From Chuck Close’s portraits to Antoni Gaudí’s arches, great design shows that style isn’t invented; it emerges from process.
Two Creatives, Worlds Apart
At first glance, Chuck Close and Antoni Gaudí couldn’t be more different. One was a contemporary painter, the other a Catalan architect. One worked with faces, the other with stone.
Both arrived at their unmistakable style by inventing processes to solve unique problems. Their work reminds us that style is the result of problem-solving.
Chuck Close: Transforming Limitation into Vision
Chuck Close was face-blind. He couldn’t recognize faces, yet he became a celebrated portrait artist. His solution? Break the image into a grid.
Within each cell, he focused only on what he could see: color, value, shape. Each square was its own abstract painting. Taken together, they formed large-scale portraits that were both deeply personal and visually iconic.
Close’s process focused on translating perception into form. His supposed disability became his superpower.
Antoni Gaudí: Engineering the Impossible
Antoni Gaudí faced a different challenge: how to model complex structural loads long before computers. His solution was surprisingly simple.
He hung chains with weights to mimic natural forces, then flipped the model upside down. The result was catenary arches — the most efficient way to distribute weight.
This technique gave rise to his sweeping, organic architecture. Spaces with no rigid columns, only flowing arches that feel grown rather than built. What we now call Gaudí’s “style” was originally just a pragmatic solution to an engineering challenge.
When Process Defines Aesthetic
Neither Close nor Gaudí began with a style in mind. They began with a problem, and a style emerged from their method.
This principle is abundant throughout design history. Consider Carlo Nason, the Murano-born glass designer. In the 1960s, he broke with ornate Venetian tradition to solve functional challenges in lighting. His modular, stackable glass lamps came from inventing processes of layering, assembling, and modernizing glass techniques. His futuristic look emerged from rethinking what Murano glass could do.
What This Means for Us
This lesson shapes our lamps. We don’t chase a style. We start with questions:
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How can a lamp’s shade also be its structure?
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How do you bring natural forms into the home without forcing them?
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How can paper, wood, and geometry work together to soften light?
Every design begins with a process that allows material, constraint, and curiosity to converge.
The Takeaway
Style isn’t something you chase. It’s what emerges when you stay close to the work. When you solve problems honestly, your process leaves its own signature.
