Fashion

The power of design to influence the way we think about ourselves and about the world is just as powerful now as it was during Rufus King’s lifetime. Although we no longer wear dresses that look like something straight out of an ancient Roman painting, inspiration from the past has shaped much of the domestic and governmental architecture we still see today. For example, bank buildings or local government buildings often use design elements like columns to create a signal, though probably a subconscious one, that these are places of authority. Even Wendy’s used until recently a slab-serif font that evoked the comfort of a “simpler time” to sell “old-fashioned hamburgers”, as a way of setting their quality apart from other fast-food chains. 

In what other ways does design shape the way we perceive the world around us?