Deciphering Aesthetics 3 elements for designers to implement

Beautiful posters, beautiful websites, beautiful applications, wonderful products, cool looking aesthetics. Being a designer, it is very vital to know before saying something is beautiful, what is making you to say that? That's the big difference between you and the normal people. As a designer we have to learn. So today we are going to see what is the real aesthetics knowledge which we have to impart or which we might have already learned from. But how do you decipher in your designs and how do you recreate that experience for the people and how you can create wonderful product aesthetics and seamless visuals to cover your audience. Okay, so this is going to be really a great topic for you today and I wanted you to take a lot of notes because lot of things I'm going to be telling you how you can implement it and take actions also to get results. Okay, so let's dive deep into this topic, everybody. Welcome, guys, welcome. This is Jagdish. Thank you for staying tuned with me in Design for Change podcast. So as I discussed, aesthetic is something which everybody wants it, right? See, it's the law of nature to get attracted to aesthetic things. I'll tell you why it is coming from nature. See, plant, human, everybody has evolved, okay? Reproduced or even procreation. Everything happened because of two elements. One is second score means aesthetics. Like, like even the butterflies go and get attracted. The honeybees go and take the nectar because of the flower is good because of the, what you call the, the smell. Not just smell, I would say aesthetics. Let's, let's focus on visuals. So because of that visual colors and the kind of fragrance and luminance and everything because of that attraction, it goes and takes the bees and then it cross pollinates. And we as a human, we also reproduce. Largely we have taken aesthetics as our first preference to look at the opposite gender and sex and also nature. Let it, let it be in terms of flower, let it be in terms of insects, let it be in terms of animals. So it's ingrained part of our evolution to get attracted to aesthetics and also core the functionality. Okay, how do you reproduce? Like how does the plant really reproduce? It's because of the pollens, it's because of the sperm, in terms of what you call the vital element in terms of reproductive organs. And that's how entire core works. So I've talked about two. One is aesthetics, one is core. We cannot avoid these topics, guys, because it has to be understood. There is nothing vulgarity or something like that, but this is how we have been evolved. Also second, we have to understand how our ancients people have really evolved in terms of getting aesthetics. See, beautifying products, functionality of the products, unforgettable products, all products and experience you can recreate. Guys, if you understand this podcast deeply, it's not just about knowing the essence of it. Okay, so the first, there are three elements which I'm going to be breaking down for you. Okay? The first element is essence of aesthetics. See, being a culture, like let's say if you are from a different country or a different background, like, let's say if you are from a particularly a very ancient kind of roots is very much ingrained in you, Your aesthetic sense will be much different from the other people. Let's say if you are from a western world, if you are from a different part of the world where your modernized thinking or modernized aesthetics and modernized color choices and everything will reflect on you. So the first point, what I'm trying to bring you is go and determine where is your roots coming from. I'll tell like, I've been born, I've been brought up in Tamil Nadu, which is one of the ancient places where mostly Chola Pandyas, like these kind of empires and aesthetics and temples has been largely there. I'll tell you, Chola is one of the most unified aesthetics. Like, I've seen their temples, I've visited those temples. Like, that kind of a culture is already there with you, right? If you are from that background, let's say if you are from a slightly different background, like let's say if you're from Africa or if you're from what you call Canada, like that culture and that ingrained aesthetics is already ingrained, is being there in you. So you need to know how to use that properly, right? That is why design is a flavor of all. You need to try to understand this, guys, okay? See, when you are trying to tune into that particular frequency or that kind of vibrance, what you have in you, this will come into your concepts, this will come into you as an ideas. This will come into you while choosing your colors. See, you can learn design, you can learn color theory, you can learn composition, but I'll tell you dominantly, you will use your own perspective when it comes to choosing and making that aesthetics, right? Because I told you, aesthetic is very important and it's a part of nature. We need to learn it. You cannot say jagdish, I'll make only functional things here. You cannot do that. How will people get attracted then? If people get attracted and come to you only, they'll use your functionality, right? Look at Apple, they have a wonderful aesthetics which they have largely determined and derived from minimal principles. What Steve Jobs used to always impart for, for their Design team, Macintosh, MacBook Air, these products, iPhone, everybody knows iPhone, right? So ipod, like these are all the other products which a lot of people don't know. Even these products have largely shaped Apple products. What it is now and then people started using it and they get an experience of functionality also then you put all your functionality that becomes a whole experience, right? So we cannot avoid this aesthetics. There is one more thing also which is like Pandyas, culture, like which I've largely seen like Pandyas is one of the ancient empires. They are more closely associated to seashore. You can see their aesthetic is different, they are more dynamic compared to Chola. Chola is very much unified. You can see the Chola temple, which is Brihadeeshwara Temple, Tanjur temple. These temples are like UNESCO certified global level tourists come here for seeing that. So if you have a chance to go, it's good. But you can just Google search it and find out their language, their architecture, their aesthetics. Similarly, you can see Pandyas, they are like seashore people. They have a very dynamic way of seeing aesthetics in. So you can see there is a slight difference in this kind of a cultures itself. And let me tell you guys, we your culture determines your brawn and brought up and your biological things. So you need to understand, you can tune to that particular thing to bring out that aesthetics. That is why if you go for a bigger colleges in design or if you go for a very higher level design studios, people largely try to understand your cultural background because that is going to impact in your design. You know what, there are studios like ideo, which puts clearly in your job description saying we need more culturally diverse designers. That means design is going to have a lot of flavor when you bring that aesthetics and different culture in you. So you need to understand this guys, because I've read a book called Sapiens, okay? It was written by Ul Nova Harari, one of my favorite authors. So there I really got a different perspective about aesthetics. How biologically you are born and brought up in evolution is going to shape your creativity now. So please go and talk back to your ancestors, your grandfathers, your grandmother's, try to understand where is their root son, who is your grandfather, grandfather. So try to understand that kind of a cultural background. In essence, I always used to tell my students, go back to your own senses, go back to your own aesthetic, go back to your own culture. Because if you Know yourself better. Then start designing, start learning some Figma and Adobe XD or making some 3D modelings in Rhino software and rendering. That's all cool, cool guys, fine, that's tools. Okay, so you need to just determine this first. Okay? This is the very first element which I wanted to discuss with you, which is essence of your cultural bringing in aesthetics. The second part of this particular podcast is all about knowing the laws. Like let's say there are some aesthetics laws and expressions which is being proven. Like let's say gestalt law of psychology. We all know that, right? So gestalt law of psychology. It's like people have proven, Gestalt has proven like this kind of elements and loss which has been there. And if people are recreated this experience, they will be able to taste that product, they will be able to enjoy the visual aesthetics. See, this podcast is not to explain you all the loss, but I'll slightly take you through it. See, there are something like law of proximity, law of similarity, law of closure, law of continuity, law of common fate, figure and ground symmetry, prognance. But if you do a simple Google search, one image can explain you all these laws very easily. That's not the point. The point is how we are able to implement this, right? When we implement each and every particular aesthetic element of this law, people can recreate that rasa very quickly. You know what is rasa? Rasa is about when you see a visual, you get, wow, oh my God, that poster is really good. Oh my God, that visual is so good. Oh, this UI is so beautiful here. How do you say that? Each and every time when you see something new, you get that feeling evoked inside you. Nine different type of emotions we evoke, that's called nine rasas navarasas in Hindi they call. So when you're able to understand this gestalt and how you can evoke this rasa, you tend to create a wonderful experience for your customer. I'll tell you an example, okay? Then it becomes a little interesting for you also, not just abstract things. Okay, so I'll explain you what is law of closure. See, when imagine a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, okay? See, normally we tend to imagine filling the gaps, creating a complete image of that object. Even though there are some missing elements you can able to connect. Can you imagine Amazon logo, which is like a curve, which is like closing, which is inviting customers, which is like closure. You can see that. Next time when you see Amazon logo, do that if you can. Amazon logo, you can see that. You can just Open Google also right now you can see and when you are able to see that, you can close the remaining elements you don't need. Like let's say if there is a one, if I'm erasing top, middle and bottom still you will perceive it like a one line or a straight I. Right? That is exactly called law of closure. So when you are able to use minimal elements to recreate your experience, that becomes beautiful. You don't have to put deliberately a one to show it's a one. So think about it. Go and have a search guys, that definitely you will understand. What is this law of similarity? We'll see. When elements share the same attributes, they create a unity cohesion. You can see Apple's iconic logo featuring simple app like, which is like taken from a bitten apple, right? This exemplifies this principle law of similarity. The uniform color, the kind of black and white monochrome, the shape, the form, everything needs to be unified. When you're bringing some kind of aesthetic element which is unified with the logo, color, product, website, app, that becomes seamless experience. You create something like a very different language for your website and app and product. Nobody's going to understand anything, right? Every physical product is going to have a digital product from, from this particular years. Like let's say in two years. The evolution has been huge. In future it's going to be even more higher. When you're using some product, it's going to have an application, right? When you're using a trimmer, it will have an application no time soon. How much hair has been removed from the, from your bird and how much health you have in your beard and how your trimming is effectively improving your look and feel. A lot of people are thinking about creating that experience, not just creating a trimmer products. That is how design is getting evolved. So understanding this kind of aesthetic is very important. Guys, I'll explain you one more law which is called law of continuity. It states that our brain naturally perceive elements in continuous path, smooth path which is without that element. Also you can still able to continually understand it. Okay, I'll give you one very good example. Have you seen FedEx logo? Next time when you're seeing it, go and see. Guys, when you see in FedEx, FedEx in between E and X, there is something called arrow which is moving forward. FedEx is a logistics company, right? So your logo should imply that meaning. See how they're able to connect and make sure it is continued, which is like, that is called law of proximity. Like you get that kind of a Continuity in your elements and then you tend to get more. You can see Coca Cola logo, you can see Nike, you can see IBM, you can see Pepsi. So this is some of the major important thing, guys. This is about aesthetics, this is about rasas, this is about Gestalt law. I've explained you about three laws, but you can read about the other laws. That would be a great start for you. The third part of this podcast is mindful implementation. See, learning your essence, learning your culture, knowing about Gestalt law, aesthetic law, everything is fine. Unless until if you are not mindfully implementing it, nothing is going to work, right? So next time when you see, think like designers, think like artists, think like da Vinci, right? Leonardo da Vinci has drawn a virtuan man, which is like a law of symmetry which follows everything, right? See, this is all been ingrained in us. We have been already seeing that, we have already know that. So how do you reflect that? Like when you are designing an application, when you're designing a physical product, like let's say mouse, how do you bring that aesthetics in it? How do you take that kind of an element and bring in, you know, that is how you recreate that kind of a products experience, websites, apps. That artistic expression has to come through you guys. Okay, so this is actually called mindful implementation. See, unless until if you're implementing it, if you're not implementing it, it will not going to make any sense. Centuries ago, thousands of years ago, cultures and aesthetics have already proven this Gestalt law, rasas theories and everything. Why don't you just implement it to recreate that experience? See, designers normally take lot of years to get this maturity of creating beautiful aesthetics, right? If, if a design is given to a experienced guy, he brings a good aesthetics normally they say, but that's not true. Even youngsters and everybody can create wonderful designs if they understand this aesthetics in a more deeper sense. And they're able to reflect on their own culture and sense and their own biological grounds. If they're able to do it, it's wonderful, guys, look at Apple logo, look at FedEx, look at Coca Cola. Like I've shown you a lot of logos, right? So you can go and understand how important it is without applying this. It's going to be really a path for disaster, guys. It's going to be chaos. You don't know what you're doing. You will just create some logo namesake, you'll create some website, you'll create a product namesake. It's not going to have any kind of a orderness, any Kind of a visual aesthetics, any kind of a proximity followed, any kind of a organized aesthetic will not be there. See, our eyes are being trained towards our evolution to see certain things in a beautiful way. If you are disordering, if you are creating a disorder in that people tend to say, ah, it's not good here. Hey, it doesn't look that good here. Ah, you know why people say that? It's because you have not followed this particular aesthetics. So try to understand and implement it guys. So this is the three elements. Understanding your roots and grounds, essence, applying this, knowing about this loss, gestalt law, assault theory and all these things. Mindfully implementing it. Okay? And to close this podcast, I'm going to be giving you certain action points also. Okay, first thing as an action point is. See guys, if you're listening to this podcast and not implementing, nothing is going to happen. Okay, so the first action element is you can try visiting more museums and historical places. Hey Jagdish, it looks very awkward. Do it. If you wanted to really bring out a lot of things in you, you will explore yourself better. Second actionable point is lot of search in online. You have to at least see 1 lakh images and posters and visuals and portfolio. Guys, 1 lakh is really huge. If you want to become a great designer, master the aesthetics, you need to do it. There is no shortcut. Do 1 lakh plus. Third actionable point is mindful practice and habit formed. See, anything we do for 21 days becomes habit. Why don't you create a 21 day pattern in you? Every day five posters I'll create for law of closure. Every day five graphics I'll bring in law of continuity. Implement it in your everyday work. Implement it in your everyday design. When you're designing some application for a customer, implement these five concepts using law of closure. See, when you force your brain to think about it, you will do it. And you can post it in your social media pages and you can put it in your own portfolio. Also people like people will be attracted for your concepts, clarity and how you can bring that element. And the fifth most actionable element is enjoy and meditate and try to tune into that frequency. See, this is slightly, what do you call? It's not like a baba topic. But I'm just telling you to go to your deep and try to get a very big sense of why you're doing this aesthetics. You will be able to bring a very good unique pattern. If you bring that unique pattern only whatever you're going to do, design is going to come out or else it will not even be selected by your own teammates, by your own boss, by your own client, by your own businesses. Okay, so so I hope this podcast would have given you some kind of a clarity on how aesthetics and visual elements is going to play a larger impact in your designs. Okay, with that being said, thank you so much for staying tuned in, guys. In this particular podcast, thank you so much. Implement all these things and subscribe to my future episodes also. And if you feel this podcast has given value, give me a best rating and drop your email if you wanted to connect with me in person. Okay, thank you so much guys. Take care. All the best. Bye Bye.