As someone who has studied art and art history in the past it is easy to see the benefits to being aware of your surroundings in a visual sense (ironic that I’m making comments on awareness when I was completely unaware of the due date of this blog post but that’s neither here nor there). Especially being a student studying visual media, it’s important to know the history of artistic movements because we find ourselves in a field of study that seems to always be looking ahead. By knowing how other professionals are using art around us, we can make predictions on what visual aesthetics might look like eventually.
I think in our case, and with this book, we are seeing a trend moving more from simply what looks good to the eye (realism), to what sounds good conceptually (everything else). If you look at post modernist artists today, you get a more well rounded attempt to bridge the gap of what looks visually appealing and what makes the biggest statement. I think this is an interesting idea to think about when you look at interactive media and how developers are creating new and interesting products by using this exact same strategy. The most successful products being created today, whether it be applications, interfaces, or technology are combining highly conceptual ideas with exquisite visual/practical design.
Acquiring this knowledge may be a little bit difficult but I think all people need to do is heighten their sense of awareness by asking yourself what makes this product/design/interface work? There maybe many answers to this question but it is this evaluation process that makes an individual become accustomed to its surroundings. When patterns start to arise in the evaluation process that could potentially be the start of a trend.