One thing that can be fun to do when you’re out traveling is to look for amazing or intriguing design work. These designs can be on the outside of towns, or the inside of buildings. They can be a as a part of something greater, or they could be a complete concept hiding in plain sight in the form of art, based on form or function.
So the next time you’re out vacationing, and especially if you have an eye for design yourself, check out things like lighting and landscape, architecture, thematic design (like Christmas villages, for example), attention to detail when it comes to color and texture, and if you can find the highlights of local artistic integrity (certain neighborhoods in New York and Los Angeles come to mind).
Lighting and Landscape
One of the easy ways to enjoy new locations is to appreciate lighting and landscape from a design perspective. Outdoor lighting, especially at night, can run the gamut of emotions from serene to striking. And depending on when and where you go, there are placed in the world that are as much defined by their landscaping as any other aspect of their construction or intention. Landscaping Design is rapidly growing in popularity, particularly during the summer months.
Architecture
Some people go on vacation entirely to check out architecture. But even if this isn’t your main purpose, at least looking up and around to see how things are built can be an awesome benefit to being somewhere new. Think of how many pictures the typical tourist will take of static buildings or scenes, simply because of how they look from their reference point – use your powers of vision to enjoy your vacation more!
Themes
One of the best ways to appreciate certain types of art and design is to look at at from inside a sense of theme. One of your best examples of this is going to be the theme of Disneyland or Disney World. Everything within eyeshot is created so that you, as a traveler, can be treated to a complete state shift, enjoying every moment of a suspension of disbelief.
Attention To Detail
At its root, design work is all about attention to detail. And though it’s easy to caught up in general pleasure of things while traveling (“this is generally better”, “that’s generally different”), the real fun is looking at the tiny details. Look at the small things at a pub in England. Absorb the little details at a diner in France. That’s where full experiences come from.
Local Artistic Integrity
In any place that you travel to, there are going to be local artists. These may not be the most famous people, but if you want the real design-work vibe that comes with a locale, then you have to look for local work. This is an often-overlooked aspect of vacationing.