Postcard From an Iconic Design

How great design creates stability, efficiency, cohesion and flow

This summer I had the privilege of staying at the Neuendorf House on the island of Mallorca. A dear friend of mine “won” the stay via a charity auction in support of Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion. The house is a minimalist masterpiece in earthy pink created by architects ​​John Pawson and Claudio Silvestrin. 

With its high-walled interior courtyard to its temple-like pool-facing facade, the house holds a presence within the body of its occupants. To dwell there is to know exactly where you are in space because every aspect of the design frames the landscape, the sky, the furnishings, your own body. The house demands our attention, not just to it, but to each passing moment of the day within its environment. The light changes in the tall, Stonehenge-like opening of the courtyard as the pool goes from clear to mirror reflection as the sun travels from dawn to dusk overhead.

I paint this picture not just to tell you about my summer vacation, but because the experience brought me into direct contact with the power of design. I felt as if the house itself gave me directives for my daily activities - pick up your clothes so as not to interrupt these beautiful lines; take note of this slanting shadow; lie on the ground to look at the stars through the frame of these courtyard walls!

I see the Neuendorf House as a metaphor for how design very literally structures our understanding of the world. Great design can create stability, efficiency, cohesion and dynamic flow. As a designer and storyteller working in the world of branding and communication design, I see how the strong parameters set by visual design conventions and consistent messaging platforms set my clients free to flow and connect.