When Form Follows Function

After and Before

Growing up with a dad who was an architect and a mother who was an interior designer, the phrase "form follows function" is a rule I heard and find myself referring to often.  Though the phrase was coined by architect, Louis Sullivan, it can be applied to many forms of design--including blog design.

In my quest today to figure out how to list the words for each of the "odes" in the color journal I am starting, I decided the best way to compile them on this blog is not necessarily the most visually appealing.  Maybe I will be able to think of a way to make the lists "prettier" but for now...

As the lists lengthen, the need to figure out a way to catch repeated words seemed to have precedence over how visually appealing the words looked on the page.  The only way I could figure out how to catch the duplicates was to alphabetize them.  And the only way I could figure out how to alphabetize them is putting them into a bulleted list in Microsoft Word.  Transferring that list to this blog also transfers some of the unwelcome formatting code from Microsoft Word, but I think it is the best way to do it.

Does this sound like I am trying to rationalize that this works, even if it bugs me that it does not look like I want it to?  The answer is, yes.  If anyone has a simple solution, I am open for suggestions!