Above is designer Virgil Abloh’s design language from his October 26th, 2017 Harvard Lecture.
1. Readymade – think DuChamp putting the urinal (fountain) in the art museum, elevating what has been looked over into art.
2. “Figures of Speech” or the “Quotes” – Inject humor and emotion. Play off the ironic nature that defines this generation. This adds to #2 by questioning an object’s seriousness.
3. 3% Approach – only modifies an object by 3%. He jokes that he does this because he is getting tired, but he believes the interestingness lies in slightly modifying something, not completely throwing out the old for the new.
4. A Compromise Between 2 Distinct Similar or Dissimilar Notions – streetwear as luxury.
5. Signs of “Work in process” – bring a certain rawness to what you are designing and then post rationalize why it is the way it is. If you are aiming for perfect, you are just trying to design something you’ve already seen.
6. A societal commentary – has a reason to exist now – we have enough of everything, what intentionality are you bringing for your work to exist now?
7. Speaking to the tourist and purist simultaneously – intersect between depth and general applicability simultaneously. Think Neil deGrasse Tyson who can teach astrophysics to the layperson while retaining the science to wow the professional astrophysicist.