a lot about Design this week. I am reading Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind which asserts that left-brain directed thinking--i.e. your analytical, test-taking thought process--is no longer sufficient. Many of those jobs and tasks can now be automated or off-shored. Now there is a need for whole thinking that incorporates the logic of the left along with the emotional and aesthetic intelligence of the right.

Pink states that there are "six senses" that make up right-brain directed thinking:

1. Design
2. Story
3. Symphony
4. Empathy
5. Play
6. Meaning

I just finished the Design chapter, so I am trying to notice the details around me. I thought I would share a few of my favorite Design eye-openers of the week.

Catching up on Reading Category:
Before & After, whose slogan is "Graphic Design for Everyone," is a great publication that puts side-by-sides of printed materials before and after they get a Design overhaul. As a kid I loved looking at the glossy pages of 17 magazine with the before and after makeover pictures; this publication appeals to the same kid in me. However now it isn't makeup experimentation, but layout, fonts, and images for brochures and business cards.

Tom Kuhlman's Rapid eLearning blog is my absolute favorite blog when it comes to practical, innovative training ideas. This will really only be worth clicking on if you use Articulate software, but it is a really cool way to incorporate tables into eLearning.

Whenever I start pondering Design I have to pull out my copy of Nick Bantock's Griffin & Sabine. If you have never picked it up, I urge you to check your library. It is a beautifully illustrated love story that unfolds through post cards and letters. As the reader you actually get to reach inside envelopes to pull out letters to read.

How I Think Category
I started thinking today that there can be a high level of Design in some writing. Writing that gets me to visualize a situation or look from a completely different angle. Today I had this experience twice. My sister wrote a beautiful post about birds, yoga, and effort. I think anyone who reads it will feel instantly a little calmer. So, read it. I'm just sayin'. On the other end of the spectrum, may I recommend the blog In the Pink. Texas Monthly blogger Eileen Smith takes the days news and attacks it with a dry sense of humor and of the ridiculous.

I have a sneaky suspicion that there will be other posts about the remaining 5 of the 6 senses. In the meantime try to slow down and notice.