Art & STEM

ART & STEM

Most people think STEM is just the domain of technical subjects, jobs that focus on practical things, building things, they perhaps don’t see the art in STEM, the place for young people who love to create or design. However these days the ability to combine a love of drawing with a passion for gadgets is all around us. This post is intended to give you some ideas on how your Young Engineer can find ways to combine their creative side with their enjoyment of all things STEM.

The iPhone

The iPhone was the ultimate gadget when it launched. Clearly engineers and technologist designed the circuitry and the apps, however the main reason we all loved the iPhone when it came out was because of how it looked and how we interacted with it. The person responsible for this is a man called Jonathan Ive (Jony), born in London, he is now the Chief Design Officer for Apple. He was best friends with Steve Jobs and it was their partnership and love of the beauty of gadgets that helped create the first iPhone. Jony didn’t study engineering or maths or science or technology, he studied Industrial Design and he picked that subject because he loved drawing. Product Design, the design of user interfaces, all of these types of roles need an artistic and creative person, someone who understands that how things look and feel is as important as what it does. If your Young Engineer loves art, then they will have amazing opportunities to be at the fore front technology going forward. They will be able to combine the problem solving and reasoning skills they develop through Young Engineers programmes and their schooling and combine it with a passion for the creative.

Computer Games

Edinburgh is home to one of the world’s best known games companies, Rockstar Games. The team in Edinburgh developed Grand Theft Auto, a iconic game that has now had multiple versions. In addition to the software engineers that code the games, companies such as Rockstar also need animators and graphic designers and artists, please who understand games from a technical perspective but who have the artist
ic talent and creativity to develop something new and innovative. So if your Young Engineer never quite leaves the Xbox then you can encourage their love of games and artistry into a STEM based career where they can use all their talents.