Restraint—a Key to Design Success
In one of the best splurge purchases I ever made, I bought The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian, written by Phil Szostak and forwarded by Doug Chiang. Szostak and Chiang go into the concept art of The Mandalorian, exploring how the show evolved from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s initial idea to what we recognize on screen today.
Doug Chiang, Vice President and Executive Creative Director at Star Wars
Phil Szostak, Creative Art Manager at Lucasfilm
In his introduction, Chiang wrote that “The key to successful Star Wars design is restraint. The hands of the artist remain hidden” [1]. Restraint is defined as the means to prevent from expressing something, to limit, keep under control, or moderate. In design, we can say that restraint is the intersection of working within constraints and practicing humility as designers.
Why constraints aren’t bad
In the beginning of the design process, a design team will define what it takes for their product to be successful. These features are performance measures. Chris Mattson and Carl Sorenson define performance measures as “product characteristics that can be measured by the team and provide information about the desirability of the product” [2]. Some performance measures must be met as a baseline for the product to function; these characteristics are constraints. Mattson and Sorenson gave the following definition and example of a constraint:
“Constraints can usually be recognized by yes/no performance measures. As long as the constraint is met there is not much concern about how well it is met… For example, a car designed for the US must meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Highway Safety Standards in order to be a viable product” [3].
Designers too often see constraints as something restricting what they want to do. However, Szostak and Chiang demonstrate that working within constraints is necessary for innovative work to thrive.
One constraint on The Mandalorian was its production schedule. The team had less time and a smaller budget than a feature length film, but had to produce as much content as two films. This spurred innovation in two ways for The Mandalorian. Chiang noted that “the art department rose to the challenge in order to fulfill Jon [Favreau]’s vision. Remarkably, designs were often approved in only two or three rounds” [4]. Sketching was an important tool for the art department in this regard. Szostak shows how a simple hand sketch, drawn by Filoni for the Mandalorian pitch meeting, “sold the idea of the whole show” [5]. A tight schedule does not need to be crippling when good iteration techniques, such as sketching, are practiced.
Of this sketch, Filoni said, “This was the drawing that, dare I say, sold the idea of the show. It was the image that made everyone go, ‘Even if I don’t know what a Mandalorian is, I get what this is” [5]. Do not underestimate the power of sketching in your design practice.
Another way the tight production schedule spurred innovation was Favreau’s adoption of new virtual screen technologies [6]. Rather than using a traditional green or blue screen, virtual screens are when the actors are surrounded by LED screens displaying the background. Favreau was introduced to this technology while working on the 2016 film The Jungle Book, and was inspired to use it on The Mandalorian. Using virtual screens cut down costs and schedule delays associated with on site shooting, and simplified post production editing. Similarly, time and budget constraints can prompt designers to look for new technologies to expedite any stage of the design process.
Virtual screens eliminated costs associated with filming on site and sped up production time [6].
An important constraint for The Mandalorian was that it had to feel like a natural part of the Star Wars Universe. Chiang wrote that “nothing should look like it had been designed - even though everything had to be created” [7]. Artists spent their time researching the work of pre-existing Star Wars media to select characters, aesthetics, and themes based on the work of George Lucas. They also looked to the real world for inspiration—the Mandalorian’s gear and uniform was in part inspired by uniforms soldiers wore on the African front of World War II [8]. Szostak fills his book with similar examples. Constraints, research, and concept development go hand in hand, and the artists of The Mandalorian demonstrated that creativity’s greatest impact is felt when exercised within project constraints.
The Mandalorian’s outfit was inspired by previous Star Wars characters, sci-fi characters in other franchises, and gear worn by soldiers in WWII [9].
Humility in design
Designers unknowingly subvert the design process when they put their own agendas ahead of the team. Conversely, designers who practice humility find greater success in the design process and are more enjoyable to work with. Many colloquial definitions of humility regard it as something negative, such demeaning themselves and their skills. However, research has shown humility to be a positive quality and an important skill for “effective learning and endeavors in which people aspire to seek the truth” [10].
In the article The psychological significance of humility, humility is defined as “a particular psychological position of oneself - namely, one that is both epistemically and ethically aligned” [11]. Being epistemically aligned is to recognize that we are a small part of the universe and thus have a “limited and incomplete perspective or grasp on the ‘whole’” [11]. Being ethically aligned is “the understanding and experience of oneself as only one among a host of other morally relevant beings, whose interests are foundationally as legitimate and as worthy of attention and concern, as one’s own” [11]. Applying this definition to design, we 1) see our individual ideas within project constraints and 2) recognize that our ideas are of equal merit with our teammates’ ideas; they do not warrant extra attention or resources.
Chiang and his team practiced humility on the design of The Mandalorian by focusing on the story instead of their desire to create something new. He wrote, “Our creations should be reflections of the characters in the story and not a showcase for the director… we strived to avoid self-conscious creations that would call attention to themselves unnecessarily… after all, Star Wars isn’t about designing the future - it is about creating a past from ‘a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…’” [12]. Anything suggested during the design of The Mandalorian was held to the high standard of precedent storytelling from Lucasfilm. And the hard work has paid off - aside from being a fan favorite, seasons one and two of The Mandalorian have won 58 Emmy Awards, and have been nominated for 117 [13].
Rather than creating new designs that would draw attention to themselves, the artists on The Mandalorian focused on designs that would contribute to the story [14].
One of the most vital ways a designer can practice humility is by documenting all their work. Some designers are eager to record information that aligns with what they want or believe, but hesitant to record anything to the contrary. This can include not documenting failed prototypes or tests, leaving out data from experiments that did not give results as desired, and in worst cases, falsifying data in reports. Not only is this unethical, leaving out or falsifying data damages the design process in at least three ways:
Future designers on the project will not be able to build or iterate off the work you and your team did. They will waste time rediscovering what you learned.
Future teams and researchers are at risk of misusing time and resources on a path that is not as viable as it may seem.
Negligence in documentation is fertile ground for future errors, delays, and even safety hazards.
Preserving an honest record of prototypes and tests performed requires humility, and in some cases, courage. I once overheard a capstone coach talking with a professor. In this conversation, the coach mentioned that an unforeseen problem had come up which could derail the project. They then said, “even if it doesn’t work out, we are still going to publish that way [the scientific community they were working with] can know it doesn’t work.” Rather than viewing their unforeseen challenge as embarrassing, this team recognized their work is important and will provide value to their scientific community.
In the world of design, “failures” are not failures, but stepping stones. Although it is disappointing when projects don’t go as planned or hoped, openly sharing lessons learned propels the project forward. Humble designers won’t demean or belittle others when mistakes or challenges arise. Instead, they work together to keep iterating towards a solution.
Your Commitment to Practice Restraint
Studying the artwork in Szostak’s The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian is not only thrilling, but a testament to the power of practicing restraint in design. The paradox of restraint is that we limit ourselves with constraints and humility to expand our opportunities and impact.
Think about previous projects you have worked on and teams you have worked with, then ask yourself the following questions:
How well did you understand project constraints, and how accepting of them were you?
Did you research similar solutions and ideas for inspiration, or rush to develop your own ideas?
How well did you respond to feedback and criticism from your teammates?
What can you do to focus on the success of the project rather than being attached to your own ideas? Remember, attachments are a path to the dark side [15].
Honestly answering the questions above and listening to what within this article “resonates with [you] personally” [16] will guide you on your journey from foundling to master designer. This is the way.
References
[1] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 11.
[2] Mattson, Christopher A., and Carl D. Sorensen. Product Development: Principles and Tools for Creating Desirable and Transferable Designs. Springer Nature, 2019, page 52
[3] Mattson, Christopher A., and Carl D. Sorensen. Product Development: Principles and Tools for Creating Desirable and Transferable Designs. Springer Nature, 2019, page 70
[4] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 11.
[5] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 20. Sketch by Dave Filoni.
[6] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 178. See also, Why ‘The Mandalorian’ Uses Virtual Sets Over Green Screen. Movies insider, 11 June, 2020, accessed 8 February 2022. Screenshot taken from timestamp 0:25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufp8weYYDE8
[7] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 11.
[8] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 29.
[9] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, pages 28-29. Hand sketch by D. Filoni, all other artwork on this page by Brian Matyas.
[10] Samantha Deffler, Mark Leary, and Rick Hoyle wrote in their article Knowing what you know: Intellectual humility and judgements of recognition memory that “The meta-cognitive bias to have greater faith in one's beliefs than is warranted obviously compromises the quality of people's decisions and leads to misguided actions that are based on incorrect assumptions… intellectual humility has been characterized as an epistemic virtue that is needed for effective learning and endeavors in which people aspire to seek the truth.” Being humble is essential to avoid common design pitfalls such as wasting time, stifling creativity, or operating under false assumptions.
Deffler, Samantha A., et al. “Knowing What You Know: Intellectual Humility and Judgments of Recognition Memory.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 96, July 2016, pp. 255–259., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.016.
[11] Wright, Jennifer Cole, et al. “The Psychological Significance of Humility.” The Journal of Positive Psychology, vol. 12, no. 1, 22 Apr. 2016, pp. 3–12., https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1167940.
[12] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, page 11
[13] “The Mandalorian.” IMDb, IMDb.com, accessed 8 February 2022. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8111088/awards/?ref_=tt_awd.
[14] Szostak, Phil, and Doug Chiang. The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Abrams, 2021, pages 30 and 31. Artwork by B. Matyas
[15] Master Yoda, “Attachment leads to jealousy; a path to the dark side, that is.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwAChO2MRo
[16] C. A. Mattson, “Whenever I look into the past, or study about someone else’s design philosophy, I like to pay attention to what resonates with me personally. I like to consider what parts of someone else's philosophy I will integrate into my own philosophy. I like to make a mental note of things I will try, or try to avoid, as I move forward in my own career.”
C. A. Mattson, “Dieter Rams: Less but Better”, The BYU Design Review, May 2020, accessed 8 February 2022, https://www.designreview.byu.edu/collections/dieter-rams-less-but-better
