Design Thinking

Good Materialism Pt. 2

You may have noticed something new at the top. Here’s a hint:

“… graphic artists can distill nuanced philosophies into the smallest visual cues… a logo can instantly focus our minds on the qualities we expect from the object that carries it.”¹

---

I’ve finally given this project a little branding:

What is it? What does it stand for? And why does it mean so much to me?

1

It’s a simple (but sunny!) wooden chair, inspired by the one in Vincent van Gogh’s bedroom in Arles. Vincent is hands down my favorite artist - not just because his work is wonderful, but because his thinking is too.

You’ve likely seen his paintings, but have you read the letters he wrote to his brother Theo? They’re as moving as the canvases - windows into the mind of a man who saw the world with extraordinary tenderness and devoted his life to making beautiful things.²

Here are a few fragments that capture their essence:

• “I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.”

• “It’s good to love many things, for therein lies true strength. Those who love much, do much, and whatever is done with love is done well.”

• “I still have it in my heart to paint a bookshop with the front yellow and pink in the evening... like a light in the midst of the darkness.”

• “I don't know much with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream.”

• “I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”

He also had the sweetest sign-offs:

• “Remember me to all the friends. With a handshake…”

• “Be as happy as you can and write to me soon…”

• “I am always, your loving brother…”

Bedroom in Arles Vincent van Gogh 1888

2

As much as I admire Socratic dialogue and lively group debates, my truest moments of growth have happened quietly. Sitting in chairs like this one, I’ve found the stillness I’ve needed to make sense of things.

“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”

I believe that wherever there’s a chair, there’s a workshop for the mind - a place where confusion can soften into clarity, and clarity can blossom into confidence. I’ve lived through that process so many times that it’s an inner security I find strength in: a deep knowing that I’ll find a way through if I’m willing to just sit and think.

Note: The East might argue, “a cushion is better!” - and I use those too. But, as a friend of mine once said, “we like what we like” - and I really like chairs. A good thinking chair isn’t a featured amenity on Airbnb, but it should be.

-

So there it is, a small icon that holds two big ideas for me and serves as a reminder of what this project is all about: slowing down, thinking deeply, and creating something meaningful from the ideas that surface. It makes my eyes and mind happy when I see it. I hope, in time, it does the same for you.

---

To borrow again from the Dutchman, “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”

I don’t have any finished work to show yet - and honestly, it’s unlikely I’ll create something I’m super proud of on a weekly basis - but I think a fair compromise is to keep bringing you in behind the scenes.

Here’s a new project I’m riffing on, inspired by the essay “Ways of Seeing.”

1

The core idea is simple: there’s always another way to see things. Our perceptions shape the meaning we give our experiences, and shifting them in helpful directions makes all the difference to our quality of life.

For example:

Someone has wronged me…

“… I’d like to attack back”

“… let me use this to learn what forgiveness is”

2

I’ve been thinking about how to give this idea form - how to “put it on display.”³ The questions I’ve been asking are:

What could its visual metaphor be? What’s something - like my little yellow chair - that’s vivid and memorable? What symbol can I create, and where can I put it, to encourage the practice?

3

I carried these questions with me everywhere, and for the first few days, I came up empty. Each fruitless session frustrated me, but looking back, I realized the effort itself kept the concept alive.

Whenever something upset me - the creative process included - the idea was so close that I couldn’t ignore it. I had no choice but to train my perception-shifting; otherwise, I’d risk a kind of incongruence I deeply dislike.

Yet another failed attempt…

“… I’m terrible at this, I should give it up”

“… creativity takes time, I’ll get there”

My attitudes were much better than they might have been.

4

Finally, after a few more sit-downs, I remembered a line from Epictetus:

“Every event has two handles, one by which it can be carried, and one by which it can’t.”

The words felt very “ways of seeing,” so I ran to my bookshelf and grabbed a copy of the Enchiridion ⇢ Epictetus’ “Manual.” I found the passage, read the rest of it, and, after drafting a bit on Procreate, I had something:

Amphora: “A two-handled jar used for storing and transporting liquids and solids, and also as a unit of measurement. The word amphora comes from the Greek words amphi, meaning ‘on both sides’, and phero, meaning ‘carry.’”

To add the philosophical layer, this amphora has a smooth handle and a spiky one, symbolizing the choice between perspectives: one that lightens the burden and one that makes it harder to carry.⁴

5

With a sketch complete, I started ideating ways to make it physical. This one seemed like the most fun (and easiest to prototype):

Yes, it’s basic. No, it’s not revolutionary. But let me reinforce my own encouragement by sharing it with you. All in all, it took:

• ~5 hours of brainstorming

• ~1 hour to digitize the drawing,

• ~1 hour to find the right font, and

• ~1 hour to play with mockups

Eight hours isn’t too bad! Sure, I wish I had ten brilliant ideas instead of just a single “fairly good” one, but I’m new to this, and I’m building the muscle.

Besides, what matters most is that the process - from reading ⇢ thinking, writing ⇢ drawing, designing ⇢ production - is the kind of ride I’m eager for more of. I feel like a kid getting off a rollercoaster that ended too soon, looking over at his friends and saying, “Again?”

I’ve ordered a sample, and whatever it looks like, it’ll be a souvenir of the week and a new starting point - a little further up the road.⁵

Olive Grove, Vincent van Gogh 1889

---

If you enjoyed these notes, please let me know by tapping the 💛 or sharing them with a creative friend. I’m looking for like-minded collaborators, and your help in finding them would mean a lot to me. Thank you!

1. How to Reform Capitalism, The School of Life

2. Did you know that Don McLean - the same singer-songwriter who brought us “American Pie” - composed a tribute to Vincent?

3. The School of Life: “The true task of philosophy isn’t just to formulate ideas, but also to work out mechanisms by which they may stick more firmly in our minds.”

4. Manual de Vida, Alma (Illustrated by Diego Mallo)

5. This newsletter builds on ideas first explored in, “Art as a Tool for the Mind: An Introduction to Good Materialism.” If you haven’t read it, it offers a foundation for some of the themes I’ve expanded on here.