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Satisfying Visuals Through a Historical Lens: The Timeless Pursuit of Beauty and Order

Abby Dougherty
7 min readDec 7, 2024

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In a world where satisfying visuals are a click away on social media platforms, one might think the human desire for visual harmony and aesthetic pleasure is a modern phenomenon. However, this fascination with symmetry, rhythm, and order is deeply rooted in human history. By tracing satisfying visuals through a historical lens, we uncover a universal yearning for balance and beauty — a thread connecting ancient civilizations, Renaissance masterpieces, and digital aesthetics.

The Ancient World: Order in Chaos

From the spiraling curves of seashells to the geometrical precision of honeycombs, nature itself has long inspired humanity’s pursuit of satisfying visuals. Ancient cultures, keen observers of their environment, integrated these natural patterns into their art and architecture. The repetition, symmetry, and natural geometry found in these designs provided a sense of harmony amidst the unpredictable forces of the natural world.

The Egyptians, for instance, embraced symmetry and proportion in their monumental constructions. The Great Pyramids, with their…

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Abby Dougherty
Abby Dougherty

Written by Abby Dougherty

Abby Dougherty, PhD, loves to learn, and produce scholarship on relational-cultural theory, virtual reality, AI, and using mindfulness in counselor education.

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