The very first time I remember being inspired by color, pattern, and graphic design was when I met Esprit.
I remember the early-mid 80s color palettes like it was yesterday – watermelon + lemon, turquoise + purple, red + orange. I remember wearing bold striped button down shirts and sweatshirts brandishing the Esprit logo. I remember the advertising layouts in Seventeen Magazine and the bright, colorful catalogs.
Yesterday was a crap day inside my brain. Today I am remedying that a few ways. First, I’m deleting tons of things in my digital and physical life – emails, to-dos, ideas, digital clutter, books I won’t read again, stuff I don’t use, baggage I’ve been carrying. I’ve felt constricted and blocked by these items and their energy, as well as the heavy thoughts that accompany some of them.
The other thing that I’m doing is getting back to my original art and design roots. For me that means revisiting my 1980s teenage bedroom – in my brain, at least. So much of what was in there influences the artwork I create today. I had a huge beach photography wall mural. My bedroom window faced a swimming pool. My walls were plastered with Esprit catalogs. I installed a weird “art installation” on my ceiling consisting of aluminum cans and shopping bags. I listened to Xanadu and Grease on repeat in my two teenage sanctuaries – we moved the summer before I started 11th grade…don’t even get me started on that.
So today I return to this place. The geometric patterns. The bright palettes. And the bold black and white designs too.
Today I start ditching all of the notes and stuff and deadweight that has been cluttering my brain, my computer, my art space, and my home.
Back to basics. Back to the beginning. A fresh start. A clean slate.
Thanks for the help getting there, Sight Unseen and Esprit.
P.S. If you want to know what you can buy me for my birthday, there’s always this rare book – Esprit: The Comprehensive Design Principle. It’s only $10,000.00! WTF?
Images via Sight Unseen
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