Vol. 04 · The feeling brief

Brief the feeling. Function follows.

Idea and artifactActive

§1 · Method

Brief what a room must do to the person standing in it, in a few plain words, before anything is drawn.

Every later decision is tested against those words. The method comes from store planning: twelve rooms, one brief each. The twelfth room on the list is je ne sais quoi.

Fig. 04-A

The twelve rooms of a store drawn as a wheel around one place, each room with the few words it must live up to. Restrooms: cheap and cheery, durable, non-commercial. Fitting rooms: gracious, a canvas, safe. Cashwrap: respectful, not mercantile, functional. Entry: decompress, vistas, another place. Sales floor: evolving, organic, multi-sensory. Back of house: organized, efficient, bright. Storefront: billboard, ethos distilled, arresting. Sale room: organized, direct, efficient. Fixtures: simple, purpose-driven, truth in craft. Office: professional, insular, efficient. Visual room: functional, intuitive, cleanable. The twelfth room: je ne sais quoi.THE PLACER01 Restroomscheap & cheery · durable · non-commercialR02 Fitting roomsgracious · a canvas · safeR03 Cashwraprespectful · not mercantile · functionalR04 Entrydecompress · vistas · another placeR05 Sales floorevolving · organic · multi-sensoryR06 Back of houseorganized · efficient · brightR07 Storefrontbillboard · ethos distilled · arrestingR08 Sale roomorganized · direct · efficientR09 Fixturessimple · purpose-driven · truth in craftR10 Officeprofessional · insular · efficientR11 Visual roomfunctional · intuitive · cleanableR12 Je ne sais quoi
Twelve rooms, one brief eachRedrawn from a store-planning notebook

Held in every room: Simplicity · Elegance · Clarity · Openness · Respect · Integrity · Thoughtfulness · Awareness · Grace · Truth · Balance · Warmth.

Fig. 04-B

Three axes through one origin: cost, value and aesthetic. A decision is a point placed on all three, with its projection drawn to each axis. costaestheticvalue a decision
Three axes: cost, value, aestheticA decision is placed on all three, not one

Table 04-C

The method, applied outside retail.

RefRoomBrief
A-01A courthouse waiting hallSteady. Dignified. Unhurried.
A-02A hospital corridor at nightQuiet. Low light. Never lost.
A-03A consulate visa lineRespected. Informed. Seen.
A-04A company’s ground floorOpen. Legible. Proud.
A-05A product’s first minuteObvious. Calm. Already useful.
A-06A town hall meetingHeard. Equal. Safe to disagree.
A-07A hotel corridorHushed. Warm. Nearly there.
A-08A museum’s last roomUnhurried. Resolved. Worth the walk.

Rule

No design with a capital D.

The line at the foot of the notebook page.