On Beauty (and Genius)
It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog of any length or substance beyond the realms of work and the only excuse I can offer is that time and tested one, I’ve been extremely busy!
However a combination of a fascinating quote and the fact that I have devoured 60 of Michael Bierut’s 79 essays on design in next to no time has prompted me to flex my creative writing muscles once again and to come out of my long exodus.
The quote in question is:
“Maybe they all think it’s my last tour.”
Sachin Tendulkar on the standing ovations he gets wherever he plays in the world. March 20, 2009
Before I get onto the quote just a brief word about Michael Bierut’s book entitled “79 Short Essays on Design,” which if you haven’t read I thoroughly recommend purchasing. What struck me is the variety of subjects in these essays, some focusing on other design disciplines and others focusing on other disciplines altogether. And it is this variety and breadth of knowledge which left an impression of me the most and made me think about how designers are inspired by the world around them. However as, I’m sure you can all testify, it is seemingly very easy to become obsessed with design and forget to look elsewhere I have decided to focus another one of my great passions to draw parallels and inspiration.
For those of you who don’t know, and there must be very few who don’t, cricket is a great passion of mine. Perhaps it’s my sub-continental heritage or perhaps it’s just a love of the game, either way it’s safe to say “I don’t like cricket, I love it!” However every time I think of cricket one name always pops into my consciousness first, Sachin Tendulkar.
Much has been made about his god like status in India and within the history of the game itself (most number of Test and ODI runs, most number of Test and ODI centuries etc) but when this is combined with the mob culture of Indian cricket fans and their short term memories (it was only in 2005 that his home crowd of Mumbai booed their “Little Champion” off the ground) it makes his life untenable. I cannot claim to be the only one infatuated by his batting, as a nation of over a billion people will testify, however I, perhaps unlike most, can admit to being infatuated for completely selfish reasons.
Having just scored 160 against New Zealand in the first Test of the series in 2009 I’m sure people will think that is nothing more than another piece of fanfare, however I think this falls more into the lines of a confession. The nerves were still there as I watched well into the early hours of the morning, hoping and praying that he does well and waiting with abated breath as he stood out in the middle on 99. However if he had failed to get that one run I would have been the first to defend him against all the accusations of the nervous 90’s and other outlandish remarks from people who are best described as “couch cricketers.” This is because when I watch Sachin bat he’s not batting to win a test match but to give me that little bit of hope. Hope that in all the chaos and panic something beautiful can be crafted.
And this is where the link to design comes in, we, as visual communicators, all appreciate something beautiful even if we argue that function should come first. We strive to find that balance whereby we answer the clients brief and produce something beautiful. And that is what Sachin Tendulkar does when goes to bat, he creates masterpieces worthy which are, dare I use the cliché, true poetry in motion. So as a designer every time I see this 5ft 4 man make batting look like the simplest thing in the world I can’t help but see the complete beauty of it, it is the perfect marriage of form (entertaining) vs function (helping his team win)… it is a piece of great design.
So back to the quote, much has been made in the press recently of his ability to go on and on and for the world of cricket to have one last gasp from their genius. For once it truly is the billions of fans, an entire nation and cricket lovers every where who have become besotted with “Peter Pan” syndrome, urging this legend to never grow old. However the reality is that one day, and most likely soon, that light will dim and a sport will be left without its greatest icon, like Tiger Woods in Golf and Roger Federer in Tennis. So whilst Sachin might hint that this isn’t his last tour of these countries I don’t blame the crowd for rising to their feet to cheer this beloved champion, I know I do so from my living room. If I were ever asked to describe true beauty it would be Sachin batting, and so whether his retirement is looming or not, this is one man who deserves a standing ovation every time. Genius and beauty are truly rare things.
Alas my inclinations as a designer kick in now and I have the great urge to justify how this relates to design or what designers can take from this. Should we take from this the idea that as fundamental as function is sometimes form could and should be appreciated? Or perhaps that reverence is a fickle thing and only someone who truly loves what they’re doing for the right reasons can survive? Moreover maybe the idea of inspiration lying elsewhere is pivotal to designers or perhaps all of the above? Or, just maybe, this article should be appreciated for what it is (like Sachin’s batting) and thus doesn’t need to be defined.
