A Way of Being
A Personal Design Philosophy
by Knoxie le Roux
This presentation was given at Senior Symposia 2023 in the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University (SC) on November 30, 2023.
Presentation Transcription
Hi. I’m Knoxie le Roux and when I initially got started writing my design philosophy, I kind of expected it to be this awe inspiring awakening of an experience. But, in the end, I kind of found it to be a more humbling and casual experience.
And so to me, design isn’t less or more of this and that it’s an all encompassing, little bit of everything.
My philosophy can kind of, well, I experience design to be a structure. It’s a way to engage with the creative process in a way that facilitates these three things: collecting, connecting and learning — allowing me to look more intentionally or being fearlessly curious.
Starting off with some collecting. These are some photographs that I’ve collected and kept around in my room for a long period of time.
My origin story as a creative starts with my family because each one of them have poured into me, supported me, and played a role in who I am today. These are people who, with love wisdom and grace, have always encouraged and inspired me to be better, bolder, and kinder. This, in turn, has influenced my approach to design.
One of these very special people is my South African grandmother.
My mother on my Oma was an artist. My love for the arts was cultivated in her studio over breaks experimenting, working with different kinds of paints, clays, materials… and of the many things that I hold on to from her, I came across this thought that she jotted down in one of her travel journals. She says, “One of the things most, most worth doing is cultivating the habits of close observation.”
And this is something that has been true for me throughout my journey as an enthusiast, artist, and now also perhaps a designer. For me, being a designer means to have mad observation skills. This results in a conscientious attitude of gratitude that relies on a curious mindset extending beyond the act of mark-making, looking for the extraordinary in the seemingly mundane, and then taking on the challenge of sharing that little glimpse of remarkable beauty in a new way.
Being a creative and being a designer means to appreciate the small things.
And so as I go through life, I guess, appreciating all the small things, naturally I want to collect. I want to hold on to. I want to sort of dissect and understand all kinds of things.
Over the last six months, this is what collecting has looked like for me.
Collecting looks like documenting all the ephemera and packaging that caught my eye, taking it and saving it for later. Collecting looks like hunting down and documenting Italian typography during my summer abroad, paying attention to the characters, the history and legacy, and then saving it for later. Collecting looks like stopping on the side of the road to document graffiti tags on a train on my way out of town and saving it for later.
Similarly, collecting looks like immersing myself in the street art and graffiti scene in Florence, Italy, meeting faces behind the walls and partaking in fresh experiences. It’s about collecting it all and saving it for later.
This one’s a little bit silly, but if anyone knows me well enough, they know that B-Real is my favorite app. And I think it’s for this reason. You know, it collects the most random moments in time and celebrates and documents the mundane in a way that you can kind of go back to. It saves it for later.
In a sense, my practice as a casual archivist and documenter is a way I like to go about life. For me, design anthropology and archiving is pertinent in informing design decisions and inspiring creative work. Casual curiosity and research in design to me looks like a structure. Much like a pantry holds ingredients or a palace holds all kinds of little treasures, this is a space that holds all the things I like to collect and files in a way, and saves them for later.
So at this point in my philosophy, I’d like to talk about all the connection-making.
It’s in this space where all the things I’ve collected can be rearranged, dissected and understood in a new way. Design is a way to connect and weave all these things together. It facilitates discussions between all the ingredients in my pantry and all the treasures in my palace. And while this space facilitates discussion between all the collections, it also facilitates discussions that happen between the different aspects of myself, whether it’s the idea, the enthusiast, the designer, the athlete, or even just a friend. It’s about reaching into my own experiences and skills and using them to help me reveal truth and meaning.
While it’s something that connects the different parts within myself, it’s more about connecting with things beyond myself and bringing them in. Design is a structure and a space that encourages me to reach outside of my resources and collaborate with the world around me.
This is a space and a structure. It holds together my past experiences, the tools I use, and the person I am today. And in this sense, design is to be in constant dialog with what is, what was, and what’s to come. It extends beyond the practice of pure graphic design and emerges as a way of being.
And while design is a collaborative effort with the world and the things and with myself, it is also deeply relational.
Design is a structure and a space that encourages me. It’s deeply relational.
Design is a bridge between people. A way to make friends and connect with others in a meaningful way. It extends beyond the solitary act of making into a space where accountability and authenticity lie.
Opening up the design process to others transforms it into a more meaningful and tangible experience. For me, this takes form in meeting new people, getting excited, understanding problems and exchanging stories. To design for and with others is a way to give. And it’s a true honor. An act of loyalty and an act of friendship.
This third tier of my philosophy — kind of outlining what design can do — operates as a structure that encourages me and gives me the freedom to simply just learn.
It’s a space where I can learn by failing — about having a beginner’s mindset. It’s a space where curiosity thrives and learning becomes a journey of excitement, challenge, understanding, and insight. It thrives knowing that inspiration is an inexhaustible force.
Design has afforded me the luxury of fearlessly learning, exploring, stepping into brand new environments, having new conversations that can bring about transformation around and within me.
While this space allows me to learn about the world and about myself, it’s a place of introspection. Learning about the way that I’ve been designed by my Creator, the heavenly designer of all things. Design pushes me to become more like Christ and, in turn, becoming more uniquely myself. It is a way of being a divine journey of self-discovery and a space where I can connect and meet with the Lord.
So while the practice of graphic design in which I find myself may look like logos and websites, typography and brand guidelines, it’s more about what happens inside my little palace or my pantry in this space. It’s about the process of collecting, connecting, and learning that informs creative decisions and satisfies my hunger for curiosity and influences all of those things.
Thus, for me, design is not less or more of this or that, but it’s an all encompassing little bit of everything. And so for me, design is integrated in how I kind of choose to live my life. It’s more of a way of being.
Thank you.
Senior Symposia
Senior Symposia is an annual event for the Department of Art+Design in the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University (SC) where BFA Graphic Design Seniors present personal Design Philosophies, synthesizing and summarizing their experiences and perspectives over the course the program. These presentations act as markers in their developmental journey, bringing to light what they believe to be true about design, what design can do, and what they hope to do through design.
