When Progress Meets Meaning: Art, Technology, and the Quiet Making of Design

(This article was published on Bootcamp/UX Collective first.)

I’ve always seen Technology and Art like the Sun and the Moon. Working together to make sure the world works. One provides power, the other balance.

This relationship matters because it shapes not only what we build, but how we understand ourselves within the systems we create.

They’ve been working in parallel since humans discovered how to extract natural pigments, a simple ritual that drove curiosity for new discoveries, and a simple resource that provided a means of communication for humans.

Technology is about progress, and while its purpose is to improve, it sometimes has the opposite effect. On the other hand, Art started by telling stories and portraying the world at a particular point in time, but since the late 19th century, Art has shifted to questioning where we are going as a species.

Production and evolution are for Technology what meaning and statement are for Art. However, both stem from the same value: curiosity. Curiosity drives the search for meaning; the answer to the questions of what, when, where, and why.

Artists, much like scientists, decide how their product is intended to be experienced, but not everything can be experienced the same way. Additionally, there are big access barriers.

First, there is the Technology that the general public doesn’t have access to, the kind that splits an atom. Then there is the one for the masses, which drives the economy and enables access to information, such as the Internet. The latter allows us to be and become at the same time: we can learn, create, and share, we consume and produce, we become prosumers.

Art has similar qualities; it encourages participation through observing, contemplating, touching, listening, and sharing. It also creates prosumers. While Technology’s barriers are more infrastructural, Art relates to cultural and institutional barriers.

Both aim to experiment, interact with people, and facilitate the exchange of different kinds of knowledge. They provide information and inspire, and through their intersection, Design was born.

Formed by the sensitivity of Art and the problem-solving of Technology. Design makes Technology more humane, and it makes Art more grounded.

Design brings Technology into the hands of humans, and it provokes emotional connections. It’s the mediator between the three: Art, Technology and Humans. It helps us make decisions, reinforces our sense of belonging and builds trust.

To better contemplate the future of Design, we must look at the new technological mediums and contexts that are changing our world, and examine Art’s perception of our collective experience in today’s world.

A key subject that must be considered is Geopolitics, and how it influences the progression of Technology, Art and Design.

Geopolitics helps shape subcultures, trust, influence and power in the world. It’s at the core of the technological race between countries. Design is still young, and must learn to reflect on the balance between acceleration and control, and how its outcome shapes minds in this world.