the evolution of my aesthetics
from South Indian agrarian to Indo-Oregonian suburbanism to California Bohemian to Steve Jobs sensibilities.
in my newsletter on Scandinavian minimalism versus Indian maximalism I softly explore how it feels to be immersed in oppositional aesthetics back-to-back. Copenhagen felt like a luxury city estranged from its blood relation Milan, who sparkles with designer stores and Ferraris, and entwined with its soulmate, Japan. for me Copenhagen, with its romance with craft and fractal grandeur, was a cool wintery breeze.
I was reminded of Copenhagen today while reading about Jony Ive moving into my neighborhood. every designer knows, whether you work in hardware or software, what Ive accomplished at Apple was a dream. but each designer, just like an artist, is not on a linear path towards the same goal. after all we are craftsmen, and the ultimate goal for us is to mature our practice into an artform where we are able to express and impress upon the viewer (or user) complex emotion.
wayfinding through nonlinear journeys is not for the faint of heart, but I also believe we don’t have much choice in the matter. this path finds us. as we listen to our intuition we find ourselves wandering further away from the humdrum of regular routines or corporate ladders, and are instead looking at the stars on a dark night, charting our ship through unknowable space. Jony Ive found his unique way and it made me think about mine.
South Indian agrarian
I am the daughter of two Indian immigrants who were born in farm homes. our family in India farms rice, betel nut, areca nut, coconuts, and other fresh, tropical produce. the values and aesthetics of agrarian Indian life are imbued in my family on both sides. we work ourselves to the bone and the minimal physical comfort we allow is an afternoon, post-lunch nap. we build and cultivate large families, rise and sleep early, and live simply. our material wants are slim, we bathe often twice a day and cook all our meals at home. we love to be in nature but never at the risk of missing a hot meal or the critical routine of bathing. this has been my family’s way of life for generations, and so I grew up in Oregon, a farm-town in its own right, in a bare bones home, devoid of certain modern values such as privacy, luxury, self-care, or sensuality.
Indo-Oregonian suburbanism
as our life in Oregon progressed we naturally incorporated aspects of Oregonian suburbanism into our household. we shopped in bulk at Costco, drove a 4-wheel drive to Mt. Hood on the weekends, and celebrated Christmas with one small gift for each person. my attire on the weekends, often at the request of my parents, was still either a salvaar-kameez or lehenga blouse but gradually I adopted blue jeans, flannel shirts, and rainboots. our snack pantry never bursted with snacks and our laundry never smelled like Tide but always a blend of spices and roasted mustard seeds. as people from the Western Ghats, we took very easily to Oregon’s mountain culture, but as chaste Hindu Brahmins we never succumbed to the weed-smoking or beer-drinking elements of it — we were inventing, in real time, what it was to be a South Indian from the suburbs of Oregon.
California Bohemian
while at Stanford I swapped my rainboots for barefeet, my training bra for none, and, as a lifelong Hindu vegetarian, was embraced by a vegetarian co-op on campus. my fondness for the outdoors and the arts, coupled with my heightened empathy and sense of fairness, attracted me towards the alternative crowd. it was hard to define exactly who I was as I was separated from the only people who I could truly relate to (i.e. my parents and my sister), but I enjoyed the aesthetics of the Californian Bohemian; the anti-establishment, frugal, and artistic culture that can be found at Berkeley and Stanford.
it is no coincidence that today I live on Telegraph Hill, the very hill about which San Francisco writer Bret Harte wrote, "Bohemia has never been located geographically, but any clear day when the sun is going down, if you mount Telegraph Hill, you shall see its pleasant valleys and cloud-capped hills glittering in the West ...".
Steve Jobs sensibilities
much like a creative I admire from afar my own unfolding has been one of rhythmic change — each chapter beating to the curiosity of my heart. currently, as a Silicon Valley software designer, I am drawn towards the pinnacle of design in the tech world — Apple and Steve Jobs. minimalism is not my forté or my cultural background, but I am convinced of its elegance and friendliness. this is just the beginning as I have only recently left Wikipedia (and its legacy design system) and am seeking a role where I can design modern interfaces and user experiences.
Apple’s aesthetics, while reflective of Scandinavian minimalism, lack the coziness and softness that I found in Copenhagen. Copenhagen, while wonderful in every way, was missing the earthy, highly-saturated richness of South India. and South India is reborn into the moden era when detached from the rigid caste context of India and placed into the new context of a tolerant and pluralistic Oregon.
I am intrigued by what it would mean for me to weave all these elements into a new design philosophy that can sing soulfulness and heart into the technology coming out of Silicon Valley.