![]() “Their (Japanese) conceptualization relegates elaborate ornamentation and vivid color usage to the bottom of the taste levels…excess requires no real thought or creativity. In Wabi-Sabi Style (Gibbs Smith Publishers), authors James and Sandra Crowley comment on the Japanese deep appreciation of beauty in this sense: Concerning visual communication and graphic design, shibumi represents elegant simplicity and articulate brevity, an understated elegance. Shibumi is a principle that can be applied to many aspects of life. ![]() Kawana, commenting on the design of traditional Japanese gardens, says, “The designer must adhere to the concept of miegakure since Japanese believe that in expressing the whole, the interest of the viewer is lost.” Shibumi (Elegance) The suggestive mode of expression is a key Zen aesthetic. ![]() Complication and elaboration are easy…and common. Graphic designers show restraint by including only what is necessary to communicate the particular message for the particular audience. The best musicians, for example, know never to overplay but instead to be forever mindful of the other musicians and find their own space within the music and the moment they are sharing. The aesthetic concept of naturalness or shizen “prohibits the use of elaborate designs and over refinement,” according to Dr. Koichi Kawana, “Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means.” When you examine your visuals, then, can you say that you are getting the maximum impact with a minimum of graphic elements, for example? Take a moment to consider the slides that you have used in the past-did they embody the spirit of kanso? Shizen (Naturalness) In the kanso concept, beauty and visual elegance are achieved by elimination and omission. Kanso (Simplicity)Ī key tenet of the Zen aesthetic is kanso or simplicity. Still, we can look to some of the concepts in the Zen aesthetic to help us improve our own visuals with an eye toward simplicity. Zen itself is not concerned with judging this design to be good or that design to be bad. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, 3rd Edition
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