The Ordinary

This is a weekly newsletter about cultivating a view of the Ordinary in the age of computers and mass media.

The Format

1. A very ordinary quote

2. A roundup of very ordinary reads

3. A brief and very ordinary note

4. A very ordinary visual

Motivation

From Super Normal by Jasper Morrison & Naoto Fukasawa:

Design makes things seem special, and who wants normal if they can have special? And that’s the problem. What has grown naturally and unselfconsciously over the years cannot easily be replaced.

Not that old things shouldn’t be replaced or that new things are bad, just that things which are designed to attract attention are usually unsatisfactory.

There are better ways to design than putting a big effort into making something look special. Special is generally less useful than normal, and less rewarding in the long term.

Ammar