Restraint

Japanese calligrapher painting enso

Thanks to the image search I have found out a lot of other people have totally different ideas when you search for 'restraint'. The first think that comes to mind when I hear restraint is being able to know when enough is enough or being able to self-edit. I think for a society, that hasn't been ruined by a design guidelines, restraint is a foreign term. We are constantly bombarded with more of everything. I won't get into the whole "less is more/less is a bore" conversation, but we see a hell of a lot more excess than what is needed in everyday life.

Is restraint minimal?
Short answer: Yes, I think so. You can make a much bolder impression with a single gesture than with a bunch of supporting fluff. Throughout my education I have noticed it takes a lot for a designer to know when they're pushing too hard and to ease off. There is a certain level of maturity, awareness and a bit of sophistication when a designer can take a step back from his/her work and begin to remove the not needed. Huh? Example please! Everyone may not design, but everyone cooks, right? At some point in your life you've probably made eggs. Okay, there comes a certain point when you're cooking your egg that you think to yourself, "I should probably take the egg off the heat. Otherwise, the eggs are going to smell like a wet dog when they overcook!" I think that is the most basic and straightforward example I could give. You know the eggs will overcook when you leave them on the heat longer so you take the eggs off the heat. Now comes another issue: what do you put on the eggs? Seasoning the eggs is another opportunity for restraint. You could season the eggs with twenty-plus different flavors, but a simple salt and pepper would suffice. But how much salt and pepper? You see how something simple can just have layers of complexity?

Recording artist Salt-n-Peppa. *Do not put Salt-n-Peppa on your eggs unless you want to push it*

When it comes to restraint in design, I think Japan in King. I'm not talking about the newer stuff and Hello Kitty. I'm talking about the architecture, the tea ceremony, the ikebana, the calligraphy, the food (my god, the food!). All of these topics have few bold gestures and can celebrate the voids between the elements. Meaning: what is not there is just as important as what is there. Take a birds nest. There are two elements to a birds nest. There is a the structure that makes a bowl shape and there is the void space where the eggs will lay. Both elements are pretty important, right? If there is no structure, there is no nest. If there is no void, there is no safe area for the eggs. You don't need more stuff to fill the voids. You don't want to labeled as a 'void-filler'! 

I guess what it all boils down to is quality over quantity. I suppose during this transition between holidays is a great time to reflect on the past year and what you would like to be more self-aware during the coming new year.