Projects
Writing
Information
- Introduction
- The Capacity of Form
- Designed Form as Furniture
- The Relational Field of Form
- The Reconciliation of Form and Function
- Complex Form in Harmonization
- Restraint and Richness
Complex Form in Harmonization: Continued - Discerning Proportion
- Reflection on Contemporary Design
2023-2025
- What is Design?
- Problematic Design of Contemporary Era
- The Timeless Good Design
- Reflection on the Role of Design in our Historic Moment
-2023
The proportion of a designed object plays a crucial role in its spatial presence and the perceptions and sensations experienced by others. Proportion establishes a structural framework through form, while also quietly regulating numerical relationships within a form. The precise control of proportion to a form defines what form conveys; even a slight offset of proportion might end up in a totally different or misleading conversation.
Throughout history, numerous mathematical theories have been developed to understand proportion. These include the Golden Ratio, often associated with the human body and perceptual harmony, as well as architectural systems such as the Root Rectangle system and ad quadratum. There are also practical applications that emerged from these theories, such as the entasis of classical columns, which subtly corrects the visual discrepancies between measured geometry and human perception. From art to architecture and design, the study of proportion has been extensively documented and theorized.
When proportion establishes a structural framework for a form, the geometric language built upon it begins to express, often implicitly, the relationship between proportion and geometry. As planes are connected through lines to form masses, the resulting form itself becomes a cognitive structure that embodies its underlying foundations. Such a cognitive structure subtly reveals an integrated aesthetic of proportion, geometry, line, and form. Classical architecture offers various examples of this phenomenon, including the Parthenon and the Tuscan columns of Greek and Roman architecture, where geometric clarity and proportional logic coalesce into a unified spatial presence.
The careful discernment and application of proportion, geometry, and line allow a designed object to possess a sense of intentional spatial and formal integrity. Such integrity, in my opinion, is one of the most crucial beauties in the design of objects.
At the same time, while the establishment of self-defined systems of proportion, geometry, and line is important, these principles remain open to continuous reflection. Proportion should not function as a constraint that confines creation; rather, it should act as a compass that guides it. The same applies to any sources of inspiration or structural principles within the creative process.
How one engages with the ideas of the past—extracting their essence while discarding their limitations—and ultimately produces work that speaks to a different time is a central question for this practice.