Seven Aesthetics – DRIFTWOOD STUDIO

Seven Principles of Driftwood Studio

David Nixon (21.02.2025)

The name Driftwood is a translation of the Japanese word Ryuboku. Ryuboku or Driftwood is one of the five core features of the Kawa Model. Kawa, which means river, is used as a metaphor for understanding life flow. In 2014 I travelled to Yokohama and Tokyo with a delegation of occupational therapists from all over the world. We had been working as a global development team under the guidance of Professor Michael Iwama who had first developed the concept in Japan and then in Canada.

These are the deep roots of what has become Driftwood Studio. The Japanese influence is a powerful feature of the way we work. Furthermore, David Brown, who specializes in NLP, also has experience in the application of Lean Manufacturing and Kaizen Process Optimisation. Both of these have their roots in Japan.

As we developed the Driftwood Studio project, more and more of these connections became evident. When we launched Ensō as a workshop it was the aesthetics of the event that I felt were of the utmost importance. To develop the event I looked further into the aesthetic principles of Japanese culture. I had become aware of these on my trip to Japan and the 2014 conference, but I was surprised to see how much we were already incorporating into our work. The process from here will be refinement and more refinement.

Seven Aesthetics

Kanso

Simplicity

When all that is extraneous is removed what remains is poetry. This is a principle I learned from my theatre studies and it is also applicable here.

Fukinsei

Asymmetry

When we make an ensō, the circle is often incomplete to express this aesthetic. Asymmetry draws the eye and expresses a certain beauty. Ask any fine dining chef.

Shibumi

Beauty (from simplicity)

Consider a pool of perfectly still water. A feather falls on that water and causes the faintest of ripples. There is a beauty to this simply event.

Shizen

Naturalness

In design there is greatest impact when the effort is minimal. Fluidity of movement, gentle curves that suggest rather than dictate. The path of least resistance.

Yugen

Allusion

Subtlety is vital. Subtlety encourages reflection, mindful attention and interpretation. The invisible can be alluded to by what is evident.

Datsuzoku

Freedom from formula

Breaking from the norm, getting away from habit. This is an important aesthetic at Driftwood Studio where we are all about Creative Freedom and reframing.

Seijaku

Tranquility

Have you ever been walking in a busy city and slowed right down? How did it feel? When I do this exercise I feel myself in a peaceful place, placid, but not passive.

Applying the Aesthetics

In designing our events and delivering both group work and one to one development, we endeavor to apply the 7 aesthetics to maintain three values:

Efficacy
Creativity
Adaptability

Efficacy: Our work has to make a difference. If what we provide has no impact then no matter how elegant, creative or beautiful it might be, it has no real value for you the client, participant or customer.

Creativity: This is the fuel to our thinking. We strive to develop creative freedom so that we can see challenges from a new perspective and reframe our thinking.

Adaptability: Being adaptable makes us responsive to client, participant and customer needs, goals and aims. We are also responding to our own development as an organisation to continually grow and develop according to our own values.

Therefore, the question is – “how to we use the aesthetics to uphold these three values? Let us address that one by one:

Kanso:

Remove barriers to creativity. Seek solutions within the challenge we face. Utilise the river metaphor as a simple framework for communication and imagining new flow. We work to the principle of sculpture that it is the removal of excess that reveals the truth that lies within the stone.

Fukinsei:

Dave Brown and myself work toward agreed goals, but we work in different ways. We seek difference and celebrate diversity. Symmetry is static, asymmetry is dynamic and filled with movement, this is what we seek in our process. Sometimes this means we have difficult conversations, but with an agreed objective, we are always happy to undertake these tasks.

Shibumi:

We apply the principles of kaizen and kawa to our development process to provide event design that is easily deliverable, repeatable and manageable. There is an elegance to clarity of vision, we seek to embody this in all our work.

Shizen:

If it feels like we are forcing something or over reaching, then we will not pursue it. Even if this means making a sacrifice in the short term, being true to our values and principles is a long term investment. The evolution of Driftwood Studio has been, and will continue to be an organic process. At times this can be frustrating, but we recognise this as an opportunity to learn how to be comfortable with such situations, rather than trying to alter them from a false perspective.

Yugen:

We work intuitively and with an explorer’s curiosity. This means that we are continuously learning and reflecting on our growth and development. By being intuitive we leave the door open to experimenting and adopt an ‘no failure’ policy. We do, we learn, we adapt and grow. This is a natural way.

Datsuzoku:

We learn from experience. We also learn from all those with whom we work, whether as beneficiaries or stakeholders. We seek out contradictions to our thinking and never assume mastery in any situation. By adopting the “beginner’s mind”, we are always looking at the world as children; with curiosity, wonderment and joy.

Seijaku:

Reflection is central to the development of Driftwood Studio. Finding space to be is the first stage of the Creative Freedom process. Being comfortable with our thoughts and finding ourselves in calm and peaceful states, both inner and outer, is your greatest achievement.

Interconnection

You may have noticed that the seven aesthetics connect and support one another. For example, Seijaku or Tranquility, is achieved where there is an effortlessness (Shizen) and simplicity (Kanso) present in both our minds and our environment.

The concept of allusion, or ‘Yugen’, is supported by the asymmetry of ‘Fukinsei’ and nurtures the manifestation of ‘Datsuzoku.’ These are interconnected principles that have both emerged from, and influence the emergence of our work so far.

The relationship between the seven aesthetics and the development of Driftwood Studio is the same as the relationship between a river channel and the water that flows through it. The two are intractable and bound together via the truth that is endless change and development.

Thankyou for reading this article. If you would like to know more about our event design for personal and professional development be sure to contact us, or set up a call.

Alternatively you can explore the Haikus created for the seven aesthetics. For more creative stuff you can also follow us on Instagram.