Working in Circles

For some reason my brain works in circles - it makes more sense to me to be able to come back to something than to see it in a linear level. If I ever wanted to come back to something, I could always come back to it if it’s in a circle, but in a linear way of thinking, it is in the past and can never be brought back again. That’s almost a sad thing to me and is counterproductive.

Time only seems to be linear in that it is the way we are taught to think. We are taught to think in minute or day-long increments - this creates a way of thinking that induces anxiety and thinking that cannot be traced clearly. Day and night are only indicators that the world is turning, that life goes on. Don’t forget that we go through seasons. And seasons go through us.

In design, things that are linear are just that, they are flat, too easily understood - it doesn’t allow the mind to look around and take a minute to relax. It’s not all about stress though, in fact a little stress can push people to do some real good. But what we are after is simply new discovery in design. And by new, I simply mean re-worked so that we learn something new.

While this blog post is mainly about getting my thoughts out, it does help me grow. It helps me think in new ways. In no shape or form do I wish to bore you if you’re reading this, but I only want to share my mind. I like to make things that feel familiar, which is perhaps one of my favorite words. Because today people are looking for the familiar in a world where things seem distant and cold. They want to feel warm and that they have community where they belong. That is my goal in design, in photography, and in life, to help people feel warm and included.

Don’t get me wrong! New things must come, change must happen, and we must move on. What I am trying to get at is, a circle if familiar. Things always come back around. When you feel lonely (as we all do), remember that time only goes on because it must. But if you see the world in a linear way, it becomes a much more sad, lonely place. If you see time as circular, things never really go away, but we can always learn from them, observe them from a distance.

Since my branding is called Vinyl Creative, it seems apt to bring this full circle. Records loop around and round, spiraling inward. The cool thing is - you can always start over again. With a circle, there is no fail - there is only a first attempt. Do be careful though, you can miss. Just as you can misplace the needle on a record, you can misplace a word or an action. Being wary of this I think is critical for empathy, morality, and even in design, because everything is designed. The chair you’re probably sitting on - one person likely stared at that design for hours contemplating how it would feel to the eye and to the body over and over again, like a spiral, until they reached the center of thought.

There is such a physical aspect to life that people in this era forget not daily, but by the minute. Life brings you moments now that, say, in the 1960’s, no one would have missed. It’s little things. Things to get lost in. And I mean lost in the best way - lost in the real parts of life. Here’s why I listen to records - they’re real. Digital music is still “real,” but vinyl is the physical representation of music. It’s permanent. Now, not all design is permanent, in fact, I have once heard that designers make the world’s most beautiful trash. This is true to a degree, however when you see a design you love, and I mean really love, it sticks with you. It’s embedded in your identity. I’m careful when I design that I only make things that I identify with. It seems a crime to make something that isn’t a part of you in some way. Maybe that is the artist in me, but don’t forget to be a part of the world - at the same time, don’t immerse yourself in the world, you’re assure to get lost.

As this world goes round and round, people really stay the same. We all have basic needs. What changes, is perception. As I sit in a coffee shop writing this, I’ve seen so many people all come in and out for one thing - coffee. Granted, coffee is one of God’s best inventions. But the point is that they all come back for something that is familiar. It’s something that people wouldn’t trade for the world. People need to be uprooted at some point to start again, but the circle of time always comes back around.

Ya see, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, I’ve got no business in that. But truth is absolute. Anyone would be wise to know that. One truth is not different from another person’s. What is different is the perception. What’s nice about a circle - it never changes. What can be different, is the perception of that circle. You'll notice that in the image above, I purposefully only drew the mountains inside the circle. But you imagined the circle on the outside, didn’t you? Just like that drawing, truth is always there, and remains the same.