in facilitation and gathering, there are strategies, techniques, sure. particular kinds of questions. workshops, exercises, methods of speech, practices.

but these days I think:

most of the work is energetic. it is about the nervous system, about the body, whether conscious or not, about co-resonating with a sense of presentness. I believe that this cannot be given, taught, structured, but perhaps is sometimes shareable if someone is listening, the same way that a harp can share its vibrancy with an attuned ear.

questions for the self, so one might share, or listen:

am I rested, have I eaten, drank water?
am I feeling grounded and resourced in this space?
am I grounded, regulated, feeling the center of my self in my body?
(no, but really, am I?)

what intentions do I have for this gathering?
do I know whatever hopes and expectations I might have been holding on to, despite myself, and if so, am I witnessing them them, fully?
(do I understand myself enough to understand why I might be holding the expectations I do, or at least, understand that I don't understand myself enough?)
am I simply holding an intention gently in the center of my palm, unattached to an image of a desired outcome?
am I open to the unknown and unexpected, letting myself move into the uncertainty of whatever may happen?
am I content to be with me, despite however others might exist and move, simply allowing and inviting possibilities?

no, but really;
no, but really, seriously, am I?

isn't this gathering going to go the way it goes?
won't that be a fascinating lesson, in of itself?

shall we see what happens?

dt
01/10/2023

Being a good designer—being a good visual designer — requires intentionality.

That means that you’re thinking through these questions and answering them as you’re making design decisions, not only when someone asks you the question after the fact.

The next thing to work on as you answer these questions with intentionality is to ensure that intentionality is based on solid design principles and research and attention to detail, and yes, sometimes things like style and preference.

You observe design in the world and form opinions on what’s good and what’s not good. You solidify your opinions on foundational design principles.

You look at established design systems like material design and Human Interface Guidelines.

You practice.

You browse websites and apps and Dribbble for excellent design work, and you don’t copy them, but you ask yourself why is this working? You search for answers.

The space in which we live, which draws us out of ourselves, in which the erosion of our lives, our time and our history occurs, the space that claws and gnaws at us, is also, in itself, a heterogeneous space.

In other words, we do not live in a kind of void, inside of which we could place individuals and things. We do not live inside a void that could be colored with diverse shades of light, we live inside a set of relations that delineates sites which are irreducible to one another and absolutely not superimposable on one another.