So our attraction to abundance is genetic, and Lee describes what the “candy store” would be for early humans. She then goes on to explain the historical genetic advantage of appreciating abundance: early hunter-gatherers who were able to take advantage of a windfall would be more likely to survive than those who did not. When she writes of abundance, for example, she describes, quite literally, a kid in a candy store. Renewal: blossoming, expansion, and curvesĪs Lee expands each of these ten aesthetics, she explores places and objects that delight us her descriptions and explanations are joyful in themselves. Discovering that certain qualities in the world around us do stimulate feelings of joy, she identified ten “aesthetics of joy.” These ten aesthetics make up the chapters of her book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness:Ībundance: lushness, multiplicity, and varietyįreedom: nature, wildness, and open spaceĬelebration: synchrony, sparkle, and bursting shapes These are the questions Lee asked herself, so she began to study joy. But why? If it’s true that joy is within us and not outside us, why do certain things help us to feel more joyful? And a handful of confetti makes a gathering feel like a celebration. We take flowers or balloons when we visit people in hospitals. We know instinctively that our spirits feel uplifted when we see a beautiful sunset.

This led her to wonder: how can a simple object elicit joy? Finally, one professor said, “Your work gives me a feeling of joy.” When designer Ingrid Fetell Lee stood before a panel of professors for her first review in the industrial design program, several of her creations on the table beside her, she watched their faces nervously, awaiting a verdict that would tell her whether she even belonged in design school.

Ingrid lee joyful