Designing a Work of Art: Symphonies in Web and Garden Design

By Patty O’Connor Lauritzen

A true designer is akin to a true composer. Anyone who studies music can play an instrument, but not everyone who plays an instrument can compose beautiful music. The same is true in design. And the difference is artistic complexity.

This week I had the pleasure of hearing presentations from two very talented designers. And by talented, I mean a caliber of talent that puts these two designers at the top of their respective categories: web designer and garden designer.

Executive Creative Director at Wire Stone, Molly O’Shea, presented new designs for a tech client this week in Mountain View. She spoke of how the musicality of web design encourages the eye to dance as it moves across the visual elements of the page.

She masterfully moved a very simple brand into an elegant page design that focused on the basics: contrast, overlays, and clean typography neatly framed by the guiding rhythm of a 12-column grid. It is not a matter of using overlays like a composer writes the notes for the flutist. It is more like crafting their usage, transparency, and placement like a composer cues the flute, tempers the tone, and establishes the cadence.

The following day, internationally acclaimed garden designer, Luciano Giubbilei, gave a lecture at The Presidio in San Francisco.  He shared slides of his work and anecdotes of traveling the world designing gardens that soothe the soul.

Image courtesy of Flowerona

The components of his green gardens include tiered hedges, water features, and sculptures. Think of the reliability of the bass, the tinkling of bells, and the romance of violins. He spoke of planting flowers as arranged bouquets, incorporating structures that live and breathe, and thoughtfully placing sculptures from renowned artists. The ultimate element of his garden is natural light. Light is the melody; it is the natural movement of light cascading through leaves, backlighting bunch grasses, and casting late afternoon shadows. 

He writes in his book, Gardens of Luciano Giubbilei, “I can think of nothing that reminds me more of eternity; my mind is relaxed observing the play of light.” The garden of his design is one to linger in because there is nowhere you would rather be. Time is inconsequential. The added complexity of celebrating light creates the symphony of his gardens.

Both of these designers extend an invitation to share a complex vision that creates a pleasing reaction. And it struck me that this type of work is not just a deliverable, it is truly a work of art.