A while back I was designing a poster, and the writer accused me of believing in “form over content.”That means that what something looks like is more important than what it says. I laughed. She laughed. I denied it. She smiled, and pretended to believe me.

Being a graphic designer has oriented me to the visual, particularly when it comes to clothing. My college days were dressed pretty much in sweats until I discovered motorcycles and leather. When I cruised around in a leather zippered jacket and mirrored sunglasses, people gave me a pretty wide berth. I realized then that how I was perceived had little to do with my true self. Today I wear suits, partly because I’m ambitious, but also because without them I look like, and am treated like, an 18 year old. It may not be right, but that’s the way it is.

I try to make the best of it, and view dress as an artistic expression of the most intimate sort. It’s more immediate than the art on the wall because it’s seen every day by everybody. I don’t expect everyone to “dress up,”but I do look for the message in everyone’s dress. After all, even “not dressing”communicates something. My clothes are not who I am, but they reflect the spirit within.

Just like clothes make the woman, the building makes the company. A few years ago I worked in a building with a black marble foyer and rows of flawless gray cubicles. Far from repressing my creativity, the uncluttered space served as a blank slate. I loved the hushed voices, the hum of computers, the snow falling silently outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Another time I worked in dingy offices with file cabinets so old that the handles fell off when tugged. Even deep immersion into work couldnt erase such depressing surroundings from my consciousness. My nature demanded something more.

Even though spirit is present in both the clean gray cubicle and the dingy tattered office, it is so much easier to find spirit in beauty. Perhaps we need only dig deeper to unearth real content? Even a gorgeous car can have a lemon transmission. No power suit can make someone love you.

Becoming a writer has, of course, adjusted my attitude. That is, if your readers will go past the first catchy paragraph. Even here in the land of words, form counts. While I may have switched teams from form to content, the game will still get started with a flourish.

Copyright May, 1999