I am in Love….

Sipping hot coffee on my favorite 17th floor balcony with no other multistory nearby that would obstruct the breathtaking sight of Ilford from here. A disconnected wifi and INXS on playlist are icing the delicious cake. After an exciting Sunday afternoon all by me in Covent Garden this makes the best day-closing treat. It was a day of tube hopping, a bit of shopping for my darling niece and a lot of love blooming. Yes, I am in love with this city. There’s is nothing far in London. There’s nothing unknown here. There’s nothing un-designed here. And 37 yrs back my mum loved it too…so that’s all I need to fall in love with something.
Nothing Far
The connections are rock solid. An intensive urban transportation system is adorable. Moreover, the beautiful summer weather doesn’t tax you much for walking stretches together.

Nothing unknown
The signage, helpdesks, maps, directions, information notices, alternate routes, warnings- all perfect. I believe if I start doing a Nielsen’s Heuristic evaluation there’s not much that the city violates ;) So, it’s ‘usability’ makes you feel at home quite soon. Without interacting with anyone I was always informed about everything everywhere. If the metropolitan line was under maintenance today, then which bus would take me to the nearest station and in how much time was all up there. Delighting system design!

Nothing un-designed
From pavement curbs to compact mirrors for little girls to road-side planters to personal ticket holders- you name it and even the naivest of the stuff has a well-thought-of design story involved. This makes me think that there is so much for young generations to learn from and to compete with. The basic DQ level (if tested) is understandably above average. The sense of aesthetics in the immediate environment itself increases the threshold of design sensitivity for any creative designer- let it be a graphic designer, an apparel designer or an urban designer.

Wow, that makes a series of few more (affectionate) insights lining up on my mind. I am gonna sleep over the last one and get back with lots more soon.

P.S. With the setting sun and birds flying back and the wind getting chillier, it’s only getting more mushier.