Welcome to The Quiet Design Scholar
where offbeat ideas meet the edges of my written and creative projects
I’m a design scholar and a scholarly designer, but referring to myself as ‘quiet’ makes me grin. I’m not without sound (music is critical to my work) and at times, I am very loud. Here, ‘quiet’ refers to this space that will be, as the OED suggests, “freedom from mental or emotional agitation; inner tranquillity; peace of mind.”
See? I’m optimistic. Really.
For the past decade or so, I’ve been plodding along on a long-term writing project that was lurking in the shadows. This project is The Designers Respond. In some ways, I think it chose me. To do this work necessitates a confidence in my ability to shift and change the shape of my writing — and create something that, to my knowledge, is not common in my field.
As such, I can’t guarantee my posts here will always stay on a certain topic, nor will they always fit the contours of academic publishing. The work I’m doing falls somewhere in between. It’s researching, structuring, writing fiction, snacking (!), collecting data, and simply making good sentences. Sometimes I might write advice for other scholars or faculty, other times a post could just be about my dog (he’s adorable). Ultimately, I’ve decided that all these things are relevant to my work, and that’s what I’m here to do.
If you’re interested in my academic stuff, find it at jessicabarness.com. During 2022 (and part of 2023) I wrote a microblog that contains bits and pieces of The Designers Respond. At least a couple other people have read these things.
I repeat: Optimism!
Anyway, a warm welcome to you. Thanks for reading this, and I hope you consider subscribing or stopping by again.
