- Tabor Williams
- Fair Oaks, CA
- United States
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How can art, technology, and design be combined to influence creative leaders?
I think that Maeda's talk outlines how these three seemingly disparate ideas can come together to form something positive. My question then would be, what are some ways in which they can be combined?
Simply living life and coming to these conclusions the same was Mr. Maeda did, or is there a process, or a way in which these three ideas can be merged into a new school of thought?
Justin Kurtz
Roberto Garcia
Tabor Williams
James Zhang 30+
Nearly all common technologies that you see nowadays are a result of art, technology, and design. Cinematic movies and film, entertainment, internet, current evens, the election, Wikipedia, music, Ted, mobile apps, sports, and other forms of media and modern communications. These all involve art, technology, and design.
Tabor Williams
James Zhang 30+
Then one of my favorite things I've done is Processing: http://processing.org/
I made this an audio visualizer on it: http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~jzhang300/AudioVisualizer.html
And then of course it's really the people there that are great, both faculty and students. CS and CM majors are fairly close to each other.
Tabor Williams
While I think that art shouldn't be the main focus of technology, I think that it does have a place. People want to buy items that look present or shiny. I think given the choice between something that is ugly, and something that is pretty, why wouldn't you want to buy the prettier technology? While I know that isn't always the case and sometimes more deserving technology isn't adapted because of it's eye appeal, I think that keeping an eye on design and function could overcome this hurdle.
What do you think?
Henry Woeltjen 10+
If it helps people on a global or even local scale...great. However, many people purchase technology they don't ever fully get a grasp of. People buy iPads and personal computers with all kinds of devices and specifications they don't understand.
Technology is beneficial...but when it is massively reproduced to create profit...the focus is no longer progress.
James Zhang 30+
Technology moves rapidly, and there's no point in having a sophisticated technology if no one knows how to use it due to poor designs or poor communications with the users.
"I don't believe any benefit exists to pretty iPods or cleverly designed computers."
If that's the case, then you should just stop using the web browser, desktop applications, and all these Middle overlays should just begone and you should just do everything on DOS terminal commands.
"If it helps people on a global or even local scale...great. However, many people purchase technology they don't ever fully get a grasp of. People buy iPads and personal computers with all kinds of devices and specifications they don't understand. "
This may not be a completely bad thing. That's like saying that people are required to know how a microwave works in order to use it. The only thing you need to know about microwave ovens are you put food into it, you set a timer, it heats it up within the amount of time setted, and eat.
For a computer, the only thing you really need to know is how to create documents and use its applications and tools and such, you don't need to know the stuff behind the scenes to use the technology. Albeit it's good to know, but it shouldn't be necessary. I don't need to know how the circuit boards work, or the details of a specific algorithm the processor uses for a certain task, or even what really goes down when a computer is turned on, asleep, or hibernating, or how the computer computes things using a complex series of logic gates, or how the computer stores information in transistors.
I also don't know how a car works, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to use it.
Robert Galway 20+
However, I think a person is at least partially a sum of their experiences. How you solve problems, create new designs, and influence people with you deeds, words, or writings is the manifestation of the synergistic effect of the influences discussed by John Maeda. There are other influences as well, such as nature, your understanding level of different concepts, your communications ability, and many other things.
I think the key is to build on your skill sets. Look for ways in which one skill, technology or creative thought can be used in a new situation. Serendipitous discovery (such as penicillin or the yellow sticky pads) is often born of this sort of cross-pollenization of ideas. Look at journals like the NASA Tech Briefs, Machine Design, Design News, Design World, Nature, Popular science, Gizmag and perhaps art publications. Pay attention to the ads as well as the articles. How are other designers solving problems? What new technologies are on the frontier? Skim through the patent office on-line patents. Visit art museums. Learn to weld, paint, and take photographs. Learn to cook, woodwork and dance. It is this mixture of experiences that will provide you a set of tools unlike that of any other person.
Pay special attention to learning effective communications techniques. Writing, drawing, and speaking of course, but perhaps things like argumentation theory, critical thinking, and LISTENING. Be selective about how and where you share your ideas. Use your time and energy wisely with your selection. When you do share, be prepared, thorough, and focused on communicating your points to your audience.
Learn how to learn. Structure your independent learning efforts on the questions you think are important and relevant. Pursue these answers with passion. Try and relate them to your current knowledge base. Did they fully answer the questions...or create new ones? Dovetail your structured learning with your independent study.
Tabor Williams
Fritzie Reisner 100+