Who needs a unifying theme anyway?

This quote has been making the rounds, attributed to Steve Jobs.

I’m not sure if it is from him or not, but I do know one thing – this idea of design being a process of synthesis is absolutely correct. It’s like living in an E M Forster book (only connect…) all of your life.

In conversation, I am often asked ‘how do you know that’? Generally it’s because I noticed something that differed from the norm, examined it, and filed that information away for future use.

For people whose lives and careers go in a more linear path, this is a confronting idea. I’ve just started a project to design a 150th anniversary book for a vineyard. I met with the author and her first question was “Have you designed a book like this before?”

My answer was no.

“Well, have you designed for a winery before?”

Again I answered that I had not. She looked puzzled and concerned.

I said to her, “No, I haven’t worked in this sector before. But I’ve worked for airlines, hospitals, biotechnology companies, and newspapers. I art directed an inflight magazine, and I’ve designed the inside of courthouses. I designed the outside of your phone book and the inside of the Post Office. I’m a generalist. Anyone who’s any good at design is. My skill, what people pay me for, is that I am interested in everything.”

And that fact, that I am interested in everything, is what keeps me in design. I can think of no other job where I can be paid so well to be what others would call a dilettante.