Code as a Creative Medium for Variable Formation in Graphic Design.
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Accepted: sept. 1, 2022
Published: sept. 1, 2022
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Abstract
Today, much of the graphic design we encounter is created, distributed, and experienced through computational media. Designers can use computers beyond standard software, particularly for writing their own software. However, research on code––a raw computational medium for generative form-giving––is yet largely absent within the context of graphic design (Bartlett and Tatum 2020; Shim 2020; Shim 2021). This practitioner’s essay includes a literature review and an examination of related graphic design work to establish the contextual background of computational approaches in graphic design, particularly those that define programming as both material and process for designing generative systems. Examples of such generative systems in this practitioner’s work produce algorithmically and parametrically manipulated visual variations that are dynamic to user input, external data sources and randomness. Key to taking a computational approach in graphic design and generating ‘variable formations’, or the process of building generative systems that emerge dynamic forms using code and data, is understanding and applying code as a creative medium. As such, this reflective essay demonstrates how computation is used as a graphic design medium to create variability in the appearance and behavior of visual forms.
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