CategoriesPsychology & designby

Seeking individuality through fashion: A closer look at the relationship between fashion choices and self-identity.

What are the various ways to achieve individuality, individual style? Can fashion be used as a tool to express ourselves? Can fashion be related to our self-identity? As we read the blog title, such questions can cross our minds. Believe it or not, an association is built directly or indirectly between us and fashion as a medium of self-identification. So why not learn about it?

DISCLAIMER: This blog is just a point of view to help pivot our lifestyle in some way to achieve better, observe better. The purpose of this blog is to think of fashion as a possibility.

Association between fashion and self-identity

Self-identity is a combination of what a person truly is and how an individual portrays oneself. Fashion can be a great tool to take cues of one’s characteristics and how an individual wants to present to the external world. Clothing can describe a wearer. Choice of clothing can be like an unspoken description of one’s personality. Choices of clothing lead to assumptions too. As humans, we tend to pivot our perception around appearances. Direct or indirect feedback is received based on visual perception. We humans also tend to desire a strong identification from the crowd. When we observe and look deep into this subject, we can learn and develop our fashion choices and hence our personality. Often people want to establish themselves as somebody but seem to be confused or are not effectively portraying the same in reality. So, this blog can give you a clue on what aspect you can look at to be that person you want the world to look at and be the same.

Evolving fashion choices

“I remember my growing up days augmented my fashion choices. I was a weak child and often was skinny-shamed and, those were a few incidents that shaped my liking and preferences for clothes. Opting for power-dressing, utilising fashion to come across as strong and authoritative is how my fashion choices got shaped.”

Fashion can be instrumental in such instances. For life events, we can see fashion and style playing a part in being confident. For a few, it becomes like armour.

The impact of a fashion switch

If we switch our style that depicts what we want to convey, the impact can be enormous. Switch style according to an event, mood, or the kind of environment you would be going/attending. It almost acts like unheard communication that speaks volumes of what you represent or stand for. When we pivot our fashion self/ image, we can observe an impact on our surroundings. Responses will switch to unexpected ones and will enhance anyone’s presence. 

There are many benefits to the same apart from the external validation. You could feel good, comfortable, powerful and can positively affect your mood. The positive points are far more when we take leap in our own fashion game!

Do we always have to associate ourselves with fashion?

The answer to this question is, it depends, as it is subjective. Educating oneself about such a subject depends on person-to-person interests. But, knowing one’s identity and expressing ourselves is essential. Personal identity is one of the basic human psychological needs. Every human is unique by nature but strongly desires to be identified in the crowd. Individuals may express their unique personalities through their apparel and fashion (Goldsmith, 1996).

Making fashion a tool to develop ourselves

Fashion can be instrumental in developing ourselves. More than the worth of the clothing, selection of clothing is more important. Our aesthetic expression might pivot in one way or other depending on where we want to lead our lives. It is a constant process. “But I think recognising our choices in fashion is important so that when we are unsatisfied at any stage, we can switch it up and can achieve better. Achieve better communication, get better with our soft skills, and live comfortably with our choices.”

“Side note: I know post-reading this blog another thought might cross minds. It is that “not to judge people by their appearance” however, this blog is catering to subjects who see fashion as a potential tool, who wish to communicate their identity, and who wish to change something majorly in their lives and take the help of fashion and self-image. So, the purpose here is to help see another standpoint and not to promote any principles.”

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CategoriesPsychology & designby

Mind, emotion, and design: The integral trio

Disclaimer:
Written below is a blog post based on the writer’s experience. Thoughts expressed are of the writer. Opinions on the following points may differ from person to person. The motto behind this post is to bring in another perspective in light.

Our mental state determines our work-life balance, especially when one comes from a creative background. Mind, emotion, and creating design are interconnected trio. Creating designs is conditional on our minds and emotions. Design is the result of science, art, and technology. Designers get involved so much in the design process that no other phenomenon matters while working. Designing requires a lot of persistence, imagination. So, as a result, it might create a mental imbalance for a designer at times. And while we may experience such a factor, it is hard to not talk about the three nightmares of a designer:

1) Creative block
2) Dealing with feedbacks
3) Finding balance

  1. Creative block
    Many times designers face a lack of inspiration or barrier to move forward with the design process. It is often difficult to get out of that zone and start again. A creative block might cause due to over-working. It can also cause due to working for a long duration on the same project. Or there could be other reasons too.

During the design process, our thoughts matter, emotions matter, and involvement matters. “The whole process might go off track if I’m not feeling the purpose behind any product. I did face creative blocks many a time. My mindset or willingness determined my design. It is a stressful period when one has to get work done and faces a creative block simultaneously.”
Often I take a break. I focus on something else to get back to the workflow. Though it might be a temporary condition, it feels hard to get back sometimes. Another part and parcel of being a designer is:

  1. Dealing with feedbacks
    Designers have a very close connection with psychology as we handle aesthetics with all our emotions and mind. We often attach ourselves to our work. Sometimes so much that the designs become our identity.
    So when designers receive feedback from clients, team members, there is a possibility that it becomes highly personal. Emotions and efforts are involved in the design process. Hence, designers do not separate themselves from their designs. Feedback can make or break a designer’s work.

In my view, feedback should consist of both negative and positive points. A combination of both will help the designer with the design process. “When I did my masters, I learned that being decisive in our words is essential. Mentioning positive points is also equally important. One must be precise with what we describe and how we describe it. It enables the implementer to learn about the requirements or what went wrong with any existing design.”
Designs can get affected because of the heavy emphasis on the negatives. Scrutinizing the design process is essential but, the way we express tells a lot about how we actually give feedback. It eventually boils down to how we treat other people. Last but not the least amongst the three is:

  1. Finding balance
    Finding a balance between technical factors and aesthetics is hard. Designers have to find a middle ground to avoid a compromise on either. Sometimes execution gets rough with such difficulties. Implementing the design idea takes a lot of effort and patience.

When we draft/plan our designs, we usually predict the difficulties during execution. Sometimes sudden technical aspects come along unexpectedly, and we have to deal with the same. There is a probability of losing on aesthetics or losing on the beauty of a product. Juggling between functionality and aesthetics is the real challenge that designers solve
Designers see the unseen. With the knowledge of art and technology, designers can create a better life. We need more designers at work to enjoy the harmony of functionality and art. To enjoy the space, to enhance our lifestyle, and to think futuristically.

“I thought of sharing this post because few things need some change. If you are a designer, or shaping a budding designer, or an authoritative individual to a designer these factors should be considered to retain a decent working environment. I believe educating ourselves can help in building a better community. I hope that through this blog, you get to know more about the emotions and thoughts of a designer.”
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