Smorgasboarder_Edition_45

smorgasboarder
subtlety of design
words: dave swan
If I was to confess of having a man crush on
anyone, it would most likely be the Phantom - not
the bloke with the purple jumpsuit who goes by
the name of the Ghost Who Walks, I’m talking
about the super-talented Chris Garrett of Chris
Garrett Shapes and Phantom Surfboards. Creative,
humble, insightful, genuine, accommodating – there
is a plethora of superlatives that could be used to
explain the man, friend is another.
I recently caught him prior to heading overseas,
and as we only had a few minutes, I had one
question to ask of him. As simple as the question
may have seemed on the surface, it was almost
too difficult to put into words. I was seeking to
understand the subtlety of design that sets his
surfboards apart from so many others. His boards
are almost indescribable until you see them in the
flesh, or foam and fibreglass I should say. It is then
on close inspection, you begin to see the “subtlety
of design” that makes them such things of beauty,
works of art. As eloquent as always, Chris had
these few words to say.
“You are too kind. I am just blessed to do what I do.
Surfboard building is such a noble art.
“I get a lot of satisfaction out of making and
creating stuff. There is something about creating
things out of foam and watching shapes evolve.
It is addictive. I need it in my life. From a health
perspective, it is possibly one of the most toxic
things you can do. I shouldn’t be doing it. From a
creative outlet point of view, I have to do it.”
That’s Chris to a tee. He’s compelled to be an artist.
“Commercially speaking my time could be
better spent doing other things but I love making
surfboards and when you enjoy something so
much, you want to do more and more of it and I
suppose that passion hopefully comes out in what
I make. For nearly 40 years I’ve been fortunate
enough to follow my heart and do what I like.
Creating boards that match surfers to waves and
making their dreams a reality, is a part of the stoke
that drives my passion.
“What’s most important to me is seeing or hearing
of my clients enjoying themselves on my boards.
That’s what I get a kick out of. That’s what I get
out of the whole process. I like a close association
with my clients, working on their boards, because
I never had that close association when I was
younger before I started shaping my own boards.
I experienced that disconnect between what you
want and what you get – that only comes with
personal interaction.
“Surfing to me is about that connection, it’s about
community, it’s about friendship, purpose and
enjoyment. That’s why I reckon I have one of
the best jobs on the planet. It gives me a lot of
fulfilment and enjoyment.”
And that right there is one of the keys to great
design. I recently read an article in Medium entitled
The Subtle Art that Differentiates Good Designers
from Great Designers and it reiterated this very
point: ‘great designers think about the user, all
the time. Like any other art, you don’t design
something because it’s required. You design
something because it fulfills the gap between needs
and requirement.’
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