BS vs. BA; who holds the key to innovation in the future?

The early 90s saw the emergence of mechanical engineers in building automobiles, followed by civil engineers in the 90s who built the vast infrastructure to support the growing economy, followed by electrical engineers who brought out the telephones and TVs, with computer science/electronics engineers who gave us the computers and then the communication networks in the late 90s. The last decade saw the slow down of innovation in engineering (semiconductor, computers, communications) but saw the emergence a new breed of design engineers who had the capability of using the underlying technologies to build products for the consumers.

Let us look into some of the companies who succeeded in the last decade with an emphasis on the value/differentiation they brought to the marketplace. Apple is the first company that comes to mind. They were not the first ones to bring out a MP3 player, they were not the first ones to bring out a smart phone and they were not the first ones to bring out a tablet. However, they were the first ones to design a complete system (hardware, software and services) that caught the attention of the consumers. iPOD's clean mechanical design (just enough buttons to play music)along with emphasis on ease of use made it the killer product of the last decade. The credit to the success of the products from Apple handily goes to the creative minds of designers who used the fundamental engineering infrastructure to build a product that connected with the masses.

How about most of the internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Zynga, e-Bay and Amazon? There was no engineering marvel at any of those companies. These were a bunch of entrepreneurs who used the existing infrastructure (high speed computers and high speed communications) to connect people all over the world. Although, engineers built those products, the design engineers/user interface designers crafted the product with a look and feel that connected with the masses. There is no doubt in my mind that the designers made the last decade. Is this just the beginning of a ride for arts majors?

I definitely think so. I don't see any fundamental break through technology for the next decade. Anything that can be smaller will be made smaller. Anything that can go wireless will go wireless. Anything that can go faster will go faster. However, the geniuses who can figure out a method to connect the masses and relate with the masses will make companies succeed over the next decade. Education that will promote creativity (design, language) will be needed to build break through companies. Engineers with creative mindset or creative geniuses in any background will find tons of opportunities this next decade. It's definitely the time for arts and design in the high tech world.