Definitions: Experiential Design

What is Experiential Design?

If beauty "is in the eye of the beholder" (which is debatable in my opinion), then Experiential Design seeks to compasses all of the human sensory stimulation receptors. Beauty or what one sees is just one aspect of what experiential design aims to accomplish. Experiential Design is modeled, programmed, planned, and deliberate in its physical and non-physical expressions. While it does not determine every experience there is to be had is a place, it does seek to guide and encourage individual opportunities. 

Examples: the built environment. Whether specifically deliberate or not, the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and physical conditions of space is where experiential design can help create individual experiences. The patrons of this built realm can experience both predictable and haphazard conditions. 

Life in the balance: Management of Human Development & The Natural World

As a landscape architect, urban designer and naturalist I am often struggling with the "ideal" balance of human development and how it impacts, disrupts or replaces the landscape and ecosystems of the natural world. In my experience humans want to shape their world to suit their needs and wants instead of conforming to the "laws of nature".

I believe in and hope for solutions that are mutually beneficial and strike a balance of humans and nature. This idealism does has it tensions to manage, and the very act of addressing these tensions is precisely the reason why we must all engage in this endeavor. But how is it done? Who and what must take priority? Are human lives more precious than other living organisms? These and similar questions are the thoughts and ideas that I have sought to explore, grapple with and understand.