Technology Fails Design

146/365

I remember being a kid in the 90’s. No Internet, HDTV’s, cell phones, Blu-ray players, iPads…and worst of all, no Facebook! I mean, how did we survive as a kids? I had to play kickball outside with my friends instead of challenging them to Doodle Jump online. I had to write love letters to girls instead of texting or emailing them. Pen pal’s are a thing of the past it seems.

I remember a day when my sisters were overwhelmed with joy to receive an upgraded 50 foot telephone cord. They could walk the entire span of the first floor without missing a beat, which allowed me to safely play nintendo games and listen to cassette tapes upstairs.

Technology sure did change the way we communicate, interact, and create. In some aspects it helped, in other ways it has taken away some of the tangible, more human things that can be enjoyed. Just as an avid book reader enjoys going to an old book store; flipping through the pages, and smelling the scent of weathered paper, rather than using a tablet to read an ebook.

Technology has vastly improved the majority of things , but how has it helped us with the tremendous task of effectively communicating our art?

Times change, and the older we get, the more we realize we have more “When I was a kid” stories to tell the youngsters of the day. And whether they believe it or not, they will have stories of their own…”when I was a kid, we had these heavy things called iPad’s that we would use to surf this thing called the internet. Now you have hyper-synced voice-command holographic laser screens with retina scanning.” Technology improves certain things, but nothing has been created to ease the process of magnificent compositions.

Sure we have Photoshop, touch screens, WIFI, nicer paints, pencils, brushes, easels, but it takes knowledge and effort to create artwork with mastery.

We can see the same elegance in master paintings that we do in the pyramids. Proof of superior mastery that technology has yet to create. We are still trying to figure out how they built them!

So, with certain things, and especially masterful art, there are no shortcuts. Does a marathon runner park their car in a handicap spot so they won’t have to walk as far? If you have integrity and grit you will realize there is no lazy man’s shortcut to achieve the same goals as the masters. Develop your skills one at a time, then develop a designing routine that works for you. It won’t come to you all at once, so learn to crawl before you sprint.