By Christina DePaul
The Invisible Creative Infrastructure
How artists and designers shape every aspect of our daily experience
Whether we realize it or not, we live in an environment fundamentally shaped by artists and designers. Fine artists create expressive works that please and educate us, and shock and challenge our perspectives. Designers devise and form the objects we use daily, their impact expanding rapidly as new technologies become increasingly visual.
These creative disruptors form the backbone of culture and commerce, reimagining possibilities and challenging systems through innovative vision. Rather than simply solving existing problems, they redefine the problems themselves, perpetually asking “What if ?” in a world content with “That’s how it’s always been done.”
Yet we often remain unconscious of creative people’s profound impact on our daily experiences. Consider that virtually everything we encounter – fashion, filmmaking, animation, visual effects, architecture, industrial design, graphics, painting, sculpture, photography, furniture, illustrations, flatware, china, packaging, web pages, magazine covers, etc. has been created by people trained in Schools of Art and Design.
The Power of the Image
Visual storytelling that changes hearts, minds, and history
While I could provide hundreds of examples, consider just a few. Begin with the fundamental power of the image. Sight reigns as our most dominant sense, wielding far greater influence over experience than taste, touch, or hearing. Images strike directly at emotion – often with visceral impact.
They seize our attention wordlessly, capable of persuading, repelling, charming, or shocking us in an instant. Images communicate universally, absorbed immediately by anyone with sight. They require no interpretation, no cultural translation – they simply speak for themselves with unmistakable clarity.
From Guernica to Ground Zero
Art as witness, protest, and catalyst for social change
Photographers and photojournalists travel the world collecting images that tell us stories that fundamentally change how we think about distant places and cultures. Although for me, some of the most haunting images ever seared into my memory came from much closer to home… from 9/11. One image that stands out was taken by a young photojournalism student from the Corcoran College of Art + Design who was one of the first to capture the plane diving into the Pentagon. Nine months later, I became the Dean of the Corcoran – a College of Art + Design housed in a major museum in DC across from the White House. Because of that image, the political environment I found myself in, and the Corcoran’s renowned photography collection, I became deeply compelled by photography’s artistic and social power.
(Photo by Erica Lusk)
The collection had significant works by the late photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks, who wielded his camera as a weapon against the poverty and racism he grew up experiencing. One image particularly moved me: his 1942 work titled “American Gothic, Washington DC.” It featured Ella Watson, a Black janitor, her serious face bearing quiet resentment as she posed like the farmer in Grant Wood’s infamous painting – but holding a broom and mop instead of a pitchfork.
This powerful image of an American woman maintaining her dignity while her freedom and human rights were systematically violated by segregation and racism has come to symbolize our country’s ongoing civil rights struggle. That photograph humanized civil rights for me.
Picasso’s Guernica powerfully captured the horrors of war, serving as a visual protest against the bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War. Through its chaotic, distorted imagery, Picasso didn’t just depict the devastation; he conveyed the anguish, fear, and helplessness of civilians caught in the crossfire. The painting became a symbol of the brutal realities of war, transcending time and place to inform people everywhere of the profound human cost of conflict. It forced viewers to confront the brutal impact of violence and, in doing so, sparked an ongoing conversation about the need for peace.
Such impact extends beyond fine arts. “The Wizard of Oz” reshaped how many of us understand the relationship between dreams and reality, while films like “Star Wars” and “The Matrix” have hijacked our imaginations, transporting us to worlds we could never have conceived independently. The TV series “Game of Thrones” normalized complex political fantasy narratives in mainstream television, its cultural impact extending beyond entertainment into how we discuss power dynamics and narrative expectations.”
Design Consequences
When creative choices alter the course of nations
A more practical example can be found in design. Take Steve Jobs, for
instance—he revolutionized personal computing by focusing on design. When you choose the car you drive, the clothes you wear, or the smartphone you carry, you’re not just picking products; you’re expressing your identity and signaling your position in society, all through someone else’s creative vision.
Consider one example of catastrophically bad design highlighted by writer Daniel Pink in his book “A Whole New Mind.” He examines the 2000 U.S. Presidential election and the flawed butterfly ballot in Palm Beach County. He states, “Had Palm Beach County included just a few trained artists and designers when that ballot was created, the entire course of U.S. history might have been different.”
This became a powerful cautionary tale taught in graphic design programs across the country, demonstrating how poor design decisions can have
consequences far beyond aesthetics—potentially altering the fate of nations.
The Creative Leadership and Visionary Journey
Why arts training produces exceptional problem-solvers and innovators
My experience as a professional artist, trained in schools of art and design for both undergraduate and graduate education, prepared me for every leadership position I’ve held throughout my career: Professor, Director, Dean, Senior Vice President, President, and CEO. While my daily responsibilities involved running large organizations – a museum, a college, and a national foundation, rather than making art, the creative problem-solving skills cultivated in art school were essential to my effectiveness as a leader and an educator, and currently as a consultant solving problems for non-profits.
One of my dearest friends followed a remarkably similar path, earning both graduate and undergraduate degrees in art and leading a major university art program. However, he chose to pivot from arts administration into creative development, designing innovative live-work spaces for artists throughout DC. His ventures expanded to include a restaurant featuring curated exhibitions, which he eventually transformed into a gallery and fine art bookstore. The success of these projects enabled him to become one of DC’s premier contemporary art collectors, supporting artists while building a significant collection. His most recent endeavor—a vineyard in Oregon—showcases the unique vision that only his artistic background could have produced. His own portrait drawings of every staff member line the tasting room alongside major works from his personal collection, creating an experience that seamlessly blends hospitality, community, and fine art.
Photo credit © Lara Swimmer
Photo credit © Lara Swimmer
Beyond Bohemian Stereotypes
What arts education really teaches and why it matters
Visual arts education remains widely misunderstood, and I’ve devoted years to reassuring skeptical parents about the value of a creative education for their children. Moving beyond the tired media stereotype of pierced, tattooed, bohemian art students, let me share what this field encompasses.
Each art school brings distinct methodologies and philosophies, yet all teach the same essential skills fundamental to an art degree. These encompass mastering complex artistic traditions and processes, starting with art history spanning millennia—from Neolithic cave paintings to today’s avant-garde movements. Students must absorb theory while engaging in relentless practice to develop genuine expertise.
This journey requires dedication, discipline, perseverance through setbacks, and often sacrifice. Students enter with raw talent driven by inner passion; art school transforms that talent into the power to create and shape society in ways few others can.
The Art of Adaptive Thinking
Learning to embrace uncertainty and multiple solutions
An arts education teaches students to make sound judgments about qualitative relationships – a fundamental shift from traditional curricula that emphasize rigid rules and single correct answers. In the arts, judgment prevails over formulas. We teach that multiple perspectives can coexist as equally valid, that questions have more than one answer and creative problems have more than one solution.
Corporate Collection
For creative minds and souls, there are countless ways to see and interpret the world, where the limits of language need not constrain the boundaries of imagination. Students learn to think through and within materials, understanding that subtle differences can produce profound effects, and that all art forms share the remarkable power to transform ideas into tangible reality.
Private Collection
Students learn that artistic responses to complex problems aren’t predetermined solutions but dynamic processes that shift with circumstances, opportunities, and the artist’s evolving perspective. Learning to make art requires both the ability and willingness to surrender to the work’s unanticipated possibilities as it unfolds. This capacity for adaptive creativity and openness to discovery represents some of the most valued skills an artist or designer can possess, forming the foundation for a lifetime of meaningful creative practice.
In today’s increasingly complex and interconnected world – where interdisciplinary collaboration is essential, and AI shapes daily experience, art education has evolved to cultivate flexibility, cross-disciplinary thinking, and mastery of diverse mediums and digital tools. Many schools approach this through innovative team-teaching models that unite faculty from various expertise areas, reflecting the collaborative nature of contemporary creative practice – a balance of innovation and fundamentals to prepare graduates to thrive in an ever-changing creative landscape.
Art and design students develop critical analytical skills, learning to question, interpret, contextualize, and assess both their intentions and the effectiveness of their results. Class critiques represent one of the most crucial and challenging aspects of art school education – a rigorous process that demands intellectual honesty and resilience.
Ultimately, a degree in art and design equips students with versatile skills applicable to virtually any field. Graduates emerge as independent thinkers fluent in multiple forms of visual language, self-directed individuals prepared to pursue professional careers as artists or designers – or to apply their creative problem-solving abilities to entirely different career paths.
When art graduates pursue other careers, it’s not necessarily a setback. In his influential 2004 Harvard Business Review article on breakthrough ideas, the aforementioned author, Daniel Pink declared that “the MFA is the new MBA,” a perspective that was widely applauded by art and design schools. Pink argued that to remain competitive in a global economy, companies must prioritize innovation and creative problem-solving, making artists a natural resource for these essential skills.
Nearly two decades later, I believe creative minds and artistic aptitude have become even more crucial in today’s hyper-competitive, accessible marketplace. As design tools become democratized and available to masses of individuals and companies, the only way to differentiate is through genuine skilled creative vision. Artists and designers have always been central to economic growth and remain a critical factor in global competitiveness.
America’s Creative Deficit
How we fell behind and what we must do to catch up
The economic breakthroughs achieved by China and India through cost-effective labor, disciplined work habits, and hundreds of thousands of newly graduated engineers have fundamentally transformed the global economy. However, the greatest value still will come from marrying new technology with the creative processes that artists and designers uniquely provide.
A creative mind remains inherently difficult to outsource and should serve as the foundation for competitive advantage. “Outside the box” thinking represents an invaluable resource that leaders must embrace as fundamental to economic success.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has fallen significantly behind. Twenty years ago, Daniel Pink laid out a roadmap that could have revolutionized American business, yet now we find ourselves engaged in tariff battles, trying to bring industries back to the country. Companies that listened would have thrived by concentrating on capabilities that foreign workers cannot provide more affordably, and computers cannot deliver more efficiently – specifically, meeting the aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual needs of our rapidly changing world.
Too many organizations dismissed the creative mind’s value in our visually sophisticated, abundant culture. Those who ignored this insight have either struggled for survival or failed entirely.
Anatomy of a Creative Disrupter
The five characteristics that make creative minds irreplaceable
Think about it… creative disrupters are Boundary Crossers that operate at the intersection of disciplines, combining art with technology, design with business strategy, or aesthetics with functionality in ways others haven’t considered. They are Pattern Breakers – While others follow industry conventions, creative disruptors identify outdated assumptions and create entirely new approaches that make competitors scramble to catch up. They are Empathy-Driven Innovators that deeply understand human needs and desires, often seeing emotional and aesthetic gaps that purely technical minds miss. They are Risk Embracers willing to fail spectacularly in pursuit of breakthrough solutions, understanding that revolutionary ideas rarely emerge from safe choices. They are Systems Thinkers – they see the bigger picture, recognizing how small creative changes can cascade into massive industry transformations.
Creative disruptors don’t just build better mousetraps—they question why we need mousetraps at all, then invent something entirely different that makes the original problem obsolete. They’re the artists, designers, and visionaries who turn “impossible” into “inevitable.”
So… tomorrow morning, pause with your first cup of coffee and ask: “What would my world be without artists and designers?” From that cup you are drinking from, to the clothes you wear, to the computer you boot up, to the car you drive – recognize that everything you’ve just touched in the first hour of your day bears the creative imprint of an artist or designer.
Christina’s Bio Info
