Many believe that there is a dire need to combine art with math, science, engineering, and various other disciples to inspire and train people to think differently about innovation within the business world.
People that are investing their time in these diverse disciplines are some of the few individuals who can truly show us the ideal benefits that can come from these ventures. For example, let us consider the work-life of Dan Droz - a highly revered American interdisciplinary sculptor, entrepreneur, industrial designer, educator, and author. Aside from being known for his work as a sculptor, he has also been widely known for his seminal research and practice in multiple disciplines, including product development, design theory, manufacturing processes, and brand strategies.
Regarding his career as a designer, he started his career with Dan Droz Designs, a product design firm that develops and manufactures a line of peppermills and housewares distributed by H.E. Lauffer. Later on, the business expanded into home furnishings and developed a broad range of furniture for manufacturers in Denmark, Canada, and more.
As an entrepreneur, some of his works include becoming the Vice President of Planning and Product Development at Droz Corporation, a diversified manufacturer and distributor of steel and wood products. In 1988, he was invited by the United States Information Agency as a Guide Training Coordinator to lead the training of American guides for the world's largest design expositions, which toured 9 Soviet cities.
Droz has been a sculptor since 1974. He has a separate studio where he makes freestanding and wall sculptures and some works on paper where he brought a more distinctive design sensibility to his work. Currently, he has been incorporating novel methods of fabrication with glass, aluminum, and polymers, and in 2018, he invented a method for folding large aluminum sheets that allowed complex forms to be created from sheets as tall as 8 feet, similar to the Japanese Kirigami paper folding techniques.
Naturally, learning these diverse skills was not easy - but by indulging in multiple fields, Droz was able to enhance his development skills and make innovative contributions to the world. Many veterans like him have said that some of the ways one can achieve the same level of development skills as they did is by learning by the eye.
When you think about art - especially the ones from the classical period - you learn that these paintings are rich with details, and you, as a viewer, are subjected to understand them and put them into a context. In other words, the more you recognize the roles of specific details and their functionality, it becomes easier to understand the value of its context.
These kinds of skills can serve an important role when we think about modern design thinking methods, which include understanding the needs of the viewers. By investing time into observing art, we learn mapping and visualization skills. Through art, we also get to learn how artists make use of ideas, philosophies, and messages through videos, sculpting, painting, etc. and watching these artworks helps to develop a keen eye and skills that enhances our abilities to understand complex ideas, and make connections to diverse concepts - honing our skills in ways we would have never expected.