Intersection of design and technology

Every one of us had to sketch something on paper at some point. It might have been a couple of lines just to illustrate an idea, or maybe an elaborate drawing to explain a concept. Now imagine only having pen and paper to express yourself. How would it make you feel?

There was a time, not so long a go, when a ruler and a pencil were the only tools you had at your disposal to create the design you wanted. Now you have so many options, that you only need to pick one and learn how to use it in order to design what you have envisioned. Technology offers us a great variety of solutions. It helps us evolve and brings to life great ideas, ideas that you couldn't have even dreamed of a couple of decades ago.

Try to imagine drafting on paper any of Zaha Hadid's projects, with all the plans, sections, facades and details. I think it would take me a few months with very little free time, just to be sure everything matches. And I bet there will still be something I didn't take into account. Or maybe it could turn out into something even more spectacular? On paper, it definitely could.

Technology helps us. That's for sure. But does it benefit our creativity, allowing us to dream bigger, or does it diminish it, without us even realizing that? What if, instead of opening new horizons, technology is actually suffocating our ideas, and turning them into patterns? How many times did you sketch something that turned out not to be such a good idea when you transferred it into an architectural software? Why is it that in your head it was a great solution, but the technology seemed to disagree? Is it smarter than you? I don't think so.

While it is of great help, a program cannot replace a human mind. Design comes from inspiration. It relies on someones creativity and resourcefulness. It is a mixture of sensations and feelings, that are perceived individually by people, depending on their emotions. It goes beyond the physical space, it can touch your soul.

I would say design is like a salad. The kind of salad that has a great combination of flavors, that makes you more and more excited with every mouthful you take. It's just like seeing a great design. It makes you fall in love, with every step you take, with every breath you take looking at it. Every corner and every edge, each and every combination of colors can make you smile. The technology, in this case, would be the knife. It has to be a good knife in order to actually be helpful, and you could cut yourself if you don't know how to use it properly. But no matter how good it looks, or how sharp it is, it cannot make you a salad, because it doesn't know the recipe, and it also needs a hand to handle it.

Technology can be very helpful, and sometimes we can't imagine our lives without it, but it's worth to remember that it can only help you put into practice what you already have inside you. And pen and paper can actually be very helpful too.