Mouse Houses and Upside down Toilets; Early Influences to my Personal Aesthetic

As discussed in previous blog posts, I am extraordinarily passionate about design and how impactful it is to our behaviors and wellbeing. Reflecting on my own personal aesthetic there are a number of distinct memories that come to mind which have molded my taste and individual style and have been incredibly impactful in the products I design as well. 

Growing up, my parents always encouraged creativity and provided a number of outlets for me to express my desire to create and innovate. In a similar manner, at a young age, they also exposed myself and my siblings to various forms of the arts be it the Cleveland Art Museum, musicals on Broadway, or my cousins collegiate acting performances. I mention this because I believe this laid the groundwork for my appreciation of design as well as primed my creativity to explore the weird and unconventional. 

As such, the influential memories that immediately come to mind are those wherein the aesthetic was playful and different; bold colors, large geometric shapes, off nominal angles, and some form of engaging tactile material. 

The earliest memory of this appreciation for the weird is of the Minnie and Mickey house at Disney World; this was a miniaturized house constructed from some type of molded foam covered in a sheer plastic or thick acrylic coating.

Each object within the house looked as though it was inflated or bursting from its original form; all edges were rounded with a large radius and had a caricature nature. The detail in the design and the outfitting of the house was impeccable; every object within the house looked as though it belonged there and followed this distinct aesthetic and as you looked closer in each room more and more details revealed themselves creating moments of surprise and encouraging the curiosity. This house greatly influenced my appreciation for not only detail, but maintaining a consistent theme that makes sense for the object. 

Also at Disney World, another influence to my aesthetic preference comes from a ride that followed the theme of imagination and a character named Figment. I honestly dont remember the ride itself, but what is so clear in my memory is a moment in the ride where the trolley cart goes in to a room and all the objects are placed in unconventional orientations. One of those objects that has stuck in my memory was a toilet that was upside down and hanging from the ceiling. I just loved how playful this was and how, on this ride, you enter a world that does not follow the rules of everything else around us.

I know this is more of a singular design vs an aesthetic, but the overall aesthetic of the ride surrounded imagination and challenge of the normal. At my house now, as inspired by this experience, I have a hallway that is fully covered in record art and has some of my old guitars hanging upside down on the ceiling. I love the surprise and awe that people have when walking through.

In summary, I think a lot of my personal style and aesthetic preferences are those which toe the line of weird, different, and challenge the norm. I enjoy places which have visually stimulating features and invoke a sensation of imagination, curiosity, and creativity. 

Image sources:
https://wdwnt.com/2024/05/video-journey-into-imagination-with-figment-flushing-toilet-effect-fixed/

https://www.charactercentral.net/L1082_DisneyCharacters_TokyoDisneyResort_TokyoDisneyland_MinniesHouse.aspx