repeat A 0 100
{
//arc up and over
set B (30-A)
set [A (80-B*B/75)] 100
//arc upward
set [A (A*A/200)] 100
//graduated lines
set [A 35] (A*A/100)
set [A 45] A
}
Two
renditions of a design.
Spring 2000
Pixel, Line, Plane:
Elements of Digital Craft
|
repeat A 0 100
{
//arc up and over
set B (30-A)
set [A (80-B*B/75)] 100
//arc upward
set [A (A*A/200)] 100
//graduated lines
set [A 35] (A*A/100)
set [A 45] A
}
|
|
Two
renditions of a design.
|
|
Course Description | Final Project Assignment
| What does it mean to be a "digital designer?" What place is there for craft in working with digital tools and programming languages? How do creativity and logic interact? This interdisciplinary course offers students the chance to explore these questions through hands-on design and programming work. This is an introduction to the logic and visual thinking that are fundamental to understanding the computer's role in the future of the arts and design. Together we will explore the creative possibilities offered by the "raw computational medium." |
| Weekly exercises will illustrate the intersection of computation with the traditional arts. Students will learn the "Design by Numbers" (DBN) language written by MIT Media Lab professor John Maeda. This simple programming language gives students "the skills necessary to write computer programs that are themselves visual expressions." |
|
The course introduces basic principles of design— the point, line, and plane—as it introduces basic principles of computation— variables, repeats, and if/then/else constructions. Building on these core concepts, we will progress to basic interactivity: programmed response to mouse movements, keyboard input, and time. No math knowledge beyond basic algebra is assumed and no previous programming experience is needed. Readings from various fields will examine issues of digital craft, design, and the emergence of a widespread "digital culture." A jury of design professionals from Pentagram, Frogdesign, and the Architecture and Art departments will be invited to critique final projects. The course will end with a student exhibition. |
Course objectives
Students will be able to:
Course Requirements
The course meets twice each week for a total of three hours. Weekly programming and design exercises will be paired with readings and discussions. Requirements are: mandatory attendance, completion of weekly problem sets, participation in class, and completion of a final project.
The final project will ask students to use DBN to interpret an event or experience in ten ways that combine static, active, and interactive elements. The project will be inspired by Exercises in Style, a book that interprets a single event in 99 different ways.
Homework will be turned in via a Web-based version of the "Design by Numbers" program which allows students to save work in progress, view the work of other students, work on problem sets at a self-determined pace, and share ideas with the group.
Students should expect to spend about 8–10 hours per week (in addition to class time) on readings and problem sets. IF computer accounts will be required for access to lab systems. Students are expected to be familiar with personal computers.
Grading: class participation 30%, weekly problem sets 30%, and final project 40%.
Course Website
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~pixel
also see the MIT Media Lab's Aesthetics and Computation Group web site at
http://acg.media.mit.edu
Required texts
Selected Readings:
Course Schedule
Summary of readings
| Design by Numbers, John
Maeda. Systematically teaches fundamental principles and techniques of computer programming and of visual and interactive design. Provides a workspace for assignments and collaboration that goes beyond "how-to" exercises by emphasizing craft, technique, logical thinking, and creativity. Required text. |
|
Exercises in Style, Raymond Queneau, Barbara Wright (Translator). |
| Abstracting Craft: The Practiced
Digital Hand, Malcolm McCullough. McCullough’s book is about possibility of craft emerging from the realm of digital media. It analyzes the uses and limitations of symbols as building blocks, and emphasizes the humane aspects of design computing. Required text. |
| Selections from Interface
Culture, Steven Johnson Recent work by "cyber-critic" Johnson is a readable and provocative examination of the intersection of art and technology. |
| The Pattern on the Stone:
The Simple Ideas that Make Computers Work, W. Daniel Hillis. A book that explains the fundamental logical operations and mechanics of computation. Hillis has a particularly good description of the work and process of programming in chapter 3. |
|
Selections from Point and Line to Plane, Wassily Kandinsky. |
| The Design of Everyday Things,
Donald Norman. Norman is a cognitive psychologist who has turned his attention toward the ways that people and devices interact. A classic text on usability and design, with examples taken from architecture, industrial design, and computing. |
About the instructors
Andrew Otwell has an M.A. in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. in Art History from Connecticut College. He teaches graphics and animation in "Introduction to Interactive Media" (EDC 385/TLC 331).
Stefan Smagula has an M.A. from the Department of American Studies at UT, and a B.A. in English from Yale University. He works in the Information Design group at the CIT, and teaches information and interface design in "Introduction to Interactive Media."
Both worked at the University of Texas Center for Instructional Technologies during Spring 2000.