I’ve been playing Pokémon for the better part of two decades now.

NOT that new crap.

Generations 1-3 only!

now that we’re clear on that, yes, I’ve been playing for a while, and I very much enjoy it. and I enjoy it for a simple reason: I find it to be a nice harmony of strategic principles; or should I say, it’s good practice in finding the balance between aesthetic design and practical utility.

usable characters, you know, the Pokémon, appear in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. they’re also accompanied by a variety of movesets and type matches. here you can see the basic scaffolding for Aesthetics and Utility.

what I typically try to do is have a nice balanced color palette of characters that also lends good in-game utility for the story line, etc.

all this to say…

it’s not enough that things should work well, they should also be pretty; similarly, it’s not enough that things should be pretty, they should also work well. no amount of overcompensating for a lack of one thing in the opposite’s direction will ever fulfill the natural need for that thing. if you’re too pretty, no amount of getting prettier will ever fill the void of being inept and useless. similarly, no amount of practicality can ever fix Ugly, because to be Ugly is avoided after a certain threshold.

something to think about, I suppose, as we go about our world’s creating things. whatever you’re curating, or ‘building’ as some call it, make it elegant, make it reliable. find the harmony between fashion and function.