I’m old enough to remember when you could pick up any regional graphic design annual, open it, and know exactly which area you were looking at just from the work itself. Tennessee or Texas. Southern California or the Pacific Northwest. New York or Chicago. Each had clear stylistic tells. And as an aspiring designer myself, I loved the way concert posters, packaging, and logos all possessed the spirit of their place—and reflected the particular tastes of the people who lived there.

我年紀大了，想起了什么時候可以拿起任何區域平面設計作品，打開它，并僅從作品本身中確切地知道您正在尋找哪個區域。 田納西州或德克薩斯州。 南加州或太平洋西北地區。 紐約或芝加哥。 每個人都有明確的風格訴說。 作為我自己一個有抱負的設計師，我喜歡音樂會海報，包裝和徽標都擁有其所處位置的精神-并反映了居住在那里的人們的特殊品味。

Recently, there’s been a wave of this sort of everything-looks-the-same lament on Medium and elsewhere. When I published an essay about limitations back in 2018, I was surprised at how much interest I received around this idea of vernacular design. Like our forebears in the 1970s and ’80s, it seems we may be reacting to the homogeneity that flows from an international style.

最近，在Medium和其他地方掀起了一股類似的熱潮。 當我在2018年發表一篇關于限制的文章時 ，我驚訝于我對這種本土設計理念的濃厚興趣。 就像1970年代和80年代的前輩一樣，似乎我們可能會對國際風格產生的同質性做出React。

Along with the designers at Journey Group, I’ve been exploring the practices that may lead—even in small ways—back toward a design aesthetic with local roots. We’ve been inspired by companies like True Hand in Philadelphia, who work to express the inspiration and influences of a unique subculture bound by place. The maestra of Manhattan Paula Scher was born in D.C. and studied in Philly, but spent the past thirty years developing a visual style that’s virtually synonymous with New York City at Pentagram’s downtown office.

我和Journey Group的設計師一起，一直在探索可能甚至導致小規模實踐回到具有本地根源的設計美學的實踐。 我們受到費城True Hand公司等公司的啟發，這些公司致力于表達受地域限制的獨特亞文化的靈感和影響。 曼哈頓保拉·謝爾的藝術大師出生于華盛頓特區，就讀于費城，但在過去的30年中，他開發了一種視覺樣式，實際上在五角星形市區辦公室代表紐約市。

But what about the small places? In our case, what would a design sensibility of and for Charlottesville, Virginia (with fewer than 50k residents) even look like? How can photographers, typographers, illustrators, architects and designers come to care less about what’s happening in Tokyo or London and more about what’s happening just a few blocks away. I’ve got a few ideas.

但是小地方呢？ 在我們的情況下，你會的 和弗吉尼亞州夏洛茨維爾設計感性(少于5萬個居民)，甚至是什么樣子？ 攝影師，排版，插圖畫家，建筑師和設計師如何來關心較少發生的事情在東京或倫敦， 更多的是發生的事情只有幾個街區之遙。 我有一些想法。

您關注的地理圍欄。 (Geofence who you follow.)

Maybe not forever, but consider limiting your influences on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to individuals and firms within your region. By primarily consuming visual work from your neighbors, you can begin to understand their point-of-view and respond.

也許不會永遠如此，但請考慮將您對Instagram和Pinterest等平臺的影響力限制在您所在地區的個人和公司。 通過主要從鄰居那里消費視覺作品，您可以開始了解他們的觀點并做出回應。

遠離Dribbble。 (Stay off Dribbble.)

Similarly, avoid design critique from “the global design community.” Instead, set up a standing happy hour within your firm or with designers from nearby offices to review works in progress. Agree to cultivate a school of criticism that prioritizes local culture and fashion. Don’t ask, “How would they solve this?” Rather, “How would we?”

同樣，請避免來自“全球設計界”的設計批評。 取而代之的是，在您的公司內或與附近辦公室的設計師一起設立常設歡樂時光，以審查進行中的工作。 同意建立以當地文化和時尚為優先的批評學校 。 不要問“ 他們將如何解決這個問題？” 而是，“ 我們將如何？”

避免商業類型。 (Avoid commercial type.)

The explosion of cheap and ready fonts has certainly contributed to the samification of everything. Whenever feasible, collaborate with a local type designer or hire a custom letterer. When it isn’t feasible, draw your own! Source inspiration from old signs, bookstores, print shops, and found items in your neighborhood.

廉價字體和現成字體的激增無疑促進了一切事物的殺傷力 。 在可行的情況下，請與本地字體設計師合作或聘請自定義信箋。 如果不可行，請自己動手！ 從舊招牌，書店，印刷店和附近發現的物品中汲取靈感。

別動 (Stay put.)

Speaking of neighborhoods—pick one! Don’t move! And when you do move, ditch your ego and reinvent your portfolio to better reflect your place. I love looking at an established designer’s portfolio and detecting where they lived at the time the work was produced. Far from seeming inconsistent, it reflects a posture of service by prioritizing shared life over individual acclaim.

說到社區，請選擇一個！ 別動！ 當你這樣做的舉動，溝你的自我和重塑你的投資組合，以更好地反映你的地方。 我喜歡看一個設計師建立的投資組合并檢測他們居住在工作中產生的時間。 它不僅看起來很不一致，而且通過將共享生活放在個人贊譽之上來反映服務態度。

學習歷史。 (Study history.)

Designers should all aspire to be amateur local historians. Archival photos, blueprints, maps, type specimens, and other ephemera should be our bread and butter. I think immediately of our friend, collaborator, and constant source of inspiration, Aaron Draplin, who obsessively collects the little pieces of human civilization scattered across the midwest. And here’s the thing: his work is so wonderfully situated within a place.

設計師都應該渴望成為當地的業余歷史學家。 檔案照片，藍圖，地圖，類型標本和其他臨時物品應作為我們的面包和黃油。 我立即想到我們的朋友，合作者和不斷的靈感源泉， 亞倫·德拉普林 ( Aaron Draplin )癡迷于收集散布在中西部的人類文明的小片段。 就是這樣：他的作品如此美妙地放置在一個地方。

隨便走走。 (很多。) (Walk around. (A lot.))

And don’t always take the same routes. Bring a camera or a sketchbook or both. Find the moments and sections and flora that are only in your place. Use them. Platform them.

而且不要總是走相同的路線。 帶上相機或素描本，或同時帶上兩者。 查找僅在您自己的地方的瞬間，部分和動植物。 使用它們。 平臺他們。

跳過獎項。 (Skip the awards.)

Or better yet: launch a local competition with a stated bias toward your own place’s unique design vernacular. It would be amazing to see a statewide design exhibition in which D.C. Metro, The Beach, Richmond, Piedmont & Valley, Southwest, and Southside all vied for their own place within Virginia-grown design.

或更妙的是：發起一場本地比賽，并向您當地獨特的設計偏見。 看到一個全州范圍的設計展覽真是太神奇了，DC地鐵，海灘，里士滿，皮埃蒙特和山谷，西南和南邊都爭相在弗吉尼亞州設計中占據一席之地。

What comes to mind for you? Now that we’re all working alone together, how can we use the opportunity to push back towards a vernacular design?

您想到的是什么？ 現在我們都在一起工作，我們如何利用這個機會來推向本土設計？