Dennis was invited to give a lecture at the Commanderij College High School (12-17yr olds) to talk about what it means to be a designer, and to tell something about how we work at Studio Dennis Parren.
Starting off with some simple quiz questions (why the sky is blue, what makes plants grow, why the grass is green) we went on to show the kids our first CMYK lamp from the initial ideas and experiments, to the final product. After taking them on a journey through our latest products and sculptures we quickly moved into the topic of ‘what is creativity?’.
Learning is forgetting
Dennis wanted to emphasize to the kids that creativity is not something that only applies to designers and artists, it’s a mindset. Creativity is a passion for the new and for change. It’s a different way of thinking about, looking at, and experiencing the world around you. And most importantly, creativity is about solving problems in a different and smarter way.
People have a tendency to accept a solution, or an explanation, without looking further for different ways to solve the same problem. Forgetting that there’s always a different, and maybe, a better, way. That’s innovation and that is what changes the world.
Creativity is in the way you look at things…
At Studio Dennis Parren we work together with a lot of technicians, manufacturers and makers of all kinds. We don’t look for people who deliver their product and walk away. Instead we work together with people who can help solve problems and overcome challenges. People who help us innovate and are the creative geniuses in their field of work.
Whether you’re a designer, plumber, electrician, lawyer, or anything else, what makes you creative is in the way you look at the world and see new possibilities.
Those kids in that auditorium, and kids all over the world, are the future. They are the next generation of inventors, designers and politicians. That’s why Dennis wanted to make sure that the kids in the room knew that everyone is, and can be a creative genius in their own way. They can become successful in their fields of work as long as they keep thinking differently, and look at the future, knowing about the impact they have and can have on our lives and the world around us.
A call to action
To add to this important message, Dennis ended his talk with a video of Wubbo Ockels’s impressive final speech, and a call to action to all mankind to change the way we live our lives and treat our planet.
A must see video for everyone!
Wubbo Johannes Ockels (March 28, 1946 – May 18, 2014) was a Dutch physicist and an astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA). In 1985 he participated in a flight on a space shuttle (STS-61-A), making him the first Dutch citizen in space. After his astronaut career, Ockels was professor of Aerospace for Sustainable Engineering and Technology at the Delft University of Technology.
