This post is inspired by an article I read in Metropolis magazine last night. For anyone unfamiliar, Metropolis is a magazine that focuses on design, architecture, and sometimes engineering.
http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090722/off-the-shelf-genius
"...users become infatuated with their newfound creative powers. “Designers think, I can make my imagination,” Maeda said. They forget that all the cool things they can do have been enabled by a higher creative power, the software. Or as Maeda put it: “They don’t realize they’re in someone else’s imagination.”
The author describes how modern computer tools have allowed young and inexperienced designers to create fantastic and complex forms without having to do the leg work that would historically have impeded these fanciful designs. In essence the tools allow designers to create beyond their own abilities. Instead of spending years mastering skills and form, they are able to jump immediately to the cutting edge of design using computer assisted methods. I believe this to be both a negative and positive. It is a powerful, democratic thing to bring these tools to the masses, but used irresponsibly, their may be wasteful or even dangerous. Architecturally, the knock off buildings that result, clumsily mimicking the work of genius past, may diminish the works they attempt to glorify.
In engineering, the results can be far more serious. When it comes to computers, there is a classic saying "Garbage In, Garbage Out". The meaning is quite literal, a designer who does not know the details of a software may input garbage data, which the computer will gladly use to spit out garbage results. By hand, it is possible to make a mistake in a calculation, by computer, it is possible to repeat that mistake a thousand times over. To properly check against this tendency, an engineer must often check their results against their own hand calculations, estimates and engineering intuition. Ultimately, computer software is a key to unlocking our greatest design potential, but like so many things, the user will always play a key roll in decision making. There is no substitute for experience and talent.
"...users become infatuated with their newfound creative powers. “Designers think, I can make my imagination,” Maeda said. They forget that all the cool things they can do have been enabled by a higher creative power, the software. Or as Maeda put it: “They don’t realize they’re in someone else’s imagination.”
The author describes how modern computer tools have allowed young and inexperienced designers to create fantastic and complex forms without having to do the leg work that would historically have impeded these fanciful designs. In essence the tools allow designers to create beyond their own abilities. Instead of spending years mastering skills and form, they are able to jump immediately to the cutting edge of design using computer assisted methods. I believe this to be both a negative and positive. It is a powerful, democratic thing to bring these tools to the masses, but used irresponsibly, their may be wasteful or even dangerous. Architecturally, the knock off buildings that result, clumsily mimicking the work of genius past, may diminish the works they attempt to glorify.
In engineering, the results can be far more serious. When it comes to computers, there is a classic saying "Garbage In, Garbage Out". The meaning is quite literal, a designer who does not know the details of a software may input garbage data, which the computer will gladly use to spit out garbage results. By hand, it is possible to make a mistake in a calculation, by computer, it is possible to repeat that mistake a thousand times over. To properly check against this tendency, an engineer must often check their results against their own hand calculations, estimates and engineering intuition. Ultimately, computer software is a key to unlocking our greatest design potential, but like so many things, the user will always play a key roll in decision making. There is no substitute for experience and talent.
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1 comment:
In the creative realm I think that tools making the process more accessable are a benefit. Some people have the creative streak and don't need the education or experience. But I do think that there is a disadvantage, and it is one that everyone with any age makes about those younger. They aren't learning the classics or developing any skills, they aren't working hard enough. While partially standard response, I think there is some truth in there. A lot of the work I admire is able to learn from previous work, take the good, elevate the bad, and make something that truly a leap forward and not just different for the sake of difference.
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