According to celebrated architect Sir Richard Rogers, ‘Form follows profit is the aesthetic principle of our times.’
In reference to design, I prefer the noun — aesthetic to the adjective — aesthetic. The latter speaks of beauty or the appreciation of beauty while the former can be defined as a set of principles underlying a piece of art, movement or theory. Its subjective and ‘senso-emotional’ expression and interpretation of and relevance to a context are often a critical reflection on art, design, culture and nature.
I have always believed that innovation follows design. So in the evolution of design, what role does the innovation aesthetic play? Design has evolved from what things look like to how they work. In doing so, the discipline has broken traditional boundaries and put the human condition, empathy and experience at the heart of its (design) thinking. Design Thinking is shaping healthcare, banking, human resources, retail, hospitality, mobility, technology, environment and government among other sectors. In corporate boardrooms, Design Thinking seems to be offering solutions relating to people, products, processes, partnerships, profits and the planet. Data suggests that listed companies, which embraced this thinking, outperformed the S&P 500 index consistently by over 211 percent in the last decade. Good and responsible design is definitely responsible and good business whichever way you say that statement.
In today’s hyper-dynamic world of convergence, rapid obsolescence, disruption and survival where big data and artificial intelligence are inevitable currencies of the all-pervasive technology and globalisation, our world is being shaped in ways and forms beyond imagination, and fast. Innovation is largely responsible. Identifying the underlying principles behind this phenomenon, like a pattern behind art movements in art historically, is not easy to decipher. Our lives are changing. The old and new, then and now, before and after, and, everything in between is blurred but a few enablers remain constant.
This story is from the May 2018 edition of Verve.
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This story is from the May 2018 edition of Verve.
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