Design Samurai: The Book of Five Rings - Overview
Mushashi’s Book of Five Rings is broken down into 5 parts: Earth, Waterm Fire, Wind, Void. In the coming Design Samurai entries I will take a look at each chapter in more depth, but here is a brief overview of what each section of the Book of Five Rings covers…
- Earth
Musashi calls his first scroll Earth because in it he lays out the general principles of his martial strategy - the “groundwork” or preparation needed to set those who are seeking to find the “straight” or true path. To understand Earth we must know the greatest and smallest details, the shallowest as well as the deepest. Likewise, in design we must understand every aspect of the project set before us, including (but not limited to): the target audience, the personality of the brand, the time lime for deliverables, the personal likes and dislikes of the client, the medium of the deliverables and their limitations. Like any straight path drawn in dirt, this is the book of Earth. - Water
The soul is like water. Water takes on the shape of it’s vessel. Sometimes it drips, some times it rages. Singularily it is clear, in mass it is blue. You must accomplish one task in order to accomplish ten thousand. You can slip into water with ease and find it comforting, but if you hit it with great velocity and it can break every bone in your body. Through the teachings in Water we learn that if you can defeat one competitor, you can defeat many. When you have truly learned how to sucessfully complete one project, you can complete any project. A project may seem too large at first, but after analyzing it you will learn that taken in small steps anything can be accomplished. Remember, the large buddah is fashioned after a 1 foot tall model. - Fire
The essence of fire is fierceness, big or small. A large fire is easy to predict, but a small one can change direction easily which makes it difficult to predict. But by understanding the nature of fire and the surrounding environment one can make educated predictions about where the fire is headed. You must train night and day in order to learn how to make the right decisions quickly. Wether working solo, in-house, or in an agency there are sure to be constant changes. Be aware of your surroundings. Make creativity part of your daily life so that it never changes. - Wind
As in the winds of change, The Book of Wind is involved with traditions; family, society, old, new. Learn and understand all strategies, also understand that they are always changing. This is tradition. Learn the traditions of graphic design, what were the standards and rules, why they have changed and what they have changes into. When you understand why certain traditions remain and others have dropped, you will be better equipt to reinfoce the existing standards and to help write the new ones. - Void
The Void has no beginning and no end, and in being so teaches us that to acquire is NOT to acquire. The way of strategy is the way of nature. You must learn to appreciate natures power. When you do, you will learn that there is a rhythm to every situation. When you attack you must learn how to strike naturally. Creative epiphanies ebb and flow. Understanding the void will help you understand how to choose the brilliant spark that naturally solves the problem set forth in your creative brief. To learn the Void is to follow the true way according to nature.