The saying ‘ Nothing is new under the sun’, Is a very old message, that has become a very common proverb, first quoted in the Bible (Ecclesiastes 1:9) It continues to have a strong relevance in todays society. And is universally accepted that there are no truely original ideas. This premise has grown in popularity especially, since the advent of the internet, and the subsequent global introspection of all that is man made, along with what is on, and off, planet earth. The comment is usually used in a world-weary context, a complaint about life’s monotony, a revolving rat race, where regurgitation is abound.
Of course, this reflection is not entirely true. Human innovation is the very reason why everything in the modern world exists. Human history gives us a comprehensive picture of human innovation on a grand scale. Innovations in medicine, engineering, agriculture, design, the list is exhaustive. The negative ‘nothing new’ protestation, crosses generations, and it is pertinent to that particular moment in time, for that individual. It is part of the human DNA, It is our very creativity that undermines our thinking, it is prone to accepting and dismissing in a generally very short time frame. Of course there are complex envirobiopsychosocialspiritual aspects for the reasoning for this phenomenon, too complex a subject to mention in a short blog post, but suffice it to say, the vast information is there for anyone with a thirst for knowledge.
Design has been at the forefront of all human endeavour since the dawn of man. Think about how society is defined by design, it could be argued that everything has some kind of design innovation thinking at its core. everything from our homes, vehicles, clothing, food and drink..everything. Our thoughts and feelings, the way we interact and the hopes and dreams of every individual are influenced by design. Think about the law and societies moral standards and ethics, all influenced by design.The media (influenced by design) proliferates the bias of societies, and moulds ideas, actions, and ideologies. Design innovation is at the heart of society. One could say then that we are all within a design innovation vacuum. Agreeing and disagreeing, both intellectually and subjectively with our very existence. This is why good innovative design within business is so important to achieve.
So, what is good innovative design? It has always been a pre occupation for designers to find new ways to make ideas work well, and to produce better results. Dependant on the design discipline, new innovative procedures and new ways to visualise them is the mainstay of all the design occupations. Specifically, within the graphic design sphere, innovations in Type, form, space, and colour etc, have been reinvented at a continuous pace throughout history, The history of graphic design is amazing, it is valuable to also have a knowledge of fine art history also, as there have been major influences of art crossovers into design. A short history of graphic design can be found here however, there are hundreds of online explanations available, and of course, there are also whole libraries of in depth scholarly texts available on the subject, it is fascinating reading.
Today, we are in the midst of a technological revolution, we are almost constantly bombarded with millions of images, sounds, and moving pictures. What all this information overload is actually doing to our individual minds, has yet to be realised. The modern day designer is subjected to this often over whelming noise, not least because the information has to be synthesised to understand what is aesthetically correct, to then be able to make quality decisions about which direction a design should take. In other words, designers are influenced by the specific industry of their time, and place. What is relevant today, may not be relevant tomorrow, fashions change, fads rise and fall, laws change, societies develop, diseases happen! Designers have to synthesise all this information, and produce designs that are both functional and aesthetically proficient. It is probably correct that it is more difficult today to be innovative, because of the vastness of the world stage given to us by the internet, a million ideas, across a thousand cultures. Something our predecessors didn’t have. And yet, conversely, The advent of technology and the proliferation of digital products, that are in constant evolution, have enabled designers to find new ways to innovate. It could be argued then, that ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ is not relevant to today. In fact, we may be at the forefront of a new era of innovation.
For 2021 there appears to be a consensus within the design industry of what to expect from design innovation. of course, major trends in design are a vehicle or template for possible designs, they are generally not taken literally, rather designers, synthesise pertinent details, and modes of working and translate findings into their own practice, and hopefully generating an original and innovate reaction. After all it wouldn’t be good at all if we were all the same. very quickly society would become world weary, and the expression ‘Nothing is new under the sun’ may appear once again.
