I’m sitting at a Starbucks in L.A. right now, thinking: “this really is the most diverse place in the world.”

Everyone who comes through the door tells an entire life story in the way they hold themselves; the way they walk; the way they order their coffee.  Everyone has a past, a future, and most importantly - a present.  I try to make eye-contact with every single person. Some look me straight in the eye and smile; others keep their eyes to the distance and floor trying to hide in the crowd.  Still others busy themselves with their phones; laptops; newspapers - ignoring the world around them and trying to feel more important than everyone else.

Everyone has a different story.  Every life expresses something different.

A couple of posts ago, I made the claim that real design is about expressing something from your life.  For the design to be captivating, it has to be something that lives and breathes in only the ways that a passionate expression from deep within the soul can live and breath.  The comments were flooded (at least by T.I.D. standards) with amazing responses of what people express with their art and design.   At the same time, I’ve been talking to a lot of people I come in contact with - artists, designers, coffee drinkers, human beings - about what they express in their most inspired and creative moments.

Through all the responses I’ve gotten, one thing has been unavoidably consistent: The expressions are about a lot more than just conveying an idea — they are about living an idea, and conveying a lifestyle.

Does that make sense?  The expression that has to be part of a design to make it effective and engrossing also has to be something the designer believes in strongly.  It has to be something they don’t just decide to express, but live in constant expression of.  It has to be something that captures them; that they cannot separate themselves from and have to express if they are being true to themselves.

In the comments, Taylor put it like this: “Its a way for me to vent my feelings that I can’t express in words. Its kind of like letting my alter ego out.”

Sarah said this: “…at times we are just the vehicle or an avenue of expression. as a result i cannot always read my life into my art, but let the lives of others, or the message of the art be expressed through me.”

In person, Dan (who you’ll see a video of shortly), told me (paraphrased) that his art, making wine, was about an obsessive quest he lives for the perfect drink.

In a way, this is possibly also the best “indie living” tip that could be given: Don’t express things you don’t believe in; live in; feel passionate about.  Express YOU — not someone or something else.  That’s what “being real” is all about.  It’s also what being “indie” is about: expressing YOUR self, not just the latest trends for “staying hip and in” sake.

So, of course, the question has been begged:

What does YOUR life express?  Or maybe what expression are you living in?

Tags: be real, design, expression, indie

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 29th, 2008 at 7:07 pm and is filed under Indie Life, design, favorites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.