Those in attendance Saturday at Fondazione Bassetti's Making in Italy / Making in the USA event were treated to a lively debate about the aesthetic of beauty and its relevance in modern design, high technology and human culture. The symposium was moderated by the effervescent Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of MAKE, who shared his new 3D ray gun and expounded on the potential of 3D printing, before turning the floor over to the speakers.
Piero Bassetti, the President of Fondazione Bassetti, took the floor first and posited that to innovate is not enough: true innovation requires the implementation of these innovations. He also shared his belief that beauty must be overlaid on top of functionality and encouraged the Maker Movement to embrace these challenges.
Next came Chris Anderson, former Editor-in-Chief of Wired, who took a differing view of beauty. Mr. Anderson described beauty as difficult to define and ultimately subjective. For that reason, he suggested we can’t attach value to it. Mr. Anderson suggested that the pursuit of the ugly may be means to reaching beauty.
See this Twitter exchange between Mr. Anderson and Mary Trigiani, a marketing and branding professional, to get a sense of the debate.
Mr. Anderson’s remarks elicited great passion from the audience and many responded by championing the value of beauty. Stefano Micelli, for instance, pointed to the futuro artigiano, a future in which craftsmanship and beauty are becoming more relevant.
Even if it is only “in the eye of the beholder”, humanity’s most treasured experiences – take the taste of a home-cooked meal – are ultimately subjective. Yet, it is the joy that results from the appreciation that we thrive on as humans.
In fact, more than just enjoying beauty, we consume it. In a world that is often complex and confusing, the human consumer attaches value to elegance and beauty in the marketplace. One need not look further than Apple Inc to appreciate this phenomenon.
Take this kitchen below. Would you say it is more desirable than the kitchens we usually encounter? Why? Might consumers value it more highly? Why?
This root human appreciation of beauty is as old as art itself and continues to inform successful design and manufacturing in today’s globalized marketplace. Italy thrives on this evident appreciation – and resultant joy – in the lion’s share of its creations: striking automobiles, fine food, high art, thriving tourism, high tech design and more. Today, more than ever, in a world where even the most complex products are being commoditized, beauty represents one of the last refuges of differentiation and quality. If you can create beauty in your design and manufacturing processes, as Italy does, then you have a competitive advantage in this global age.
True, beauty is in the eye of the beholder – and the consumer – and that still matters!