Description:

As designers, we often find ourselves on the quest for perfection. We search for the ultimate idea or try to create work that is logical and orderly, structured and sensible. Yet very few aspects of our human lives, or our surrounding environment, are ruled by such ideals. The natural world does not exude order — it is wild and chaotic. But while it is often said that nature is not perfect, very few would argue that it is not ideal. Why don’t we idolise the irregular when nature is just that? Perhaps all it comes down to is perspective.

‘Irregular’ is an conceptual investigation and formal exploration into our emotional response to the imperfect structure of our surroundings. As designers, we are predisposed to search for the edges of objects, drawing invisible lines and grid systems as a method to make sense of our world. Taking inspiration from both the natural and built environments of Tāmaki Makaurau, the publication intentionally manipulates our habitual understanding of our environment to challenge our perspectives and generate feelings of uneasiness. It asks the question: what emotions are evoked by the irregularities of our environment? Can the viewer's perception be altered to provoke new and unfamiliar feelings?

The publications uses photography to capture subtle characteristics of form found in the manmade and natural environment of Tāmaki Makaurau. Photographs were carefully manipulated into geometric patterns, which aim to highlight the natural or unnatural systems in the forms of our surroundings. Some of the patterns are extracted and enlarged to showcase strong yet simple geometrics and highlight their commonality in our world — if we look hard enough to see them.

With a light, irreverent tone, ‘Irregular’ is not intended to answer the question of whether our perspective of our environment impacts how we feel and behave. Instead, the project aims to invoke a response from – and challenge the perspective of – fellow perfectionists.