SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MARZIPAN ... OR CROCS?

Like those two divisive examples, design tastes often also diverge into two camps. The design version tends to cleave its constituents down the divide of form versus function: do you prefer design that focuses on the job at hand, or do you like a little exuberance in the mix? The divide is, of course, more yin-and-yangy than it is a hard border. There’s always some form oating in the function side of the pond, and vice versa.

In this design-focused issue of VISI, we have wonderful illustrations of each, both in our architectural features and in the Vision and Stories sections that bookend them. Architect Anthony Orelowitz starts from the point of function to create a beautiful Johannesburg sanctuary (p52), while the organic curves of Paul Oosthuizen’s Keurboomstrand home (p80) indicate that its design journey began from the opposite direction. Our look into biophilic and biomorphic design (p184) as well as Casamento’s design journey (p140) are inspiring examples of design expression, while Nike’s Shapa Soweto community and training centre (p154) and Audi’s e-tron 55 (p170) show how that little dot of yin in function’s yang makes all the di erence.

Ultimately, we tend to favour the ethos that speaks to our individual taste and, by extension, our personality. And whatever your personal tastes lean to, I think Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis Group design collective, nailed it when he said, “A good design is like the possibility of going to the moon. Few people will have the opportunity to experience it directly – but its existence will change the lives of millions.”