We live in a hyper-modern age of information over-load. We are expected to be hyper-creators, hyper-producers, hyper-consumers, hyper-doers, hyper-achievers, hyper-communicators, hyper-competitors, hyper-social networkers and so on. Ironically, we are no longer human beings. We have devolved into hyper human doings, plagued with mass Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It is sad, yet funny that even our Disorder has Hyper attached to it. Given this backdrop, it appears that "Minimalism" is our ticket to mental sanity and physical prosperity. Minimalism is a certain style, a certain attitude and even a way of life. It transcends different fields such architecture, philosophy, law, design, technology and music. Minimalism is Perfection as its best. "...It is attained, not when no more can be added, but when no more can be removed." Antoine de Saint Exupéry

The Greek philosopher had it right. Some 2500 hundred years ago, Socrates, envisioned the march of our civilization and said “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” Today, more than two millennium later, the same sentiment is echoed in John Pawson's [father of modern architectural minimalism] incredible streamlined minimalism. The story goes, that some Cistercian monks whose monastery he was to design, were worried his style might be too austere for them after they visited his minimalistic house. "The natural light and the empty space seem to communicate more than the space that is filled up with something." John says, minimalism is not about being "arty or pretentious". It is about expanding the human imagination without the ceaseless noise of of our hper inter-active media.

If we were to take John's concept of pure space minimalism and translate into a trade show bazaar like environment it would look something like Asteria. It is in control of it's space, yet is has ample space for no-thing and that is how Asteria sets itself apart. It portrays to house only that what is incredible.

That is what minimalism does. It sheds light on the incredible. And one surety of being incredible is guaranteed expanded premium. It is a proven path of evolution in the flat land of sameness. Let pure space minimalism be the regulating inspiration in your designs, in your presentations, in your brand messaging and in your attitude!

Good Luck!

"Conventional opinion is the ruin of our souls"... Jelaluddin Rumi {13th century Sufi mystic, scholar, poet and a 21st century inspirational genesis.}
Convention teaches us to be cautious of Ambiguity. The art of communication preaches about the dubious nature of Ambiguity. Dictionary defines Ambiguity as an expression whose meaning cannot be determined from its context, unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning. For example, "Lucy doesn't like dressing with her turkey, however she likes stuffing". Ambiguity is an enigma. Ambiguity is incertitude. Ambiguity is inconclusiveness, indefiniteness, indeterminateness. Ambiguity is obscurity. Ambiguity is vagueness. Given this baggage that Ambiguity is burdened with, I am of the unconventional opinion that Ambiguity lends plurality of meanings to an object or design; the possibility of being read or used in different ways. Smart phones are the tangible products of Ambiguity at its finest. Ambiguity enriches design and adds layers of probabilities in the viewer's mind. Ambiguity is the mistress of our complex minds.

How then, does Ambiguity heighten experiential marketing like trade shows? Here is where contradiction comes into play. The age old trade show marketing precept that you have 3 seconds to demonstrate who you are and what you do is being radically tested. In an age of hyper-competition the only way to distinguish from the masses is to build your own tribe. Once, that has been established Ambiguity becomes your ally. Use this spice to enhance the expression of your designs and you will treasure the results.

I started with Rumi. I end with Rumi.
He calls this ambiguous space "Zero Circle". I see this as a space of pure potential. Miracles happen in this space.
Be helpless, dumbfounded,
Unable to say yes or no.
Then a stretcher will come from grace
to gather us up.

We are too dull-eyed to see that beauty.
If we say we can, we're lying.
If we say No, we don't see it,
That No will behead us
And shut tight our window onto spirit.

So let us rather not be sure of anything,
Beside ourselves, and only that, so
Miraculous beings come running to help.
Crazed, lying in a zero circle, mute,
We shall be saying finally,
With tremendous eloquence, Lead us.
When we have totally surrendered to that beauty,
We shall be a mighty kindness.

The alphabet "I" is tall and confident. It is an elegant stroke of human expression. "I" traces back to Phoenician letter Yodh, the hand, as a representation of an entire arm. The Greeks used a highly simplified version of it for iota (Ι), the nineth letter of the Greek alphabet. The Romans used it as "I", as we know it today.

In geometry "I" is the shortest distance between two points of reference. In high mathematics "i" is the imaginary number. It solves unsolvable complex equations that is rudiment to our present technological civilization. "I" has been the work-horse of human culture since the dawn of time. Pre-historic man used the "I" [ fallen tree trunks] to bridge streams. In 484 B.C., Herodotus documented the first bridge in history built with timber and supported by stone columns accross the Euphrates river some 300 years ago. The tall "I" (column) has been the core of architecture since classical antiquity. Interestingly, the complex nervous system of human anatomy is efficiently catered by "I". We are defiant in the face of gravity.

"I" being deep rooted in our human psyche, we have made it modular, elegant and intelligent. We arrange bunch of "I"s in a linear fashion to create back walls. We use the strength of the "I" in our towers and we use clusters of "I"s in trade show island designs.

The concept of abstract elegance becomes an object of 5 senses in the creative hands of the architect, Sou Fujimoto. He uses Red for the "I" intrigue. He seduces the viewer with the softnes of the white gauze fabric, while exploring the work of Japanese fashion designers in relation to the art, culture and costume history of their country.

As I sat there in the middle of this big design deadline, I was crippled with a paramount sense of fear. Fear of not being able to complete, fear of rejection, fear of not being good enough and the grand daddy of all fears [well known to designers], REPETITION.
I feared that this fear about fear is an hindrance to my other list of things that needs to get done. For example, coming up with new content for my blog. I feared that the hits on my blog will suffer if I am not consistent with the weekly updates. I feared website ranking will suffer. I feared business will suffer. My tryst with fear continued.

As my chaotic mind was racing between the co-ordinates of greed, fear and sustenance, I remembered Pema Chödrön saying: Anyone who stands on the edge of the unknown, fully in the present without a reference point, experiences groundlessness. That’s when our understanding goes deeper, when we find that the present moment is a pretty vulnerable place and that this can be completely unnerving and completely tender at the same time.

I took a break from fear and re-read some of the pages from the book:  “When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chödrön. Below is an excerpt from the book!

What we’re talking about is getting to know fear, becoming familiar with fear, looking it right in the eye – not as a way to solve problems, but as a complete undoing of old ways of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and thinking. The truth is that when we really begin to do this, we’re going to be continually humbled. The arrogance that inevitably does arise is going to be continually shot down by our own courage to step forward a little further. 

So the next time you [designers, trade show producers, exhibit marketers] encounter fear, consider yourself lucky. This is where courage comes in. Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear. The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought. That’s what we’re going to discover again and again and again. Nothing is what we thought. I can say that with great confidence. Emptiness is not what we thought. Neither is mindfulness or fear. Compassion – not what we thought. Love. Buddha nature. Courage. These are code words for things we don’t know in our minds, but any of us could experience them. These are words that point to what life really is when we let things fall apart and let ourselves be nailed to the present moment.

"To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again."