I'm going to begin by reciting a poem. "Oh beloved dentist: Your rubber fingers in my mouth ... your voice so soft and muffled ... Lower the mask, dear dentist, lower the mask."
首先讓我念一首詩給各位: 「喔!我摯愛的牙醫: 我口中 仍有你戴著橡膠手套的手指 你的聲音輕柔而隱約 我親愛的牙醫 卸下你的面罩 卸下你的面罩」
(Laughter)
(笑)
Okay, in this presentation, I'm going to be putting the right side of your brains through a fairly serious workout. You're going to see a lot of imagery, and it's not always connected to what I'm talking about, so I need you to kind of split your brains in half and let the images flow over one side and listen to me on the other. So I am one of those people with a transformative personal story. Six years ago, after 20 years in graphic design and typography, I changed the way I was working and the way most graphic designers work to pursue a more personal approach to my work, with only the humble attempt to simply make a living doing something that I loved. But something weird happened. I became bizarrely popular. My current work seems to resonate with people in a way that has so taken me by surprise that I still frequently wonder what in the hell is going on. And I'm slowly coming to understand that the appeal of what I do may be connected to why I do it.
好的,今天的演講 我會讓各位的右腦 經歷一場嚴苛的考驗 大家會看到很多的影像 通常和我想談的沒什麼太大關係 所以呢請你們把腦袋分成兩半 一半讓影像自在遊走 一半聽我的演講 我是那種有著 變化多端的人生的人 六年前 浸淫於圖像設計與字文設計已20年的我 改變了工作方式 一如大多數的設計師 我希望作品有著更多的個人風格 謙卑的試著 憑自己所愛過生活 但奇怪的事情發生了 我變得莫名其妙地 大受歡迎 我現在的創作 似乎能與人們產生共鳴 到了讓我驚訝的地步 我常想 到底發生了什麼事 漸漸的我發現 我作品中的感染力 跟我做作品的原因可能有關
These days, I call myself a graphic artist. So where my work as a graphic designer was to follow strategy, my work now follows my heart and my interests with the guidance of my ego to create work that is mutually beneficial to myself and a client. Now, this is heresy in the design world. The ego is not supposed to be involved in graphic design. But I find that for myself, without exception, the more I deal with the work as something of my own, as something that is personal, the more successful it is as something that's compelling, interesting and sustaining. So I exist somewhat outside of the mainstream of design thinking. Where others might look at measurable results, I tend to be interested in more ethereal qualities, like "Does it bring joy?" "Is there a sense of wonder?" and "Does it invoke curiosity?"
這些日子以來,我稱我自己為圖像藝術家 身為設計師的我 之前以策略為工作準則 現在的我 以心為工作準則 我的興趣 以自我意識為導師 創作出讓我和客戶都互惠滿意的作品。 這對設計界來說 是異端 自我意識不應該 在設計裡頭出現 但我發現,對我來說 當我越把這些工作 當成我自己的創作 讓它們充滿個人色彩 作品就越成功 也越吸引人、 有趣,且帶著永續的生命力。 沒有一次例外 因此,也許當大多數人只重視結果時 我是 設計思考的非主流派 我對抽象的質感比較有興趣 像是是否能讓人感到愉悅? 能否帶來奇妙的感受? 是否能激起好奇心?
This is a scientific diagram, by the way. I don't have time to explain it, but it has to do with DNA and RNA. So I have a particular imaginative approach to visual work. The things that interest me when I'm working are visual structure, surprise and anything that requires figuring things out. So for this reason, I'm particularly drawn to systems and patterns. I'm going to give you a couple of examples of how my brain works.
對了,這是一個科學相關的圖 我沒時間解釋 它和去氧核糖核酸(DNA)與核糖核酸(RNA)有關 我以特別的想像法則來從事視覺設計 在工作上,讓我感興趣的是 視覺結構、 驚喜、 或任何需要挖掘的事物 因為這個原因,我對 系統與模式感興趣 我給各位幾個例子讓大家看看我怎麼思考的
This is a piece that I did for The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. They have a magazine that they call G2. And this is for their puzzle special in 2007. And puzzling it is. I started by creating a series of tiling units. And these tiling units, I designed specifically so that they would contain parts of letterforms within their shapes so that I could then join those pieces together to create letters and then words within the abstract patterning. But then as well, I was able to just flip them, rotate them and combine them in different ways to create either regular patterns or abstract patterns. So here's the word puzzle again. And here it is with the abstract surrounding. And as you can see, it's extremely difficult to read. But all I have to do is fill certain areas of those letterforms and I can bring those words out of the background pattern. But maybe that's a little too obvious. So then I can add some color in with the background and add a bit more color in with the words themselves, and this way, working with the art director, I'm able to bring it to just the right point that it's puzzling for the audience -- they can figure out that there's something they have to read -- but it's not impossible for them to read.
這是我為英國的衛報 所設計的作品 他們有個叫G2的副刊 這是2007年的 謎題特刊 作品本身就是個謎 我從一系列的區塊單位開始 我刻意讓這些區塊 形狀含有 字型的一部分 這樣我就可以 藉著把這些區塊拼起來 在抽象的圖像中 創作出字母和文字 當然囉,我可以 反轉,旋轉這些區塊 用不同的方式組合它們 來創作出規律 或者抽象的圖型 這是謎題這個字 其周圍由抽象圖像包圍著 如你所見,字非常難以辨別 但只要我 將圖像的某些區域填滿 我就能將這些字眼 從背景中凸顯出來。 或許這有點太明顯了 所以呢,我可以在背景加上一些顏色 然後在圖像上也加上更多顏色 這樣子,和藝術總監合作 我就能將主題呈現到剛剛好 讓觀眾覺得困惑的程度 他們可以看出是有個東西在那 但也不是完全看不出來是甚麼
I'm also interested in working with unusual materials and common materials in unusual ways. So this requires figuring out how to get the most out of something's innate properties and also how to bend it to my will. So ultimately, my goal is to create something unexpected. To this end, I have worked in sugar for Stefan Sagmeister, three-time TED speaker. And this project began essentially on my kitchen table. I've been eating cereal for breakfast all of my life. And for that same amount of time, I've been spilling sugar on the table and just kind of playing with it with my fingers. And eventually I used this technique to create a piece of artwork. And then I used it again to create six pieces for Stefan's book, "Things in My Life I've Learned So Far." And these were created without sketches, just freehand, by putting the sugar down on a white surface and then manipulating it to get the words and designs out of it. Recently, I've also made some rather highbrow baroque borders out of lowbrow pasta. And this is for a chapter that I'm doing in a book, and the chapter is on honor. So it's a little bit unexpected, but, in a way, it refers to the macaroni art that children make for their parents or they make in school and give to their parents, which is in itself a form of honor. This is what you can do with some household tinfoil. Okay, well, it's what I can do with some household tinfoil.
我對於使用奇特的媒材 或是另類使用平凡的素材 也很感興趣 這讓我得好好思考 如何配合我的意願 來呈現這些物質的精髓 最終 我的目標是創造出人意表的作品 至此,我已為三屆的TED講者 施德明設計過 以糖為媒介的創作 這個專案一開始是出現在 我家廚房的餐桌上 我這輩子的早餐 都吃玉米片 不可避免的 我老把糖灑在桌上 就這樣開始用手指玩起這些糖來 後來,我曾用這樣的方式 創作一件作品 然後我用同樣的方式 幫施德明的書《人生所學到的事》 設計了六件作品 創作時我沒打草稿 而是把糖放在白色表面 再用手撥弄 直到文字跟設計 躍然紙上 最近呢,我也用 普通的義大利麵條 做了些高級的巴洛克框 這是我參與的一本書裡其中一章 內容關於榮譽 這有點出人意表 但靈感來自於 小朋友自發 或他們在學校做給父母親的 通心麵條藝術 這也是一種榮耀的表現 你也能用家裡的鋁箔紙自己做 好吧,是我能拿鋁箔紙自己做
(Laughter)
(笑)
I'm very interested in wonder, in design as an impetus to inquiring. To say I wonder is to say I question, I ask. And to experience wonder is to experience awe. So I'm currently working on a book, which plays with both senses of the word, as I explore some of my own ideas and inquiries in a visual display of rather peacock-like grandeur. The world is full of wonder. But the world of graphic design, for the most part, is not. So I'm using my own writings as a kind of testing ground for a book that has an interdependency between word and image as a kind of seductive force. I think that one of the things that religions got right was the use of visual wonder to deliver a message. I think this true marriage of art and information is woefully underused in adult literature, and I'm mystified as to why visual wealth is not more commonly used to enhance intellectual wealth. When we look at works like this, we tend to associate them with children's literature. There's an implication that ornamental graphics detract from the seriousness of the content. But I really hope to have the opportunity to change that perception. This book is taking rather a long time, but I'm nearly done.
我對思考,和以設計為 質疑的動力很感興趣 說「我想......」也就是說 「我質疑」、「我詢問」 思考的過程其實是在經歷「敬畏」 我正在寫一本書 利用文字的兩種不同意義來做設計 這讓我以視覺效果來呈現 我自己的想法 及自我探詢的過程 而非只是如孔雀開屏的大鳴大放 這個世界是充滿著驚奇的 但就設計的世界而言 大部分並非如此 我的寫作,就一本書而言 是一種測試,因為 書裡的文字和影像互為表裡 這讓書得以吸引人 我想許多宗教 說對了一點: 使用影像效果 的確能傳遞訊息 而藝術和訊息的結合 極少運用於成人文學 我對為什麼 視覺的豐富性不能更常被用來 提高知識的豐富性而感到困擾 當我們看著這樣的作品 會認為這跟兒童文學有關 一般認為,裝飾用的圖形 會降低內容的嚴肅性 但我真的希望有機會 能改變這樣的觀念 這本書花了我許多時間 已接近完成
For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to put an intermission in my talk. And this is it -- just to give you and me a moment to catch up.
為了某些原因,我想 先中斷我的演講 會是個好主意 就是這個─給我們一點時間喘口氣
(Laughter)
(笑)
So I do these valentines. I've been sending out valentines on a fairly large scale since 2005. These are my valentines from 2005 and 2006. And I started by doing just a single image like this and sending them out to each person. But in 2007, I got the cockamamie idea to hand-draw each valentine for everyone on my mailing list. I reduced my mailing list to 150 people. And I drew each person their own unique valentine and put their name on it and numbered it and signed it and sent it out. Believe it or not, I devised this as a timesaving method. I was very busy in the beginning of that year, and I didn't know when I was going to find time to design and print a single valentine. And I thought that I could kind of do this piecemeal as I was traveling. It didn't exactly work out that way. There's a longer story to this, but I did get them all done in time, and they were extremely well received. I got an almost 100 percent response rate. (Laughter) And those who didn't respond will never receive anything from me ever again.
我設計了這些情人節圖案 從2005年開始 每年我都會寄許多出去 這是我05到06年的 設計 我從做這樣一個 單一圖形開始 再寄給每個人 但是在2007年 我有個很荒謬的想法: 我要為我通訊錄上的每個人 手繪一個情人節圖案 我將名單縮小到150人 為每一個人 設計一個獨特的圖案 放進他的名字 編號、簽名、再寄出 無論你信不信 我用一種省時的方法設計它 那年剛開年時我非常忙碌 而我不知道我是不是會有時間 設計跟印刷一個情人節圖案 我以為我可以在我旅行時 一次做一點 但是最後不完全是這樣 這故事有點長 我並沒有準時完成它們 但效果相當好 我有將近百分之百的回覆率 (笑) 而那些沒有回復的 再也不會收到我任何禮物
(Laughter)
(笑)
Last year, I took a more conceptual approach to the valentine. I had this idea that I wanted people to receive a kind of mysterious love letter, like a found fragment in their mailbox. I wanted it to be something that was not addressed to them or signed by me, something that caused them to wonder what on Earth this thing was. And I specifically wrote four pages that don't connect. There were four different versions of this. And I wrote them so that they begin in the middle of a sentence, end in the middle of a sentence. And they're on the one hand, universal, so I avoid specific names or places, but on the other hand, they're personal. So I wanted people to really get the sense that they had received something that could have been a love letter to them. And I'm just going to read one of them to you.
去年 我用比較概念藝術的方式來設計 有這個主意是因為 我希望人們像收到 秘密情書一般 又好比在信箱裡找到的碎片 我希望這不是 指名要給他們的 或是由我簽名的作品 而是能讓他們想想 這到底是甚麼 我還特別為此 寫了四頁不互相關的文字 這是其中四個不同的版本 我讓文字從 某句中間開始 在某句中間結束 一方面,這些文字有共通性 我避免寫下名字或地點 但另一方面,這些也是私人文字 我希望人們能夠有 收到專屬於自己的情書的 感覺 讓我讀其中一篇給各位聽:
"You've never really been sure of this, but I can assure you that this quirk you're so self-conscious of is intensely endearing. Just please accept that this piece of you escapes with your smile, and those of us who notice are happy to catch it in passing. Time spent with you is like chasing and catching small birds, but without the scratches and bird shit." (Laughter) "That is to say, your thoughts and words flit and dart, disconcertedly elusive at times, but when caught and examined -- ahh, such a wonder, such a delightful reward. There's no passing time with you, only collecting -- the collecting of moments with the hope for preservation and at the same time release. Impossible? I don't think so. I know this makes you embarrassed. I'm certain I can see you blushing. But I just have to tell you because sometimes I hear your self-doubt, and it's so crushing to think that you may not know how truly wonderful you are, how inspiring and delightful and really, truly the most completely ..."
「你大概從來就不確定這點 但我可以保證 這你相當自覺的怪癖 非常受人喜愛 所以,請接受這一部份的你 隨著微笑跑走時 我們這些注意到的 會非常樂意在它經過時抓住它 和你在一起的時光就像追逐捕捉小鳥一般 但沒有抓痕跟鳥大便。」 (笑) 「這就是說 你的思緒奔放亂竄 隨時都令人疑惑無法定義 但若是捕捉一縷下來細細研究: 喔,多有趣 多令人愉快的回饋啊 跟你在一起,從來沒有失落的時光 只有收藏 跟希冀保存同時存在的珍藏時光 同時也是釋懷 不可能?我不這麼覺得 我知道這讓你感到害羞 我確定我看到你臉紅的模樣 但我還是得告訴你,因為 有時我聽見你懷疑自己 光是想到,你不知道 你其實是個很讚 激勵士氣、喜樂充滿...的人 就讓我崩潰。」
(Laughter)
(笑)
(Applause)
(掌聲)
So Valentine's Day is coming up in a couple of days, and these are currently arriving in mailboxes all around the world. This year, I got, what I really have to say is a rather brilliant idea, to laser cut my valentines out of used Christmas cards. So I solicited friends to send me their used Christmas cards, and I made 500 of these. Each one of them is completely different. I'm just really, really thrilled with them. I don't have that much else to say, but they turned out really well.
再過幾天 就是情人節 這些圖案將寄達 散布全世界的許多信箱 今年,我有個, 我得說是相當精采的主意: 我用雷射 用雷射切割聖誕卡片 來做我的情人節圖案 所以我向朋友 募集他們的二手聖誕卡 做了500個圖案 每一個都完全不同 這些圖案讓我心情激動地顫抖 無法多說甚麼 但真的是相當棒的作品
I do spend a lot of time on my work. And one of the things that I've been thinking about recently is what is worth while. What is it that's worth spending my time on and my life on in this way? Working in the commercial world, this is something that I do have to struggle with at times. And yes, sometimes I'm swayed by money. But ultimately, I don't consider that a worthy goal. What makes something worthwhile for me is the people I work for or with, the conditions I work under and the audience that I'm able to reach. So I might ask: "Who is it for?" "What does it say?" and "What does it do?"
我花很多時間在我的工作上 最近我一直在想 什麼是有價值的 是甚麼值得讓我花時間 跟一輩子這樣生活下去? 在廣告界工作 我常會因為一些事感到掙扎 是的,有時我受控於金錢 到頭來,我不認為那有甚麼了不起 對我來說真正有價值的是 這些和我一起工作的朋友 工作當下的狀態 和我能夠產生共鳴的觀眾 我會問:這是給誰看的? 要傳達的是什麼? 它能夠做什麼?
You know, I have to tell you, it's really difficult for someone like me to come up on stage at this conference with these unbelievably brilliant minds, who are thinking these really big-picture, world-changing, life-changing ideas and technologies. And it's very, very common for designers and people in the visual arts to feel that we're not contributing enough, or worse, that all we're doing is contributing to landfill. Here I am; I'm showing you some pretty visuals and talking about aesthetics. But I've come to believe that truly imaginative visual work is extremely important in society.
老實說,對如我這樣的人來說 跟這些老在思考願景 改變世界、改變生活 新點子新技術 不可思議的聰明人 一起站在這個舞台上 參加這個會議 是非常困難的事 對設計師與 視覺藝術領域的人而言 我們常常覺得自己 貢獻得不夠多 更糟的是,我們的作品 都會進了垃設掩埋場 我在這裡,展現給各位 一些好看的視覺設計 談談美學 但我領悟到 真正富有想像力的視覺作品 對社會很重要的
Just in the way that I'm inspired by books and magazines of all kinds, conversations I have, movies, so I also think, when I put visual work out there into the mass media, work that is interesting, unusual, intriguing, work that maybe opens up that sense of inquiry in the mind, that I'm seeding the imagination of the populace. And you just never know who is going to take something from that and turn it into something else, because inspiration is cross-pollinating. So a piece of mine may inspire a playwright or a novelist or a scientist, and that in turn may be the seed that inspires a doctor or a philanthropist or a babysitter. And this isn't something that you can quantify or track or measure, and we tend to undervalue things in society that we can't measure.
就像我從各式各樣的書籍、 雜誌、 對話、電影等 媒介得到靈感 我也認為 當我的作品出現在大眾傳播媒體 這些有趣、罕見 奇妙的作品 或許會打開我們心中 渴求探索的能力 那麼我正播下讓大眾盡情想像的創意種子。 你永遠不知道 誰會吸收這些訊息 將之轉變為別的創作 因為靈感 是會交互傳播的 我的一個作品 可能是一個編劇 或者小說家,或是科學家的靈感來源 而他們的作品,可能會是 一個醫生 慈善家 或保母的靈感種子 而這些都不是你所能 量化、追蹤和測量 我們常會低估社會上許多 我們無法測量的事
But I really believe that a fully operating, rich society needs these seeds coming from all directions and all disciplines in order to keep the gears of inspiration and imagination flowing and cycling and growing. So that's why I do what I do, and why I spend so much time and effort on it, and why I work in the commercial, public sphere, as opposed to the isolated, private sphere of fine art: because I want as many people as possible to see my work, notice it, be drawn into it, and be able to take something from it. And I actually really feel that it's worthwhile to spend my valuable and limited time on this Earth in this way. And I thank you for allowing me to show it to you.
但我真的相信 一個全力運作的富裕社會 需要從各個面向 各種規律的種子 來維持靈感和 想像力齒輪的 移動、運轉和成長 這是為什麼我得從事這樣的工作 為什麼我得花這麼多時間跟心血創作 為什麼我在商業且大眾化的設計圈 而非獨立且私人的精緻藝術圈 工作 因為我要盡可能讓更多的人 看見我的創作,被我的作品吸引 從中吸取一些東西 我真的覺得這樣子利用 我的價值 和我這輩子在地球上有限的時間 非常值得 謝謝各位允許我將心得分享給大家
(Applause)
(掌聲)