4D Design – Details, episodes & analysis

EPISODE 24 - HOW TO BUY PAINT

Take ALL the Paint Chips!  Do not be shy - take them all and I mean all of them

Paint Decks - Good option if you're serious about color

Paint Brands - what is available in your area?  

https://www.lifestoryresearch.com/2024-best-paint-ranking-review

Sheen - This is a huge decision.  When in doubt choose Matte

https://www.houselogic.com/remodel/painting-lighting/paint-sheen-guide/

SAMPLES - Actual Paint and Stickers / Visualization

https://samplize.com

https://store.benjaminmoore.com/storefront/us/en/color-samples/samplize/peel-and-stick-paint-sample

Refinement -   YOU HAVE TO DO THIS / DON’T GO FAST

Stomach vs mind - immediate decisions vs emotional / somatic decisions

AK links:

Four D Design - Holistic Design

www.fourddesign.com

Star Tile - Multidimensional Ceramics

www.star-tile.com

Star Tile Studio - Joshua Tree, CA

https://g.co/kgs/DUMmCLh

An assortment of resources / stories about Paint.

https://www.earthdate.org/episodes/the-colorful-history-of-paint

History of Pigments - they all have a specific time period

Can look at the history of art through pigments

Basically people always paint if they can!

https://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/history.html#google_vignette

Things not always good for you! (or even will kill you or destroy your internal organs: Lead White

https://zotapro.com/blog/lead-paint-history/

https://www.paint.org/about/industry/history/

Pigments are Organic or Inorganic - and now we have Synthetics. 

https://burnaway.org/magazine/a-history-of-paint-part-one/

https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/a-deep-dive-into-non-toxic-paints-and-vocs

https://www.roepaint.com/everything-need-know-alkyd-paint/

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/is-paint-bad-for-the-environment

https://www.earthpigments.com/natural-earth-ocher-pigments/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_ZC2BhAQEiwAXSgClnbwPlFU_PivAwZXUEDpoKvJxwIMjW9w6zgntUXe2LKt-iLlpmfBNxoCgsQQAvD_BwE

AK links:

Four D Design - Holistic Design

www.fourddesign.com

Star Tile - Multidimensional Ceramics

www.star-tile.com

Star Tile Studio - Joshua Tree, CA

https://g.co/kgs/DUMmCLh

Email Me:

ak@fourddesign.com

Design is intimately linked to the workings of your sympathetic and parasympathic nervous system.  I hope for a world in which we all understand how buildings can serve as a powerful tool to help us be the most powerful and healthy versions of ourselves.

Even simple steps can have a huge and lasting effect. 

Some resources mentioned in the podcast:

Color Temperature:

https://www.westinghouselighting.com/color-temperature.aspx

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8979406/#:~:text=Our%20main%20results%20were%20as,color%20temperature%20of%203000%20K.

https://www.benq.com/en-us/knowledge-center/knowledge/what-is-the-best-led-color-for-reading.html#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20review%20of,3000K%20can%20improve%20sleep%20quality.

Color Viewer

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/personal-color-viewer

EVERYONE can learn design thinking.

I know this as a fact, being a professor of design - the steps are simple and it just takes an interest in the field and a willingness to learn.

Classes start soon at 4D Design:

In-person workshops in the Joshua Tree area and virtual classes coming soon!

www.fourddesign.com/classes

What is design thinking?

Simply put, “design thinking is a methodology that we use to solve complex problems, and it’s a way of using systemic reasoning and intuition to explore ideal future states,” 

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-design-thinking

What’s important is that IT IS A SYSTEM - meaning simple principles can be learned, and then it’s just putting that system to work.  You don’t need to understand every outcome.

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to creative problem solving that combines what's desirable with what's technologically feasible and in the long term, viable.

• Stage 1: Empathize—Research Your Users' Needs.
• Stage 2: Define—State Your Users' Needs and Problems.
• Stage 3: Ideate—Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas.
• Stage 4: Prototype—Start to Create Solutions.
• Stage 5: Test—Try Your Solutions Out.

https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-process

https://www.viima.com/blog/how-might-we

https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/what-is-design-thinking

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-design-thinking

General Info:

(Everyone has Cognitive Biases!)

https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/cognitive-bias/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

LISTS OF COGNITIVE BIASES + LOGICAL FALLACIES:

Cognitive Bias Codex

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Cognitive_Bias_Codex_-_180%2B_biases%2C_designed_by_John_Manoogian_III_%28jm3%29.jpg

https://www.designhacks.co/

Critical Thinking Cards

https://thethinkingshop.org/products/critical-thinking-cards-deck

I'm inviting you to take a look at your home design through the lens of your core values - to see if you are supported in being exactly who you were born to be.

Even small shifts in furniture arrangements, art, space for specific activities can give you the feeling that your home is supporting you AS IT IS MEANT TO DO. 

Done properly, our home can be a battery pack that constantly encourages and recharges us.  Time to listen to those inner feelings.

DETERMINING YOUR CORE VALUES

If you don't have a list of your core values, there are tons of resources online to look at including lists and quizzes.  Here is a (non-endorsed) list of some sites.  

https://medium.com/@scoutcoaching/core-values-what-they-are-why-they-matter-and-how-to-define-yours-93164383eada

https://jamesclear.com/core-values

https://www.mindtools.com/a5eygum/what-are-your-values

The big secret:  you don't need to know how to draw to enter the design world!  Today I'm telling personal stories of not knowing how to draw at all, having no art background, and how I finally found my footing and skills in the world of Architecture.  I also explain what is important in design drawings, and what different types of drawings exist in the world.

Drawing is a truly a skill that can be learned, and there are countless online resources.

Here are a few of the many platforms for creating your own floor plans, from free services to paid subscriptions.  

https://www.edrawsoft.com/ad/floor-plan-maker-edrawmax.html

These have 3d imaging (for those of you who think better in 3d)

https://floorplanner.com/

https://www.livehome3d.com/

Note:  I have not used these platforms so this is not an endorsement, just a reporting of things I found online.

What I use for floor plans: Autodesk Revit 2024 (BIM Modeling)

and Chaos Enscape for 3d Rendering.

Complex Geometries:  Rhinoceros

Repetition is one of the most basic design principles, but it's also one of the most versatile.  Repeating elements can make you feel safe, they can firmly establish brand identity, they can be ridiculous and humorous - or they can make you want to join the party!

Come see how repetition affects our human minds, which crave a certain degree of conformity but reject it when it's too much. 

Some links that explain how this works:

https://www.thirdwunder.com/blog/the-importance-of-repetition-in-design/

https://venngage.com/blog/design-principle-repetition/

Symmetry is one of the most common, primal and powerful ordering systems available to us in the world of Design.

My intention is to take you through the basic concepts that you would be taught in architecture school, minus the late nights, fluorescent lighting and bad coffee!

It all has its origins in Biology:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry_in_biology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilateria

Bilateral Symmetry in Nature

https://biologydictionary.net/bilateral-symmetry/

BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH DESIGN?

We recognize symmetry more quickly than any other type of ordering system.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6458647/

which gets into Unconscious Inference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_perception

TYPES OF SYMMETRY IN ARCHITECTURE

https://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/kim/index.html

https://insights.jonite.com/the-art-of-symmetry-in-architecture

Symmetry and Well-Being (this is a very good article!

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/10/12/249  

Symmetry is satisfying - do you look for symmetry in design?  

https://slate.com/culture/2008/05/why-is-architectural-symmetry-so-satisfying.html

We need to be aware of symmetry because it's literally controlling our movements sometimes - have you ever aligned yourself with an axis?  Look at camera angles in photos and see the power symmetry has over us.

Symmetry IS us.