Yes, that is a sonic screwdriver on top of my box of white Legos.

Do you remember when design was fun? When the thought of resolving the intricate puzzle of a building was exhilarating?

Me either.

But, I need to find that place again. That place where I stand with the wide-eyed wonder of a child before the possibilities, instead of slouching into the office with the weight of someone else’s world on my shoulders.

I need to find the joy in this again. I need to remember the simple pleasure of discovery.

Basically, I need to remember how to design like I’m nine-years old.

I watched Liam puts Legos together today. He bought me the new architecture studio Lego set for my birthday, mainly because he is awesome, and partly because I might have asked for it, regardless…

Today, he put the Legos together with a look of pure joy in his eyes. He was enjoying the process. He was ecstatic, thinking about the possibilities.

I was jealous.

Do you remember that feeling?

It’s been a while, but, somewhere under all this angst and disappointment and misinterpretation and compromise… somewhere…,deep under there is a nine-year-old thinking about the endless possibilities and imagining what would happen if I just tried this,

one,

simple,

impossible,

irrational,

improbable,

piece in just this one perfect place.

Until I look at it and realize that it would be even better if that piece wasn’t there, and no. It would be much better if that piece was a giant, or a mouse, or a giant mouse, or a giant robotic, cartoon mouse.

With a chainsaw.

And my eyes would get wide as I imagine the tightrope that I could walk over, not at all carefully, over this pit of fire, and monster trucks, and cupcakes, to get to the other side where the answers are, or where they aren’t, or where they never really were anyway, or whatever. But, I assume there will be cookies and greatness.

Do you remember how awesome that feeling was?

I should find that again.

Who’s with me?

J

True design