What Is Comfort? Essay Example

Introduction

The article "Genuine Comfort" by the creative director and brand strategist Scott Fellows, at the architectural and interior design firm BassamFellows, explores the true definition of what it means to be comfortable in a room (Fellows 29). Fellows is quick to point out that comfort should not be confused with minimalism (29), yet it has something to do with minimalism. The most important thing about well-being of Fe is taking utmost care on the part of the designers with the proportion of a room and the furniture for starters. Comfort is an emotional response (and physiological too) by somebody towards their environment. When Fellows talks about the setting he means the interior aspects of a room (29): proportion is the ratio of the dimensions (length, width, and height) and the layout of the furniture. From the writing in the article, it is clear why Fellows is the creative director at BassamFellows. His words alone makes the reader picture being comfortable in a room designed to look and feel simple but filled up by the profoundness of details in the design elements.

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The Message and Target Audience

Fellows prefer that BassamFellows "modernists" rather than "minimalists" (29). The last sentence of the article shows his reluctance (and BassamFellows' corporate opinion) to be labeled: "Perhaps we'll call it Thoughtful Minimalism" (Fellows 29). Fellows' main point is that interior aspects of a room are what makes it feel like a home. Natural lighting or more specifically balanced lighting also contributes towards a person's wellbeing and sense of feeling at home. Fellows gives the example of adequate light illuminating a room during the day and low light by the evening to show a balance (29). Potential clients of BassamFellows products and services are the target audience for this article. Critics in architecture and interior design, including fellow architects and interior designers could also be another target group. Another target group is people looking for simple designs in furniture, interiors, accessories and other products and services offered by BassamFellows.

On proportion, there is the matter of the right scaling, something that has long been an archetype of art and architecture (Merrell 87). Scaling has to do with more than the dimensions of the room and the physical layout of the furniture. It has to do with designing elements to accommodate people. Furniture has to be made accordingly; chairs and tables have to provide for people well. There should be no awkwardness in sitting postures or looking for the right angle for backrest (Milan and Vasilski 335). The author distances designs made to be contemporary; his version of comfort is more revolutionary (Fellows 29); involving appealing to people's senses.

Reflection and Critical Analysis of Article

Fellows mentions that the sense of touch of something often overlooked by designers. He indicates that "wood is warm and inviting" (29); undoubtedly different materials textures and finishing give them an element of either welcoming or cold rejection. Wooden furniture and designs, often dark and with engravings, fine-tune a person's senses to touch and feel. Brass and leather also have the same warm, welcoming effect; hence material is a critical factor to texture and comfort. Visual elements can also be conveyed through touch especially with furniture, for example, carvings of legs and undersides of tables, stools and other furniture. Touch and the visual invitation to feel the texture is an essential but undervalued aspect of genuine comfort.

There is a lot of relevance to this article concerning comfort. Architects and designers often design to "wow." However, Fellows observes that "wow leaves disappointment" once the initial amazement fades away (Fellows 29). In achieving comfort, there are factors to consider about design elements, for example, furniture layout, proportions, scaling, material synchronization, symmetry and asymmetry and designing room for functional (intended purpose). Indeed, the article by fellows makes a reader to consider BassamFellows for products and services regarding architecture and interior design. It is a great article: bold, new, minimalist-artistic, challenging notions and above all promoting people-centered design. There are other concepts in wellbeing, notably sentimentalism, monumentality, and minimalism.

Sentimentalism concerning Wellbeing in Art and Architecture

Sentimentalism is the artistic and architectural foundation of the article in my opinion. Sentimental art/architecture is that invokes a nostalgic emotional response from people (Juan-Vidal and Abad 540). Fellows emphasizes comfort in relations to what a room, furniture or any other form of art and architectural design makes people feel. An excellent example of sentimental art/architecture is the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. The memorial reminds America of September 11, 2001; it tells people of loss and also hopes that terrorism will be eradicated for the sake of loved ones lost. Usually, museums are built on sentimentalism, most art and design features appeal to people's emotions.

Monuments also have a sense of timelessness: I will explain that in the next sub-topic. In the article by Fellows, the words warm and inviting are appeals to people's sense of pathos. If a room is warm and inviting, it makes people feel safe, secure and at ease. Feelings of safety, security and being at the right place make people fond of a room, furniture, a fitting; this is how sentimentalism develops. Wooden furniture and accessories are warmer than plastic the fact that Fellows alludes to when he uses rhetoric to ask readers if plastic can be considered family heirlooms? The answer is, of course, a firm "No."

As humans, we are surrounded by buildings, walls, arches, furniture fittings, interior design features and other components of art and architecture in the built environment (Yi 39). According to Juan-Vidal and Abad tranquility or wellbeing is the essential semantic concept in art and architectural design for humans; "the success of a render is associated with the emotions of innovation - futuristic and tranquillity - well-being" (Juan-Vidal and Abad 542). Tranquility is well-being or simply the sense of being where you are. Wellbeing makes a person less stressful and enjoys being in a room. Fellows translates the meaning of wellbeing terming it "genuine comfort and thoughtful minimalism.

The design has less to do with how space is utilized, the dimensions, the colors, lighting, interior design elements such as murals and painting; the design while encompassing these and more aspects, has to appeal to the ethos of the people. Human beings are influenced by first impressions (Yi 39). First impressions are rarely formed through logical thought or ethical considerations but rather through emotional responses. Hence, Fellows emphasizes architectural spaces catering to people's emotional need to feel tranquility or well-being.

Monumentality/Luxury as a Factor to Wellbeing

Besides tranquility, wellbeing is also linked with monumentality. Monumentality is the sense of timelessness about architectural spaces, layouts, designs and decorations (Essawy, 265). It is the reason why people like Gothic, Victorian, retro or buildings with long and varied history (Jimenez 385). Timelessness could be anything from retro, stone age to futuristic post-apocalyptic. Timeless designs could be from ancient Egypt or futuristic in the sense of millennia into the future. Fellows focuses less on monumentality, which aspires to be luxurious. Fellows opts for more straightforward and more practical designs. However, he still manages to encompass luxury/monumentality in the article.

Fellows focuses on touch to show instances of monumentality. Again, the reason he mentions feel or texture especially on furniture is that it is something that designers do not give priority. "There is, as a famous fashion designer once said, elegance is refusal" As concerns ethos and moral obligations to architectural standards and histories, Fellows is adopting a rebellious attitude." To start something new and unconventional, a designer must disregard the old methods. It is clear that revolutionary and futuristic designs inspire a sense of "wow"; Fellows distances the company BassamFellows from such notions though.

The rebellious, revolutionary designs Fellows writes about hence has something to do with simplicity and making people fit in rather than notice unique designs. Unique and futuristic designs run the dangers of making people feel out of place. Maybe that is the reason Fellows did not mention such. However, in my opinion, "wow" is an important factor to design and interior elements. According to me, designs that challenge form, makes people wonder, might make a person fall in love with the design without necessarily disappointing them with time. Fellows (is concerned that initial wonder might fade away with time, but the monumental Chicago Picasso still inspires a sense of "wow" 50 years after it was installed. People in Chicago often meet at the sculpture, as it stands out. In the beginning, the Chicago Picasso wowed people; it still makes people wonder, more so those seeing it for the first time, and wondering what Picasso meant to communicate with the statue.

The Chicago Picasso is an excellent example of experimental design. Architectural designs that Fellowinspires monumentality by invoking people's appreciation of the bizarre and unexplained has got to do with people's inkling to want to see the best for themselves. It appreciates the artist's talent, the carpenter's craft, the architect's imagination. When people see an unusual design, they understand the artist's efforts. People generally love to be at the center of attention. When artists, painters, architects, interior designs and other creative designers design, they do so for people. People love being appreciated; Fellows sheds little light on this fact, instead of on people's need to fit in. Appreciation goes beyond appealing to well-being; for designers it means going beyond conventional techniques, challenging trends and creating unique styles. Indeed, there is elegance in refusal; a lot of it has got something to do with monumentality.

What is Minimalism in Art and Architecture? And What Does it Have to do With Wellbeing

The article made me think aloud. Fellows mentions that he dislikes minimalist labeling. He also finishes the piece by assuming that perhaps his company is thoughtful minimalism. Two things were clear on minimalism; first, there is a traditional opinion on minimalism, one which is unflattering to Fellows, and secondly, the "Genuine Comfort" by Fellows is inspired by minimalism in no small degree. It seems that comfort is founded on values of minimalism, but the 21st-century interpretation of the style makes Fellows skeptical about being labeled minimalist. I started asking myself what the experts in the field of architecture think about minimalism and specifically the relations with wellbeing.

Minimalism can be interpreted in various creative processes. According to (Shih, Chih-Ming, Huang, and Kuo 15) the architects "Ludwig Mies and Louis I. Kahn, represent two different architectural fields of thought regarding simplicity." Marcel Duchamp's 1915 "Readymades" series of manufactured prefabricated everyday objects and furniture is an early example of Minimalism. Duchamp chose and re-modified objects, challenging the definition of art creation. It would be almost fifty years before Minimalism became a movement in Art, starting from New York (Minimalist Art Through the Ages). The works of Frank Stella and Donald Judd changed the creative design process of sculpture. Like Duchamp's, the two among others were concerned abou...