Domino is the name of the game played by laying small, rectangular blocks called dominoes edge to edge, and then pushing one such that it strikes another, causing them all to fall over in a cascade. The term can also refer to any series of events that are linked by cause and effect, such as the fall of a stack of bricks or a wave caused by a drop of water. The word is derived from the Latin dominus, meaning “lord” or “master.”
Lily Hevesh first started playing with dominoes at age 9. Her grandparents had a classic 28-piece set, and she loved setting up the pieces in straight or curved lines, flicking them, and watching the entire row fall. As the dominoes slid down, they made an incredibly satisfying sound.
Hevesh now creates mind-blowing domino installations for galleries and museums. She says her process starts with considering the theme or purpose of the exhibit. Then she brainstorms images or words that might work with it. Her test versions of each section of the installation help her refine the design. After that, she puts everything together—first the flat arrangements and then the 3-D sections.
She begins with the largest sections of the domino sculpture, then adds smaller ones until she has a complete layout. To make sure each piece works as intended, she tests it individually and films the results in slow motion. Hevesh’s videos show her meticulously checking for proper connections and alignments, which are often a challenge when building such an elaborate design.
After she completes the layout, Hevesh starts adding the smaller parts to the larger ones, making sure all of the pieces fit and are connected properly. She then adds the finishing touches, like color and lighting. She has to be careful not to overdo it or the display could collapse. Hevesh even uses different colored dominoes for certain sections to help highlight certain details.
In business, domino can mean a company that is self-aware and takes responsibility for its mistakes. For example, in 2009, Domino’s began a campaign called “Domino’s Pizza Turnaround.” The company acknowledged that it had made some bad choices and sought to right its wrongs. This was a rare sight for a corporation to engage in at the time, and it helped restore customer trust in the brand.
The company is still experimenting with new ways to deliver pizza—from drones to driverless cars. And it’s working on its culture by promoting a leadership model that is less hierarchical and more collaborative.
In the same vein, it’s important to think about your writing in terms of the domino effect. If you’re a pantster, that is, if you don’t make detailed outlines of your plot ahead of time, you can easily end up with scenes that don’t logically connect or have enough impact on the scene that follows it. The way to avoid this is to think about each scene in your story as a domino—does it provide a necessary shift in emotional stakes for the character, and does it help build towards your big reveal?
