Illustration and text inspired by the concept Zeitgeist. The project features in Design Vocabulary, a group publication with fellow MA Communication Design students at Central Saint Martins.
Zeitgeist is a little German phantom that haunts people of a certain period of time.
Although a direct translation would be time ghost, the phrase commonly refers to the spirit of time. Predominantly, Zeitgeist is essential for understanding the intellectual production of an era. Individuals contribute to the shaping of the Zeitgeist, which in turn changes them. However, the concept is quite ephemeral and difficult to capture when one is surrounded by it.
As a designer, I am extremely inspired by now. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time and energy understanding what is current and relevant to today. I expose myself to a ridiculous amount of information every day. As a matter of fact, there is a tiny delay between me waking up in the morning and switching on my laptop. Most of the time, I aggregate random pieces of material that barely make sense on a greater scale. Even though I try to keep up to date, I constantly feel behind my time. And everything that is fresh and stimulating today will soon be passé anyway.
My relationship with now has always been challenging though. I sometimes look through social media when researching something current and end up with a few recurring statements that don’t say anything new at all. I feel frustrated and question the purpose of this common. Yet, I finally realized that social media only represent expressions that make sense in the moment, but would seem confusing or irrelevant after a while. And this clearly shows our changing idea of past and present – and Zeitgeist. And so, perhaps the everpresent now, different than yesterday, would reveal itself only when I try, fail and give up catching it. Maybe there is nothing to catch in the first place. And perhaps, my synchronization to my time can only happen naturally, or not at all.
Or my Zeitgeist is not a friendly ghost.
Although a direct translation would be time ghost, the phrase commonly refers to the spirit of time. Predominantly, Zeitgeist is essential for understanding the intellectual production of an era. Individuals contribute to the shaping of the Zeitgeist, which in turn changes them. However, the concept is quite ephemeral and difficult to capture when one is surrounded by it.
As a designer, I am extremely inspired by now. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time and energy understanding what is current and relevant to today. I expose myself to a ridiculous amount of information every day. As a matter of fact, there is a tiny delay between me waking up in the morning and switching on my laptop. Most of the time, I aggregate random pieces of material that barely make sense on a greater scale. Even though I try to keep up to date, I constantly feel behind my time. And everything that is fresh and stimulating today will soon be passé anyway.
My relationship with now has always been challenging though. I sometimes look through social media when researching something current and end up with a few recurring statements that don’t say anything new at all. I feel frustrated and question the purpose of this common. Yet, I finally realized that social media only represent expressions that make sense in the moment, but would seem confusing or irrelevant after a while. And this clearly shows our changing idea of past and present – and Zeitgeist. And so, perhaps the everpresent now, different than yesterday, would reveal itself only when I try, fail and give up catching it. Maybe there is nothing to catch in the first place. And perhaps, my synchronization to my time can only happen naturally, or not at all.
Or my Zeitgeist is not a friendly ghost.
