Stretching as a Necessary Design and Human Practice
Design Manifesto by Carolina Melo
The more we are willing to stretch the less likely we are to break:
Less likely to break ourselves, less likely to break others, and less likely to break our surroundings. How do we move forward as thinkers, as designers, and most importantly as human beings? By stretching.
This, however, is much easier said than done. Stretching hurts and can be uncomfortable. It requires practice, discipline, and perseverance. Stretching commands self-espionage and demands both long-term and large-scale participation. To better understand this, three main questions need to be answered. What is stretching? How does one conduct self-espionage? And what does large-scale participation in stretching look like? Let’s begin with the first one.
The dictionary defines stretching as “to draw out or extend (oneself, a body, limbs, wings, etc.) to the full length or extent (often followed by out).”
I propose a new definition of stretching as it pertains to design and personal growth. This definition is comprised of a few different components. And while they vary in depth and significance, each one is unique and crucial in its own way to the configuration of this re-definition. I define stretching as:
1. Refusing to stay still in motion, time, and mentality
Why motion, time, and mentality?
Motion has a simple explanation. Physical movement is the fastest and healthiest way to pump blood and oxygen through our brain and body and to maintain our structural integrity. By staying physically still for prolonged amounts of time, we are literally accelerating the decline of our physical and mental health. If we wish to make lasting and positive impacts on the world around us, we need our physical machinery (our body), and by extension, our mental condition, to be in optimal shape to last us as long as possible.
Time is a significant identifier of how societal perception has been shaped throughout history. Each time-period has emphasized its own values, standards, and ideals. But although many of these past principles have become quite archaic and obsolete in the 21st century, they are still held on to by an overwhelming group. By choosing to remain still in time, we are choosing to ignore the constantly changing reality around us. We are refusing to evolve.
Mentality, just like design, needs to be open to modification and can only successfully evolve through continuous new iterations of itself. An example of mentality stillness can come in the form of complacency or denial, and it can be detrimental in the long-term:
“Those in passive denial continued life as they had been living it, unconvinced that a compelling justification existed for broad changes in industry and infrastructure.” (Oreskes & Conway, 14)
“…the queer ways in which a people resist innovations, even of vital interest.” (Bush, 12)
2. Refusing to stay confined within our personal comfort zones
This means not shying away from being uncomfortable, “positively” uncomfortable that is. But how can someone be uncomfortable in a positive way? Positive discomfort is a crucial element to the stretching practice, and it refers to the feeling of discomfort produced by stretching outside what is comfortable to us.
This could manifest in something as simple as having to use a tool one is not familiar with or engaging in an activity that one is not accustomed to.
For instance, let’s say I am an expert working with tool A and have never used tool B. Since I am sufficiently trained in tool A there doesn’t seem to be a need for me to devote any attention or time to tool B. Additionally, I do not feel comfortable enough with tool B, so why bother going through seemingly unnecessary discomfort? But if comfortability is put aside for a moment I might find that taking the time to learn how to use tool B will open up an entirely new world for me that I was previously unaware of, despite the process being time-consuming and most likely difficult.
Another more complex example might be finding ourselves in a situation where our own views and values are challenged. It is easy to instantly take a defensive stance long before having fully listened to the opposing side. We as a species are extremely territorial and protective of the standards and rules our mind has created for itself. This is not in any way to say that we should not stand up for our own beliefs. But rather, it is to say that sometimes surprising and even constructive things can come out of silencing that knee-jerk defensive instinct, just long enough to sincerely listen to a perspective that is different from our own. This can be exceptionally difficult when we live our entire lives from literally one point of view, where what we objectively experience is enhanced and often morphed by our own subjective beliefs and biases:
“…the observer is not separate from the world she or he observes but rather creates the phenomenal domains within which she or he acts; and that the world is created…” (Escobar, 111)
This is further complicated by the mind-boggling technological advancements that have taken place in the last few decades:
“Computational power has enabled us to think and visualize things that are ungraspable by our senses or by our quotidian experience. We live on more timescales than we can grasp.” (Morton, 3)
The refusal to stay complacent within our own comfort zones is a constructive way to challenge ourselves and to trigger personal growth. This I believe to be truly important if we are to think differently and innovatively as designers and creators when approaching issues that are inevitably much larger and more complex than our own subjective realities.
The Why and How
Now that we have covered what this re-defining of “stretching” looks like, we must now understand the why and how of it. How do we stretch? Here is where self-espionage comes in. Expanding who we are necessitates us to be devoted spies of ourselves. As an example, when working on a project that we wish to build upon, we must know the measurements and dimensions of the project as it exists before making any additions or adjustments. In the same way, we must also know our own dimensions as we exist in our present form before being able to expand into our stretched forms. These dimensions can only be gauged if we become committed full-time observers of our own authentic behaviors, thoughts, and patterns. And this authenticity can only be observed if we manage to catch ourselves in our most natural states, thus the use of “spying”. Only through this self-observational “research” can we begin to understand the space around us that has the potential to be occupied by a better us.
After thorough evaluation, we may move on to the next step, which is actually implementing the changes we deem necessary: Self Iteration. A deeper understanding and awareness of who we are and how we function can lead to a more conscious comprehension of the space we inhabit, the interactions we engage in, and the world that surrounds us. Ideally, this can further develop a sense of responsibility not just towards ourselves, but also towards our fellow humans and the world we live in.
Stretching through self-espionage has the potential to become a grounding and self-accountability method for the greater good.
Lastly, for this endeavor to be truly impactful, stretching needs to be an exercise that is practiced consistently (hopefully daily) by all designers, artists, creators, and thinkers. This is long-term and large-scale stretching.
“…taking responsibility for the social relations of science and technology means… embracing the skillful task of reconstructing the boundaries of daily life, in partial connection with others, in communication with all of our parts. ” (Haraway, 316)
It is easy to get caught up in the head-spinning pace of our time, where information is superfluous, practicality is a perceived necessity, and time is never enough. Unsurprisingly, soft-skills are far down on the list of priorities in this hectic environment. But if a little more emphasis were placed on these human skills to become an important part of the design practice, just like developing critical-thinking or problem-solving skills, we would all be much closer to creating more compassionate and truly impactful design. Were the stretching practice to be institutionalized as necessary training, we could potentially lead the world by example.
I strongly believe that if we cannot design and re-design ourselves successfully, we will not be successful in re-structuring design for this century.
Reference:
Bush, V. (2018, March 13). As We May Think. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/
Oreskes, N., & Conway, E. M. (2014). The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View From the Future. New York: Columbia University Press.
Escobar, A. (2018). Designs For The Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. Durham; London: Duke University Press.
Morton, T. What Is Dark Ecology? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.changingweathers.net/en/episodes/48/what-is-dark-ecology
Haraway, D. J. (2009). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century.
