Hey everyone!

Today I wanted to discuss with you all about design, specifically about designing in the future. This post is a part of the Design Blogger Competition organized by CGTrader. The style of this post is quite different from what I typically post here on my blog, and I am excited to share this with you all.

The term design is quite broad and general. It can refer to a multitude of things, whether it is fashion, graphic, or interior design. Design and art go hand in hand, and are interrelated, but not the same. Art can encompass a wide array of arrangements, and anything can be justified as art. Take Duchamp’s Fountain for example. Duchamp literally took a ready-made urinal, and manipulated its placement to create the argument that it’s art. Art is heavily based on its context, whereas design is a component within art.

Design refers to all the little intricacies within a composition. It is what makes us look and reconsider. It is everything that goes into making and creating a work. 

With our world as it is now, what would the future of design look like? A photo I took several months ago for a photography project that I thought captured one perspective of our entanglement with technology and obsession with the future.

In our present day, much can be said and done in attempts to predict the future. While we can guess what design will be like in the future, none of us are psychics, and we can never truly know what will be in store for us. Our past has happened, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. Our present is taking place in the here and now. As for our future? There is only our past and present to guide us into the unknown. Although our future has yet to come, much of the answers lie in our past and present. Sorry to sound all cryptic, but it’s true.

And before you even say it, no. In terms of designing for the future, this is not just a post about hover boards and the DeLorean. (Comment down below if you got that Back to the Future reference!)

In accordance to the topics I typically discuss here on my blog, fashion design has much to be considered for the future. While some may argue that fashion is merely a frivolous topic for those who prefer to focus on consumerism, fashion surprisingly is very intertwined with our daily lives in how it reflects the social, economical, and political happenings of our time. We can see the ups and downs of society through the way fashion undergoes its subsequent changes. In the 1920s-1930s, the feminist movement spurred and women began to join the workforce. This was clearly shown in the prevalence of the shorter hemlines and boxy silhouettes of women’s fashion during that time. After World War II as America recovered, there was an increased preference for nuclear families to create a semblance of a perfect, happy family after the horrific years of war and the creation of the atomic bomb. As a result, women’s hemlines dropped back down, and curves and frills were played up to emphasize women’s femininity. The proliferation of the stiletto heel corresponds to the technological innovations that made the extremely high, skinny heel possible to create. Fashion is clear evidence of history.

Fashion has a way of cycling, with styles returning in new and improved ways Remember a time when halter necklines were a thing of the past and not trendy, and it was all about low-cut plunging necklines?

Everything within the fashion realm revolves around seasons. Things go in style for a season, and are then cast aside for new styles to have their turn in the spotlight. But as we all know how history has its way of repeating itself, fashion too will as well.

We already see this evident in the return of the ‘90s. High-waist light wash denim, oversized jean jackets, choker necklaces, brown and bronzy colored lips, off the shoulder tops. Simply by scrolling through Instagram we can see how much of our current trends are reminiscent of the past. The other day I wore an oversized jean jacket that was actually my mother’s jacket from many years ago. And fashion has cycled back to allow that vintage piece to work with our current trends again.

However, not everything is exactly the same as before. While it is true that history repeats itself, and fashion reflects the ongoings of our lives, it is not an exact replica of the past. Rather, we look to the past in order to create our future.

Our current trends may take a lot of inspiration from the ‘90s, but it is not an exact return of the past. We shape our future with consideration of what has happened before. The past provides us with what was successful, and what needs improvement. In terms of the future of design, I believe we will see much of the past cycling back into the realm of things. Along with looking back at the past, the idea of returning to a simpler time accompanies that.

There is only so much innovation and advancements a society can handle. We have come so far in creating and inventing. History and fashion has its highs and lows, reflecting its golden ages and its periods of recovery. Perhaps the time has come to simplify. Embrace minimalism. Why else has there been an increased interest in minimalist styles? There is a beauty in simplicity.

We don’t need to layer fifteen gold chain chokers to complete an outfit. We don’t need bolder, brighter, louder prints to make a statement. We don’t need taller, longer, higher boots that go so far above the knee to create almost a pant-boot hybrid.

The future of design will entail more of a focus on the small things. Little details that makes things whole. Beauty in simplicity. Another photo I took for a photography project. Capturing the beauty in light refraction. Simple objects that have the capacity to hold so much and tell so much without needing so much.

The future of design will be in embracing the beauty in simplicity. After all, it’s the small things that count.

I believe the future of design will entail looking back on what was successful, taking what we have, and reshaping it for the better into an improved product. Except, it will be about minimizing the excessive, unnecessary elements to focus on the details that matter. A look at the proliferation of natural “no makeup” looks, and minimalist wardrobes demonstrate examples of such already beginning to happen.

Due to all the political turmoil that keeps occurring, fashion holds its subsequent response. I believe the future of design will entail taking aspects of the past, and adapting them to accommodate our current needs. Looking back to a simpler, happier time for inspiration. It’s not always about the go, go, go, and the do, do, do. Life has become too fast-paced, too much about progressing and advancing and innovating. We need to take a step back, breathe, and live in the moment. Live knowing that we should be enjoying the present.

This is certainly a lengthier, denser post than what is typical here. I really hope you all enjoyed reading this, and that some of what I discussed stuck with you somehow.

Please do comment down below your thoughts on this topic! What do you think the future of design will look like? What are your thoughts on design? Comment down below, and lemme know! I would love to read what you guys think!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Til next time,
~A