Despite rising unemployment and lack of cash-laden clients, the economic crisis may bring some unexpected inspiration to the creative industries. The Herald Tribune recently highlighted the creative boom that unfolded during previous times of financial instability:
If you rewind through design history, many of the most exhilarating periods have been during economic downturns. Take the 1930s, when the modern movement flourished despite the depression. Or the late 1940s, when Italy emerged as one of the world’s most dynamic design centers during its postwar reconstruction. In the United States, Richard Buckminster Fuller invented the geodesic dome to provide emergency housing for demobilized troops and their families. Those domes have since provided shelter for hundreds of thousands of people, many in desperate circumstances.
Despite a lack of funding, the Herald Tribune argues creative types adapt well to unstable environments, utilizing “cheap materials and found objects.”
With credit availability at an all-time low society is reconsidering their spending habits, lifestyle choices and daily behavior. In this dynamic climate there is a strong opportunity to reintroduce eco-living solutions to the public. Designers have been called on to reevaluate industry and create streamlined, “austerity-friendly” business models. The bicycle renting services found in Paris and Montreal are one example of the rising occurrence of rental businesses excelling in the global economic slump.
The Herald Tribune: Recessionary design: A boom time for creative energy
