This week, I’ve been thinking about language (
defined as
a body of words, which I obviously can’t get out of my mind). It’s likely because I finished reading Hurston’s
Their Eyes Were Watching God, followed by Batuman’s
The Idiot.
I’m still searching for the “body of words” to describe how Batuman’s writing humors me while Hurston’s reflections move me.
I do think that language is much more important to design and research than we’re led to believe. I agree, visual storytelling is paramount. But, dialogues between people are at the center of pretty much everything we do. We craft cohesive narratives from scattered anecdotal stories in order to create things that mean something. It feels like writing, sometimes. Or at least, writing seems to be an important aspect of it. I think
Lauren would agree.
With that, here are a few gems I’ve been digesting this week…