Perhaps one of the most innovative thinkers of the 20th century was Buckminster Fuller. Fuller’s path to notoriety and innovation could be characterized as a series of fits and starts: at a young age he had trouble with geometry; in his academic years he found himself expelled from Harvard (twice);

and personal bankruptcy led him to drinking and periods of acute depression. It was only in his later years that he came to embrace the idea that he could somehow change the world and have a positive impact on humanity.

Fuller eventually found his way into the worlds of architecture, design and science, earning a wide following, largely due to his pioneering work in creating the geodesic dome. His structural and design ideas drew upon his deep observations of nature and how things fit naturally together. “Bucky” was thoroughly grounded in the philosophy of doing more with less and always searching for simplicity, while at the same time exploring new concepts.

He viewed the world through a different lense, refusing to accept standard practices. He created his own concepts, even his own words and vocabulary (instead of the words “upstairs” or “downstairs” Fuller coined the expressions “in-stairs” and “out-stairs” to more accurately characterize our movements in relationship to the earth). In his pursuit of knowledge, he demonstrated his willingness to experiment, and pursue off-the-wall projects (see his Dymaxion Car, described as one of the worst 50 cars in history). His willingness to live on the edge enabled him to move beyond what other architects and designers could even imagine.

All of us in the realm of web design can do better in taking risks, pursuing the off-the-wall, daring to create our own means of expressing our work. What new words and concepts can we create, how can we broaden our range of thinking that will lead to discovering new ways of doing what we do…

 

Information credit Wikipedia

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