Many people believe that the art and business world are two completely different fields within the professional sector. What many of them do not realize is that their connection lies in these very differences we believe that sets them apart.
Consider art as a way you can initiate a conversation about matters regarding the value of your business. Much art-based learning aims to develop immersive creative experiences that can help teams and leaders gain new perspectives and insights about business challenges.
We are able to broaden our minds, rekindle our imagination, and solve seemingly-impossible situations via creative resilience and an optimistic approach towards the future. In fact, the work-life of Dan Droz is a prime example of what it is like to learn development business skills through artistic means.
As a renowned American interdisciplinary sculptor – among many other things – Dan Droz has been working on sculpture art, seminal research, and practice in various disciplines, including product development, branding strategy, manufacturing processes, design theory, and so much more. He is also the founder of the prestigious Droz Marketing, Droz and Associates, and co-founder of Essential Surfing gear and Wishbox.com.
Droz started his career as a sculptor in 1974, where he had a separate studio to make freestanding and wall sculptures. For years now, he has been incorporating novel methods of fabrication with glass, polymers, and aluminum. After being influenced by many famous artists around the world, Droz has been incorporating different styles into his work every time. Often he would use reflective and concealed surfaces and optical illusions to call attention to the limits of perception. He would also work on his sculptures with wire mesh and develop innovative techniques for folding glass and casting sculptures directly from 3D printed models.
Naturally, his artistic skills began to seep into his other career passions and give him enhanced capabilities that made his skills far more unique than his peers around him. In his design career, he started off with his product design firm called “Dan Droz Designs” which developed and manufactured a line of peppermills and housewares that were distributed by H.E. Lauffer.
His artistic skills allowed him to have improved visualization and mapping skills where he could recognize and understand the needs of his customers, making him able to expand his company into home furnishings, developing a broad range of furniture for manufacturers in Denmark, Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan. In fact, it became so popular that it became known as the Houdini of Hardware for its innovative application of Ready to Assemble (RTA) hardware to help consumers assemble furniture.
He also made many significant contributions as an entrepreneur. He became the Vice President of Planning and Product Development at Droz Corporation, a diversified manufacturer and distributor of wood and steel products until its sale in 1980. Later on, in 1990, Droz also founded and was the Executive Director of the Design for Business Program, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to develop materials and promote design as a competitive advantage.
