About

The short version:
I’m inspired by understanding how other people view and influence the world around them.

The long version:
Have you read 'How to do Nothing' by Jenny Odell? If not, here's a primer: It’s a book —but more of a long essay— about the intersection of art and design and our attention. The author uses her background to make connections that otherwise may not have existed to notify us about how we are and how we can be better. She’s a master observer. 

I too, am an observer who would prefer technology not have such a hold on us as a society. There’s something really special about community in today's world.

I used to live in a co-living community in Brooklyn. Pretentious, I know. But the great thing was the collision of disciplines and the creativity that came out of it.

So this is my attempt at creating the community I’m missing. The community I’ve found in other, less transient cities. The great thing about big cities where people don’t stay is that they come and are looking for (and find) their place and their people. The thing about Charlotte is that people come and look and don’t find exactly what they’re looking for.  

I’m a designer and I care a lot about the world around me and how it operates for the betterment of the people that use it. I’ve lived in places where people find that soft landing when they get here. I want to create that landing for people. My hope is that you’ll read this and realize you’re part of a larger organism that lives and breathes and is trying to be the thing you want to be a part of. Design is a lot of amorphous things. It’s the way we approach the world, the way we use it, the systems around how we see it. 

I want to get back to finding out others stories. Selfishly I want learn about other people. The kind of people I want to hang out with. Less selfishly, I want to create the kind of community I wish I had wherever I go.

Let me know what you think: james@charlottedesignmag.com