The Wabi-sabi Experience
I’ve been reading a lot about wabi-sabi lately, and in it I have found a window into the art of experience design. Wabi-sabi is described as “the artistic mouthpiece of the Zen movement.” It is a conceptual worldview and aesthetic ideal. Just as experience design seeks to address human needs in their diversity, frailty, and flaws, wabi-sabi acknowledges the impermanence and imperfection of the natural world as an aesthetic ideal. It transmits feelings of transience and flux. In contrast to the Greek ideals of perfect order and harmony which permeate our Western culture, wabi-sabi embodies simplicity and asymmetry. It provides “space for the mental collaboration of the audience.”
This space, combined with the transitory nature of wabi-sabi, resonates with the idea of adaptive interfaces that change along with the user and her environment. The wabi-sabi approach seeks to minimize the ego and any personal branding, focusing rather on drawing out the natural qualities of the piece. So it is with great experience design, where the user is pleasantly immersed in an action and free to discard any conscious thoughts of the interface. Just as wabi-sabi style tea cups encourage a more intimate communion with the experience of drinking the tea, the user of a well designed experience should be liberated from the mechanisms of interaction.
The form of wabi-sabi expression is drawn from the “properties of the material used and the function it provides,” and this holds equally true for creating usable design. The more I learn about wabi-sabi, the more I feel it is another excellent directional filter for experience design. What do you think?
Sources:
Juniper, Andrew. Wabi Sabi:The Japanese Art of Impermanence.
Koren, Leonard. Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers.
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Tags: design, interaction, UX, wabi-sabi
Wabi-sabi experience « Run, Motherfucker, run Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:17 pm[...] eu adicionei ele no TWISTER e ele postou uma parada nova hj no blog da Zeus. O link é esse: http://www.zeusjones.com/blog/2009/the-wabi-sabi-experience/ ‘ Eu li umas três vezes e ainda não entendi muito bem. Ele fala sobre uma parada chamada [...]
Tom Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:03 pmWow, that's deep. I have always felt that good UX design was user centric but this would imply that it is also content centric. Which makes a ton of sense. If the content is what user is looking for than the two should get a long just fine.
This also reminds me of the eastern philosophy of cultivation of the rustic and imperfect. This may have some analogy with the testing/development process. Rather than getting everything exactly perfect, which is impossible anyway, get close and get it out there. You can always evolve it over time, just like nature does.
Or maybe I am over thinking things now. Either way, interesting perspective. Thanks.
Jason Sack Says:
July 1st, 2009 at 8:21 pmHey Tom, I love that testing/dev process analogy, hadn't thought of that. It definitely echoes the test/learn/refine process. That underscores one of the most significant issues that still plagues our industry; thinking about the results of our craft as evolving and adapting is a sea change from the traditional process. The long, difficult labor leading up to a climactic “birth” of a service/site/product just doesn't allow for the continued application of insights and creativity. Also why I favor an agile approach. Thanks for the comments.
niko Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:08 pmgreat post!
as a fellow wabi fan, may I offer my two fav books on the subject. perhaps they will help you further..
In praise of Shadows:
http://www.amazon.com/Praise-Shadows-Junichiro-...
In praise of tea:
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Tea-Stone-Bridge-Cla...
and of course the Kenya Hara book, designing design (but I guess everybody has already done that one by now, ha!)
jasonsack Says:
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:19 pmThanks Niko, I will definitely check them both out.
jasonsack Says:
July 7th, 2009 at 2:51 pmOh – I have The Book of Tea already. Funny, I bought it because I was interested in tea, but it's about so much more isn't it?
Pedro Says:
July 15th, 2009 at 3:09 pmCome on Zeus! I need more posts!
Todd Says:
July 25th, 2009 at 6:26 amI also read a lot on the topic and used to think I understood wabi, until I came across this article:
http://www.touchingstone.com/Wabi_Sabi.html
Now I am not sure I understand wabi in the same way a Japanese understands it. I begin to suspect Western writers have unintensionally misrepresented/distorted this elusive Oriental concept by trying too hard to explain it.
jasonsack Says:
July 28th, 2009 at 5:34 pmHi Todd, I did read that piece. I see how the principle can be confused with an aesthetic, and it is an elusive perspective. Because wabi sabi is more understood as a thread than a discrete thought, it requires seeing things holistically and within a greater context of time and place. However, I don't feel this should restrain us from deeper investigation. Anything that challenges and pushes us to understand things in a new way is worth some attention and discussion. In the end, as you allude to, using language to describe anything's true essence is nothing more than the proverbial 'finger pointing at the moon.'
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