S/S 14 MEGATRENDS DIGEST By Isham Sardouk | SVP Trend Forecasting
People may argue over the definition of great design, yet we are continually intrigued by the factors that make certain aesthetics universally appreciated. Reading literature on the golden ratio and the Egyptian mysteries, I have come to realize that a great work of art appeals when it gets the same emotional response from diverse groups of people, like the way the Egyptian Pyramids astound every time. And why is that?
Ironically because great design often applies the rules of mathematics which encompass in their blueprint the Golden Ratio, represented by the Greek letter Phi Φ. The Golden Ratio is a naturally occurring constant, found in tree branches, pineapple skins, pinecones and snail shells. The founder of Greek mathematics, Pythagoras, who lived between 582 and 507 BC, believed that the essence of all things was numerical and that all relationships could be expressed through numbers. This view led to the discovery of the numerical relationship in musical tones.
So is it true that everything is data? In our megatrend RATIONAL, we explore the influence of mathematics on design, and the fascination that mathematicians, as well as designers, have to keep searching for the ultimate symmetry found in everyday objects and in nature, in order to create new universal aesthetics.