Beauty is a term that refers to a quality or set of qualities deemed pleasing or satisfying to the mind or senses. It is often associated with harmony of form or color, proportion, authenticity and originality, but can also be defined by mood, attitude or behavior.
The concept of beauty has influenced much of our thinking about art, design and the human form throughout history. From the fetishising of plumpness during the Renaissance era, to today’s “heroin chic” waifs and “heroines” on Instagram, the standards of beauty have changed dramatically in a number of ways.
One thing that has remained consistent over time, though, is the idea that beauty is something that should appeal to the senses. It is a quality that should be both harmonious and balanced.
This is a principle that has been in use since ancient times, and continues to be an important guide for designers. It is a concept that can be used to create aesthetically pleasing pieces of work, regardless of their subject matter or purpose.
It’s a quality that should make people feel good about themselves, and it should be used to attract and retain talent.
The idea of beauty has a long and complicated history, as it is often associated with various forms of oppression and resistance. As such, it has been subject to numerous philosophical critiques.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, many philosophers were concerned with determining what exactly is meant by the term “beauty”. They came up with a variety of accounts that were in some way distinct from one another and yet reflected different conceptions of how to approach the question.
Kant, for example, gave a somewhat hedonistic account of beauty, based on disinterested pleasure. Other philosophers, such as Santayana, took a more adamantly subjective line.
Others, such as Plotinus, were concerned with the unity of objects and argued that beauty was a unified experience that called out love or adoration.
In his book, A Short History of Beauty, Alan Powers, a professor of architecture and cultural history at the University of Greenwich, notes that there was a movement to define beauty in terms of its rationality. This was a response to the idea that beauty is subjective and thus can only be judged by an individual’s subjective sensibility.
It is a concept that can be useful in guiding our design, but it is not the only thing to be considered when designing.
Ultimately, beauty is the way that we make sense of the world. It is a quality that gives meaning to our lives and makes us feel confident about who we are and where we’re going in the world.
It’s a quality that can be found in many different places, from inside the human body to on a page or on an object. It can be something as simple as a song you love or as complex as a painting you’re passionate about. It can be found in the most unexpected places and on a daily basis, so it’s always worth keeping an open mind to what’s out there.