Sensibility

Jane Fulton Suri and Michael Hendrix define design sensibility as ‘… the solving of complex problems by creative means’. These creative means often prioritise intuitive qualities such as delight, beauty, pleasure, and joy. These are in turn described and illustrated through visual, tactile, auditory, or, to a lesser extent, olfactory senses. Establishing and harnessing a strong design sensibility is a significant and valuable characteristic within all creative pursuits – pursuits that can recognise, deploy, and drive human attitudes and consumption trends, influence commercial markets, and choreograph public motivation, loyalty, and trust. If sensibility, however, is an intuitive, unconscious inclination based on personal experiences, whose sensibilities do we typically celebrate? And who do these design sensibilities generally benefit? This chapter will explore these questions through the context of architecture and design.