Looking Forward While Looking Back, Creatively

In recent years we’ve heard a lot about the idea of predicting the future by designing it. This is certainly valid, and it extends to even the most infinitesimal elements of our existence. All of our goals in life are affected by the elements and systems we as humans have designed for ourselves, and it is the effectiveness of these designs which determines whether we succeed or fail. As no one possesses a crystal ball, we must rely on our own abilities to be visionaries which can only be guided by the intelligence we gain through experts who offer their insights or best guesses regarding what the future state of art and science will be beyond the present moment. As we have seen over the past twenty years (at least), this practice has led to some fairly mixed results especially when considering the current pandemic crisis the world is dealing with. It’s enough to make one wonder if we’re not missing some vital information along the way, but as no one can possibly have all the answers in advance, it could be the benefit of hindsight that we’re failing to add to the mix.

Think about the recent Great Recession as an example. This crisis was triggered by the housing bubble burst and the bottom falling out of the shadow banking business, but there should have been some correlation drawn between this dynamic and the bubble burst in stock prices that preceded the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. In both cases the balloon was released in the first place without sound monetary ballast. Now we face a possible second wave of Coronavirus much worse than the first because we’re all in too much of a hurry to return to our normal lives, despite the fact that we still don’t have an approved vaccine in place. If this doesn’t remind us of what happened during the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 when the virus mutated into a more deadly form claiming many more unprepared victims, we could be dooming ourselves to repeat history once again. While the past cannot be used as a blueprint for the future, we need to take heed of historic events lest we trip and fall a second time. This is what Artropolis Design is all about: looking forward while looking back creatively to shape the future. After all, humanity and nature despite their transformations have always been confronted with forces seemingly beyond their control, and it is the resources they can muster at any given time that will help determine the outcome of their fates moving forward.