Like some of the other people who are participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge I breezed through “A, B and C” and then got stuck trying to decide what to write about for D. The first word that came to mind was drama but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about my love of theater so I hesitated. Next to mind was Desperate Housewives and I thought about writing on the topic of why I think it’s okay for smart chicks to like “bad TV”. But then I realized that the D word that makes the most sense for me right now is Design.

I didn’t actually realize until just a couple of years ago that I really have a strong interest in design. I noticed that I tend to read a lot of design blogs. I noticed that I was paying more attention to the architecture and fashion and interior decor around me in the world. And eventually I did come to see that design is something that really interests me.

Design is great because it blends art with culture, craft with technology … design is something that you can explore the entire history of or look at where it’s going in the future. Design can be really thought-provoking or it can just be great eye candy. It is the fact that design can be enjoyable in so many different ways that makes me really enjoy exploring design.

How design is entering my life recently:

• I am learning to design through crochet. I have stopped simply following patterns in my crochet work and have started to actually design my own pieces. I wouldn’t call myself a crochet designer just yet – I’m doing simple work and I never remember to write down what I’m doing so I’m not creating something that others could copy. Nevertheless I’m definitely learning crochet design.
• I am exploring crochet design and fashion design. Of course this relates to the last point but it is a specific interest of mine right now. In addition to reading about the work of other crochet designers I’ve watched a lot of old re-runs of Top Model (not just America’s but all of the other countries, too) and Project Runway with an eye on the fashion design.
• The most recent San Francisco magazine is about local design. What a cool topic! I subscribe to 7×7 but I picked up San Francisco magazine this month because the design topic definitely interested me.
• I keep thinking I’m going to start watching the dezeen talks on design online but I haven’t actually done it. It’s on my “to do” list this month!

Tags: a-z blogging challenge, design