Early in my career on the drive back to Washington, DC from rural West Virginia after running a visioning workshop, my mentor asked me, “Are you a form-giver?”

This particular architect and designer had studied and worked under Eero Saarinen and it wasn’t until years later that I fully appreciated the depth of the question.  

Although Saarinen used the term form-giver to describe the specific role of an architect, I believe that it also applies in spirit to contemporary designers.  The current maker culture in particular illustrates that all people are capable of creating something of value, rather than being content with following or accepting the status quo.  Do you create or do you not?  Do you lead or do you follow?

How one answers the question of being a form-giver can speak to how a person approaches life.