Design Machines
Design Machines is a hands-on workshop that I designed to introduce the mechanics of generative design and simple design algorithms. I taught it with a theoretical groundwork, teaching the simple idea of Design Machines, followed by creative exercises. We analysed an existing piece of art as if it were the product of a Design Machine. And finally, students created their own machines from scratch that generate visual outcomes.
This workshop raises interesting questions, such as the mundane, and how it’s the most creative part of the process. How is this different from AI-generated design? What are some things machines can do that humans absolutely cannot? And most importantly, why is computational thinking so critical for graphic designers? Students walked away from this one-day workshop with an understanding of computational design that can be applied to their practices.
I ran this workshop for the MA Graphic Communication Design students at Central Saint Martins and Creative Coding students at the Pratt Institute in New York.
If you’re interested in running Design Machines, get in touch.
Student Feedback
“I found Design Machines really inspirational, as it really helped to simplify the process mentally for me of generative art. By defining a set of rules, especially during the segment in which Elif created various examples of a generative Mondrian painting, I saw the simplicity of the process first-hand. I was really interested in her technique of using a very structural and linear approach, deciding which elements to add in which order, leaving not much of the decision-making up to the machine. Even though this process was far different from the intricate processes that Mondrian himself used, Elif was able to dissect similarities within his work and use them as a sort of pattern. I found this simplification of complex subjects into digestible formulas especially intriguing since it made me wonder what sort of patterns might be present in more complex work, such as compositions of realist paintings.”
“Design Machines was very inspiring in that it taught me about the basics of rule-based system/design. Where Elif brought the example of generating the Mondrian painting, which helped me understand how rule-based design works. The design process that I have been exposed to up until now, has been very different from the linear and concise process of rule-based design - it was more branched out and improvisational. I think Design Machines was beneficial because I was able to learn how to think like a design "machine" and possibly apply it to my work later when I get to actually use code to make my art works.”
“Design Machines gave an insight into what a design machine is and (…) why is it of importance to design. I liked the way the whole presentation was organised in a simplistic manner and created a sort of mind map in my mind which made it easier to understand. The main focus was on the fact that a design machine functions based on a set of rules which is provided by the person and the output is generated by the machine. Along with rules, it's important to also have some restrictions as machines/computers tend to be unbiased. We also talked about Shape Grammars in the context to rule-based drawing. With the example of Shape Grammars it was easier to understand what these rules looked like. At the end of the class, we conducted an activity to try and guess some rules and restriction that could have created an expected outcome that was shown on the screen. I enjoyed this activity. I think one thing that intrigued me the most was the randomization of the outcome or art despite the rules. When we did the exercise in the class of drawing things based on certain rules, it was interesting to observe such varying possibilities of a common type of rule.”
“(…) Design Machines was incredibly useful for understanding how the systems work. For me, having the machine broken down into each individual step really helped solidify the understanding of it, and the way Elif described it was in a way that made sense and was relevant to how we usually work with step-by-step things, making it all the more helpful. The deconstruction/reverse contraction especially made the process and topic more comprehendible, as it gave me personal insight on what specifically not to do or why things would or wouldn't be working in the machine the way I intended.”