Business, Design, and Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary major which combines the fundamentals of business, entrepreneurial thinking, and creative design. I believe that now more than ever there is an abundance of opportunities for creativity in the business and entrepreneurial world.
Through this major, I learn how I – as a prospective artist, businesswoman, and entrepreneur – can tap into these spaces. Hands-on projects, international travel, real-world case studies, and collaboration with industry leaders, will all play a critical role in analyzing what impacts art and design can have on a business’s spaces, employees, and customers.
More specifically, this major is intended to help me hone my artistic skills while learning new techniques and experimenting with a variety of mediums, and learn how to apply these skills and others in a business or entrepreneurial setting. Whether it’s launching my own startup, managing a company, overseeing a project, or turning ideas into meaningful products or services, the Business, Design, and Entrepreneurship major sets me up to be a successful leader, innovator, and creator in every situation.
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- How can creativity be a crucial problem-solving device in a business and entrepreneurial context?
- How can creativity be used not solely as an artistic skill, but as a vital tool for business and entrepreneurial success?
- In what ways can Business and Design be merged to have a greater impact on employees, customers, and the wider world?
- Can this integration be a helpful tool for addressing environmental sustainability, equality, and other current social issues?
- How can Art and Design “speak” for a brand or product in a way that words can’t?
- Why is it important for businesses to establish emotional connections with their audience? Vice versa, how can Business inspire art?
I imagine that almost every parent’s knee jerk reaction to their kid asking to draw and paint on the walls is ‘absolutely not’. Or to get angry when they paint over the skateboard they’d just got for their birthday. Or to yell especially loudly when they’ve henna tattooed most of their little sister’s arms and legs. Well not my parents (except maybe the last one). Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have parents that always encouraged my endless creativity, even when it wasn’t easy. But being allowed to express myself artistically meant the world to me because it isn’t just something I love, it’s my rawest form of self expression. And as I got older I saw that my talent could be used to create things that brought joy to people’s lives. It was also around this time I realized this was something people would pay for. That’s where my first taste for business came in. Being allowed to paint on my skateboard became a side hustle for hand painting acrylic nail sets, all that henna practice on my sister turned into getting hired for parties and events, and painting on my bedroom walls led to a company commissioned wall mural.
These opportunities and others helped me realize that there’s an important and growing space in the business world for creative people like myself. But creativity isn’t just for the traditional artist, it can apply to the entrepreneur, the graphic designer, the operations manager, the marketer, the interior designer, or anyone with the ability to solve problems in original ways. More and more companies are realizing that we need creative thinkers and doers to lead the way in innovation and bring the passion that AI will never be able to. In fact, “Approximately 73% of organizations surveyed in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey reported that creative thinking skills were a top priority for them when considering talent…this skill set is increasing in relevance and importance.” according to Forbes.
Creativity encourages more collaboration and teamwork, more passion and motivation in the workplace, and even better talent retention. And this is just the beginning of all the potential benefits and opportunities that bringing more creativity to the business world can have. I want to be at the forefront of this movement understanding the best ways to integrate creativity of all kinds into more business and entrepreneurial spaces now and in the future. This is more than just a fad, it’s a realization that business and art are more connected than ever imagined and the future of innovation starts with those who dare to think outside the box.