In my last blog entries, I celebrated visual chaos like torn posters, urban layering, random textures. I looked at how imperfection and noise can make design feel alive. But this week, I’ve started to look at that same “noise” from another angle. One that’s been bothering me quietly for a while.
Because honestly, I’m overwhelmed. Not just by design, but by everything designed. On my phone, in the streets, in shops, online because it feels like the world is constantly trying to get my attention. Ads, slogans, campaigns, UIs, trends, interfaces. It’s like my brain is scrolling even when I’m not.
I’ve started noticing the mental fatigue that comes with all this. Not from doing too much but from seeing too much. And it makes me wonder: how much visual input is too much? And as designers, are we just adding to the noise?
I noticed how tired I felt after scrolling. Not tired from doing something just from looking because it feels like design is everywhere and everything wants to be seen. At the same time, I walk through the city and feel the same overstimulation. Menus, street signs, neon, scaffolding ads, more layers. It’s a different kind of noise, but it’s all adding up. Not just around me, but inside me too. Like my brain doesn’t know where to look anymore.
And here comes the conflict: I’m a designer. I’m supposed to add to this world, right? Another visual, another poster, another aesthetic. But I keep asking myself: Do we need more? Or do we need to make better use of what’s already here?
I started fantasizing about a kind of mental and urban cleaning project, not minimalism, not another beige lifestyle rebrand but something that clears space without erasing character. How can we clean up the noise without wiping away the stories? How do we preserve the messy beauty of the city without being swallowed by clutter?
I’m not sure what the answer is, but I know it’s not just about subtracting things until everything looks like another minimalist café. That’s erasure, I’m more interested in editing than deleting. Like a graphic designer curating a messy layout, but leaving the good chaos in.
What if the next phase of design isn’t about making new things but about filtering what’s already there? Not with an algorithm, but with human intention. Choosing what to highlight and what not to touch.
I think I’m learning that design doesn’t always mean producing. Sometimes it means observing, organizing, even pausing. Maybe the most radical thing we can do is to “not design” at least not until we’ve really looked at what’s already existing.
Sources
Sennett, R. (2008). The Craftsman. Yale University Press.
Postman, N. (1985). Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Penguin Books.
