EVENT: Cut & Paste 2009

This past weekend (21.03.2009) I stopped in on "Cut & Paste 2009", an annual worldwide design competition. 4 designers are pre-selected, given a theme and 15 minutes to produce work.  2D, 3D and Video competitions were held.

Some great work was produced. As an audience member, the most interesting aspects where the individual workflows and directions taken by each artist. Some designs were very similar, begging the question of how a 'theme' also implies a given resolution... but in other cases the end results were wildly different. 

If nothing else, I can safely say that I am much, MUCH slower in CS4/Max than any of the contestants. Perhaps my office should start giving us restricted 'clock time' for our projects: "Design the vertical circulation in 15 minutes!" "Egress diagrams, go!"... every working day becomes a series of 32 15min design charrettes. 

Script: Old pattern, new colors

A B+W version of this had been my background for some time. Needing some time away from monocromatic themes, I added a few bits of code for random color values and re-ran the script.

int R = int(random(100,255));

int G = int(random(100,255));

int B = int(random(100,255));

fill(R,G,B,90);

10000x itterations shown above.

Script: It's been a long week.

A colleague of mine spent some time really, really trying to get a certain facade pattern into a project some months back. The studies were great, but the concept didn't end up impacting the design. Apparently it impacted me, and I've oft thought about how to replicate/study/iterate upon the idea.

Frames #00000001, #00001000, #00359000 follow.

Script: Triangles Generated in 3D

Frame #1300000.

One bounding corner of a much larger object.

Randomly located triangles, each connected to the last.

My first implementation of perspective within processing...

Texture

Old pattern, New use: Perforation study w/backlit screen.

Generative Components: 3

GC Sample. 

Basic output, but interesting nonetheless.

The surface below is built from a field of lines, each of which has a variable length based on the location of a single control point. Translating the location of this point alters relationship to the field, each line then changing in response. The variables driving each line are similar, yet result in a surface that neither rises nor falls uniformly, but undulates in a seemingly random manner.  This has been simplified to a series of polygons, easily output to a Fabrication file.

All I need is a little time on the lasercutter.

Generative Components: 2

The last post didn't center on Generative Components as I'd intended. Perhaps trying to chronicle something after spending an entire day learning it isn't the way to go. Perhaps talking about something, anything, directly after isolating yourself to it isn't the strategy. Take time to think and then formulate your thoughts. I digress.

The potential in GC is amazing. Those involved in formal design can tell you how much time is taken to refine, adjust and operate upon iterations of an idea. Weeks are easily spent building, editing and reworking studies both physical and digital. A tool that allows you alternate methods through this workflow would be a very fortunate thing. Contrasty, any tool is packaged with inherent limitations. Some see script-, code- or program- based design as limiting, taking away the freedom 'intrinsic' of pen, paper and creative thought. Indirectly, I agree. But what I find limiting is the enormous investment of time required to become minimally effective with any tool. Technology progresses; How many tools can or should we reasonably learn?

Generative Components? Maya? 3DsMax? Rhino, Maxwell, FormZ, Catia, Photoshop, Illustrator, Director, AutoCAD, Microstation, Ecotect, Revit? This isn't a new problem so much as a new medium. Watercolor, Welding, Charcoal, Ink(?).... each is a tool.

I'm working to wield a few more.