I designed a version of this for my TeePublic.com account a while back, as a part of my “Paronym” series. It follows the same philosophy as “Desire Design,” “Awake / Aware,” and the other ones I haven’t published here yet. I redesigned the “Head / Heart” one you see before you, for the fun of it.
The font used to be Code Light (the same font as the “Awake / Aware” project), but I got sick of that font. It’s too thin to be visible from a distance, especially on something as small as a T-shirt. So I found a new font. This one is called Ridgeline 201 and I am so in love with the feel of it. It’s sharp, loud, stylized, and very legible.
I really like the paronymic nature of the words “head” and “heart.” They are two essential things for any human to have in order to survive, but they’re also necessary to live.
There are people in my life who lead with their head (like myself). We do our best to not let our emotions affect our decision making. My mother is like this, and so is her whole side of the family, though I’d argue she’s better at it than any of us. My closest friends, and even my girlfriend, all lead with their heads.
Of course, that’s not to say we don’t feel. I feel very deeply, and so do the people I care about. What we do is notice when our feelings cloud our judgement and then course correct. That’s how we live, and I don’t think we can help it. I certainly can’t.
Some people lead with their hearts. My father is like this, and so is his entire side of his family (except his two sisters’ husbands). What they do is allow their emotions to inform their decisions. They take into consideration how they feel about something, and use that as a logical foundation. “I am hurt by this, therefore it must be bad.” “This hurt me in the past, so it’s best I don’t do this to others in the future.”
The empathy these heart-leaders have is unmatched, and the critical thinking skills of my fellow head-leaders is equally fierce.
There’s no singular right way of doing it, but there’s a common theme among the two opposing sides: each considers their other half. I lead with my head, but I still feel very deeply and it does bleed into my decision making, whether I like it or not. And, although heart-leaders lead with their hearts, they can’t help but analyze the situation in their own way.
The importance, whatever you lead with, lies in thinking as well as feeling. Head and heart.
Thou Art 