You Can’t Copy a Feeling: Why Great Design Isn’t Just About Technique

Why does some design make you feel something unforgettable, while other designs leave you cold?

Is it about the materials? The lighting? The technical expertise?

In this article, and the video above, I’ll show you why the most moving design experiences are never about “what color paint” someone used or what camera angle you saw them from.

Instead, you’ll learn why presence, feeling, and the intangible soul of a space matter more than any technical trick—and why you’ll never capture that by copying a design off Instagram.

The Limits of Technique: What a Ballerina Can Teach Us About Design

I used to go to the ballet often, and one night, a friend invited me to witness a ballerina perform her final Carmen.

The atmosphere was electric—thousands of people shouting and hollering, something you’d never expect at a ballet.

So I asked a choreographer with us, “Was it in her hands? What technically made that moment so powerful?”

Before they could answer, my friend looked at me and said, “Did you feel it?”

That’s when it hit me: technique can’t always explain what moves you.

You can’t copy the “trick” behind a transcendent experience.

Why Copying the Paint Color Isn’t the Answer

If you’ve ever browsed design Instagram or Pinterest, you’ve probably seen this question repeated like clockwork:

“What’s the paint color you used in this room?”

As if that one element is the key to replicating the feeling of the space. But you can copy every trick and still miss the presence—the atmosphere—that made the original powerful.

Architecture is like that ballerina. It’s not about the parts. It’s about what the whole evokes in you.

Presence > Plan: The Spirit of Unforgettable Architecture

The first time I felt architecture in a profound way was at Yale’s Center for British Art by Louis Kahn.

There’s a technical description—natural light bathing the paintings, protected from the elements—but none of that explains why it felt almost… holy.

“It was closer to God,” I said, comparing Kahn’s architecture to how people once described Louis Armstrong’s voice.

Years later, it happened again at Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Though packed with tourists, it silenced me. Literally. I couldn’t hear anyone for nearly an hour.

It was as if the building had placed me in a trance—a reminder that real architecture isn’t seen, it’s felt.

The Trap of Over-Analysis

We’re trained—especially in architecture—to justify every design decision. We analyze, explain, defend.

But the truth is, sometimes you don’t know why something works until later.

There’s value in allowing the mystery to be. Think of David Lynch refusing to explain Twin Peaks—not out of secrecy, but out of respect for your experience.

You don’t always need a concept statement. You just need to be moved.

Photography Isn’t Presence

Most people experience architecture through photos (something my favorite architectural photographer reminds me of…) But that’s like watching a film on your phone: you’re not really experiencing it.

You can’t feel presence from a JPEG.

That’s why seeing a space in person can radically shift your understanding—like Yale’s Beinecke Library, which too many dismiss until they stand inside it.

No one feels a concept statement. They feel awe. Or they don’t.

Conclusion: Where Feeling Begins

“Architecture either moves the spirit or it doesn’t. If it moves the spirit, it’s architecture. If it doesn’t, it’s just a building.” - John Hejduk

Maybe you’ve had a moment like that—where a space made you feel something beyond words. Where time slowed, and you just... felt.

If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. What space stopped you cold—even if you didn’t know why?

Your next step:
Feeling awe is one thing. Fighting to create it is another.

“What you are and what you have to be to get there are not always the same.”

Discover why Tadao Ando said “Architecture is war”—and what a Prussian general, concrete walls, and barstool decisions can teach us about the battle every designer faces.

👉 Read Architecture is War and how it applies to your renovation