Design Notes

The Space Between Form and Meaning

Author
Corin Vale
Category
Thinking
Published On
July 25, 2025

Between Object and Meaning

Design doesn’t exist to decorate — it exists to suggest, to hold, and to guide. Between what we make and what it means lies a space that invites interpretation. That space is where the work breathes.

The Role of Form

Form alone is mute. It creates structure, presence, and tension, but without intent, it risks becoming style for style’s sake. Form is how we invite someone in, but not how we keep them there.

Meaning as a Living Layer

Meaning alone is abstract. Detached from form, it becomes untethered. But when embedded in a visual system, it gains dimension. Context, memory, and audience shape how it lands.

Leaving Room for the Viewer

Good design doesn’t try to fill every gap; it allows room for resonance, for cultural context, for lived experience to meet the object. In a world obsessed with clarity, sometimes ambiguity is what gives a system soul.

Design Notes

Thoughts Behind the Work