There’s a phrase I discovered today from the design world: conspicuous design. It refers to objects or aesthetics that scream their identity. Think: the sculptural chair that begs to be noticed more than it begs to be sat in. The building that says more about the architect’s ego than the people who live inside it.
I was drawn to that phrase not because of what it means for buildings or brands.
But how it relates to beliefs. To values. To the aesthetic of becoming.
It’s got me thinking about what it means to be conspicuously conscious—to not just have a maturing worldview, but to live it out loud. To let your beliefs have shape, texture, and presence. To be visible, not as performance, but as invitation. One example being for your work to be an expression of your beliefs.
Because at some point, usually around midlife, we start to realise that it’s not enough to have internal clarity. We want external coherence. We want our choices—what we say yes to, what we refuse, what we wear, how we speak, who we associate with—to align with what we deeply know.
The Soul Has a Look
There’s a kind of aesthetic to a lived belief system. You can see it in people who’ve settled into their own truth with grace. Their homes are extensions of their ethics. Their friendships feel intentional. Even their silence is shaped by discernment.
They’re not shouting. But they’re unmistakably expressing.
That’s what being conspicuously conscious feels like to me: living in such a way that your soul’s evolution has a visible texture. Not for the likes, not for the brand, but because your integrity wants out. It wants to breathe.
From Performance to Presence
We live in a time when “consciousness” can be a costume. Eco this, ethical that, spiritual-sounding hashtags and curated authenticity. There’s nothing wrong with the visibility of values—but the why matters.
So how do we know when we’re being genuinely expressive versus subtly performative?
Maybe it comes down to effort. Performances are exhausting. Presence, on the other hand, feels like exhale. When you’re conspicuously conscious, you’re not trying to convert, impress, or win. You’re simply aligning. And in that alignment, others may feel a gentle nudge toward their own truth.
A Midlife Aesthetic
The idea of a soul aesthetic intrigues me. How do our beliefs look on us now, compared to when we first tried them on in our 20s or 30s?
Some things fit better with age. Some have worn out. Some needed tailoring. That’s part of the pivot: reimagining your personal ethos not just as an inner compass, but as a visible signature.
It’s not about branding yourself as “conscious.” It’s about inhabiting your values fully, in the way you love, lead, spend, create, and relate.
Maybe that’s what midlife gives us: the courage to look how we actually feel inside.