Design in a small town part 1
Years ago I left Seattle to live with my wife in a small town in eastern Washington. My friends thought I was crazy for moving back to the town that I had seemingly spent 18 or so years trying to escape. My designer friends expressed the viewpoint that I was removing myself from a viable design scene and thus committing career suicide.
In many ways they were right. Regardless, I am amused by the metrocentrism of my peers. I think that it not only needs to change but WILL change in the next 10 years.
My research of creative communities leads me to believe that as designers (of all sorts) seek to settle down more that they will explore the option of moving to the 'boonies'. I believe that the fear many have of small towns often stems from the various traumas of youth, general impressions of rural america, and their desire to be near many potential clients.
Or it could just be that small towns are, well, tacky. Others have recently discovered strange design artifacts from small towns.
More later...
2 comments:
As if the ubiquitous big-city billboard were any less visually offensive compared to the hicksville counterpart. Isn't just that we've normalized their existence and no longer see them as visual invasions?
Oddly enough, though I grew up expecting I would eventually leave the rural existence behind, I'm now reversing the trend-- prefering smaller communities.
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