What designers can learn from ballet, an Italian industrialist, and 17th century Chinese painting
Recently I have been thinking a lot about what it means to work with (or without) a rigorous methodology. One of the leading user-centered design methods is contextual design, championed by Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt.
In reading their books, one sees a world of strict rules and prescriptive methodologies. When one contrasts this with the scrappy approach of a typical early-stage startup, and the need for speed to bring something to market — one seemingly wants to take the approach to say ‘screw this academic nonsense, we’ll do it live’. This contrast in perspective is something most designers will have to deal with at many points in their careers. I have found that the best way to balance a prescriptive methodology with the scrappiness of the tech industry is to know the methodologies inside-and-out, and only then to determine how to adapt them to suit your needs. I want to share some examples that I have found of people succeeding in this approach, outside of design.
Ballet and methodology
The first example is this incredible Youtube video I came across, featuring a clip of The Concert choreographed by Jerome Robbins for the New York City Ballet. If you’re giving up on this post, at least watch this clip; it’s beautiful.
What’s going on here? The dancers in this video are clearly extremely skilled, and dance with incredible precision. In learning the methods of ballet and spending years on their craft, they are able to perform this piece in such a way to make it appear as though they are dancing out of step and ‘making mistakes’, but those mistakes are actually precisely choreographed and serve to enhance the piece. The same concept can be applied to design — in knowing and studying the craft and methodologies of user-centered design, one can begin to learn about ways to make the methodologies appear effortless and casual, to help clients and stakeholders get drawn into the design process. This is what turns method into magic.
Style and methodology
My second example is a lesson out of one of my favorite celebrity’s books — that of Giovanni ‘Gianni’ Agnelli. Agnelli was an influential Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat Automobiles. His business prowess aside, one of the things Agnelli is most known for is his incredibly eccentric fashion sense. Agnelli’s fashion sense conveyed Sprezzatura — ‘a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it’. Take a look at this photo, for example:
Tie knot just a bit askew, wristwatch secured on top of his dress shirt, Agnelli’s outfits were scrupulously chosen to the last detail, yet the accessory choices appeared as errors to make it look as if he did not care or make an effort about the way he was dressed. To me, Agnelli clearly knew the rules of fashion well enough that he was able to prove that he was so stylish, he could break those rules with purpose. As a designer, one can learn a lot from this approach. The only way that one can start to break and adapt a methodology is by learning its intricacies and doing it ‘the right way’ first. Then, by studying and knowing the methodologies until it becomes second nature, one can start to purposefully break and adapt the methods to get the desired results.
Designers can learn a lot for Agnelli’s approach to style. His subtle confidence allows him to show his skill and knowledge in a tacit way. Know your method well enough that your skill shines through in a nonchalant, confident way.
Painting and methodology
My third and final example goes back a little bit further in time, to 1679 in China. Originally published as Volume 2 of The Tao of Painting, The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting is a printed manual of Chinese painting compiled during the early-Qing Dynasty.
The book was originally introduced to me when I was in grad school, by the director of my graduate program. While discussing design methods, he brought up this great quote that has stuck with me through the years:
To be without method is deplorable, but to depend entirely on method is worse. The end of all method is to seem to have no method.
This quotation perfectly sums up the balance between using a calculated method and a flexible approach: Knowing your methods well doesn’t mean you need to depend on them. Balance your own approach and experience with the methods you have learned.
Confidence and success in design does not come from dismissing methodologies and instead touting ‘adaptive’ and ‘flexible’ methods. Rather, it comes from knowing the methods well enough that they become second nature and instilled into one’s process, to allow for that level of nonchalance and adaptability to shine through. You gotta know the rules first before you break them.
