The Importance of Understanding Our History As Designers

Today, innovations are happening everywhere, and we are consistently designing and making. However, we have to acknowledge the groundwork that was laid in the past. The literal translation of renaissance is “rebirth” – a period of time where some of the greatest philosophers, writers, scientists, and artists have emerged to create a new era for the most prominent ideas and creations. Renaissance indeed bridged our past, present, and future. Leonardo de Vinci is one of the most influential artists that transformed our modern world. From making his sublime painting to further exploring science, architecture, and technology, de Vinci had created many guidelines for our modern design world.

Moreover, the history of the moveable type is also transformative to our modern world. From pre-writing to web typography, moveable type was invented in AD 1040 to help spread information easily and instilled civilizations with new knowledge. This technique advanced many future inventions by mimicking what came before.

As designers, we should not taking these early inventions for granted. Sometimes, we have to solve problems by looking through the lens of our ancestors. They showed us the essence of continual innovation and the encouragement to conquer what’s ahead of us. In the end, it was the spirit of pushing forward and seeking for a better and easier solution made where we are today.

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3 thoughts on “The Importance of Understanding Our History As Designers

  1. Great association with the historical elements. I would encourage you to keep thinking about how the advancement of technology influences our way to design interaction and how much technology weights when it comes to our decision-making in designing new things.

  2. I agree with you. without the creations of our ancestors, especially from the renaissance period, we might still live in 1000 years behind. and their innovation indeed can be an inspiration to us to find solution in a creative way.

  3. I think it’s important to remember what our ancestors have created in the past as they are influential for future generations like you mentioned. Without recorded history (through the invention of moveable type) we might always be starting from square one when it comes to designing better solutions.

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