Tributes

If you haven't been kind...

Start again.

Kind advice.

Kind Greetings Exhibition.

Here are just a couple of photos taken from my community exhibition: 'Kind Greetings' where I collected and curated peoples most precious greetings cards.

Kindness is a personal experience that differs from person to person, we all have our own stories of kindness and ways of showing it. However, greetings cards are a recognizable form of kindness that can be customized and personalized.

The custom of sending greeting cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged
messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. Now part of the massive gifting industry, millions of pounds are spent on sending cards and there are now alternative cards for any conceivable occasion.

I am particularly interested in the card as a treasured item whether this be due to the sender, sentiment or message. By displaying a collection of peoples most precious and personal cards we can all share in the kindness and not let it go unnoticed.

It also gave the greetings card a place in a gallery space, one which design snobbery might not usually allow. No matter how garish the card it was included as its aesthetic was overpowered by its meaning. I had to be sensitive when designing the space so that the variety of cards could be accommodated and not look visually jarring.

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Empathy is an important part of kindness and recognising the need for a smile, a tissue and a kind word is simple but powerful.
There is some wonderful design that can uplift us when we most need it.

Take time to listen.

During my latest project I have enjoyed taking the time out to listen to other people. No matter how busy my schedule I endeavored to give priority to people. When talking about my project I found it very interesting to listen to others to get their perspective. Kindness is something that can be described from my perspective alone but I have found through listening that it means different things to different people and I have learnt a lot.

Giving Time.

I am not sure where I found these beautiful photographs but the subject of them reminded me of the importance of time. The giving of time is a very special gift. Someone may take time to listen to you or help you and they may even sacrifice time that is important to them.
I am currently putting together a community exhibition and lots of lovely people are taking the time to contribute to the project, I would like to say thank you to them and who ever else has taken time out to help me over the years.
I enjoy design that allows a little bit of space and time to think, instead of shouting information at you. I feel these softly lit photos do just this.

Support

Sometimes we all need support whether this is for structural or emotional reasons. Above are examples of art and design using support as a pragmatic solution or to show a human gesture. However in all of these examples there is a relationship suggested by the language between the people or objects.

Love is a good reason for kindness.

Kind Notes.

For my Grandma a very kind lady.

This is a beautiful watercolour painting by my Mum to go on my Grandma's order of service.
To be accompanied by a little poem that my Grandad remembers from infant school:

The little sweeps of fairy land
sweep all their chimneys well
but where they get their brushes from
you'd find it hard to tell.
But I can tell you if you like
because I saw today
A little brownie running by to put his brush away.
He went to where the poppies grew
and back the petals shook
and then he put his brush inside
you'll find it if you look.

Kind to animals.

Kindness is not exclusive to humans we can experience what we consider to be kindness from animals and we offer what they might think to be kindness to them. (i.e a patt on the head.) Design has benefited the care of animals with awareness, identities and promotion for charitable organisations and with signage such as the one shown above.
Design has used the image of kind animals in other ways, such as the toilet roll advert above.

Would you kindly show me the way?

One friendly favour we don't mind asking of a stranger is for directions. Signage can help us in the same way, allowing us to navigate gallery spaces, cities and whole countries if well designed. Jock Kinneir and Margret Calvert re-designed the British road and motorway signage in the 60's and their designs have become a role model for signage world wide. As well as being pragmatic in it's design: with a softer and curvier typeface 'Calvert felt that these qualities would make it seem friendlier and more appealing to British drivers.' (http://designmuseum.org/design/jock-kinneir-margaret-calvert)