All Levels
What Does
DANIEL PINK
Have to Say?
Kaye Passmore
In Daniel Pink’s vision of the
near future, Americans value
artists and creative thinkers as
much as computer programmers, good design is a necessity, and
empathy is essential to all products
and services. I hope he’s right.
Right Brain Aptitudes
Pink discusses six essential right-brain-directed aptitudes that creative thinkers should master:
When a friend recommended
Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind:
Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the
Future, I found it in the math section of the bookstore. Pink’s message to business leaders is that that
the economic future of our country
belongs to creative thinkers. He
believes that
soon any job
that can be
done more
cheaply in
another
country will
be; with so many choices in our
marketplace, consumers will opt to
buy well-designed objects over those
lacking good design; and in order to
sell, products and services will need
to be personal, empathetic, or narrate compelling stories. Art teachers educating tomorrow’s workers
should heed his message.
Betty Edwards describes this
type of brain theory in Drawing on
the Right Side of Brain. Art teachers have been using her theories
for years by having students copy
upside-down drawings, draw blind
contour sketches, and notice the
relation of parts to a whole. Pink
sees Edwards’ methods as a means
of learning to think with the right
side of the brain.
Pink describes taking a drawing
course to experience right brain
thinking. If Pink is correct, the
creative thinking that art teachers
1. Good Design. Pink says that a
Masters in Fine Arts is now one
of the most sought after credentials. Why this revolution? His
assertion that designers must be
able to design objects that not
only function but are also beautiful or emotionally engaging,
reminds me of Michael Graves’
teapot and my yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
Brain Theory
In order for the American economy
to remain at the top of the heap
globally, our graduates must be
creative thinkers, adept at thinking
with their whole brains, not just
their left-brains, but also be able to
use their right-brains, which comprehend wholes and jump to intuitive, creative solutions.
Continued on page 85.
Pink’s message to business
leaders is that that the economic
future of our country belongs to
creative thinkers.
2. Narrative. According to
Pink, designers must
communicate stories
that involve viewers
with a product. When
students tell their
are currently
encouraging is
already valued
by progressive
business leaders
and, therefore, will
eventually be val-
ued by communities
and school adminis-
trators. Imagine the
implications—high
school counselors advis-
ing college-bound
students to take art,
and universities
looking for evi-
dence of creative
thinking such as
that found in art
courses.
