Design Blog: A designers first product?

"no man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. it is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable"

- Socrates

I am an avid believer in the mental and physical benefits of exercising daily. Whats the first thing you notice when you meet someone new? Your appearance more importantly your body makes the first introduction before your mouth can say a word. You can tell straight away if someone is to put it kindly "out of shape". or weather they live an active lifestyle or not. I personally believe in the majority of cases (granted there are a few exceptions) ones body is a showcase of a persons lifestyle and partly there personality.

I see no reason why everyone shouldn't be in fit physical shape and as a designer in the making I consider a true designer should without a doubt, be in fit physical shape. Designers themselves must realize the first product they're introduced to and the most important is their own body. your body as a designer is the first product you are given the opportunity to design years before you step into a studio. Weather you know it or not everyday you are working towards designing your body. Its in daily habits such as diet sleep and exercise that defines your body. A good physique takes months if not years of consistency.

I consider the body to be a vessel for our consciousness however more, not a vessel we are disconnected from, quiet the opposite in fact. I believe our mind and body are synonymous in their connection (if that makes sense) intertwined together but the mind in itself has superiority in this relationship. Our mind has control over our bodies ( again there are exceptions here I'm using a perfectly healthy person with no medical issues as an example).

If you had the choice to drive an inefficiently dangerous car everyday. Or to work on fixing it up everyday to make it safe and enjoyable to drive you'd obviously pick the latter. yet why do so many people settle for sluggish unhealthiness? I have no problem in saying I'm disgusted in modern societal standards of "Body Positivity" when its used in relation to describing fat as inherently good and healthy. It is NOT and shouldn't be normalized. If this statement offended you then you're probably in denial about your health and body, too lazy to make a change in yourself you want to change everybody else outlook. By making fat normal then you succeed in allowing these people to slip back into basic boring normality, when they're not normal. I believe that problem lies in the developments of our society and the human race in general, but that's a blog for another day, back to the matter at hand.

just like the projects I undertake in my coursework for designing a product its the same for your body. You plan and prepare and have a final design in mind and you work towards it following the plan you've made. Its probably the largest and longest lasting project one could undertake seeing as its only in death the mind finally parts from the body.

Take twin brothers for example both decide at a young age to aim to be professional athletes in separate fields one decides to go down the route of long distance running the other decides to be a bodybuilder , in 10 years time they will have each spent the time designing their bodies with different forms of exercise and nutrition into two polar opposite body types

we all start life at the same baseline in terms of our body while genetics does take a massive role in your body and how its susceptible to different forms of exercise, at the end of the day there is nothing stopping the normal person from being in fit shape. I'm not saying everyone has to be at the standard of a professional athlete or bodybuilder. but I will accept no excuse as to why someone is out of shape ( besides the exceptions in form of medical situations).

How could a great designer spend hours daily working towards a project in there job yet neglect themselves? while Exercise and nutrition build up and fuel the body they also help keep your mind clear and healthy. A fit body doesn't add negativity to your life. daily exercise and keeping a diet also helps build character and discipline. Help yourself make a better first impression.

To reiterate my point I feel if you want to be considered as a great designer yet you neglect the most important product of all, your health and body, well in my eyes then you're no designer at all.