Conditional Design Workshop

A manifesto for artists and designers.

Through the influence of the media and technology on our world, our lives are increasingly characterized by speed and constant change. We live in a dynamic, data-driven society that is continually sparking new forms of human interaction and social contexts. Instead of romanticizing the past, we want to adapt our way of working to coincide with these developments, and we want our work to reflect the here and now. We want to embrace the complexity of this landscape, deliver insight into it and show both its beauty and its shortcomings.
Our work focuses on processes rather than products: things that adapt to their environment, emphasize change and show difference.

Instead of operating under the terms of Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Media Art or Sound Design, we want to introduce Conditional Design as a term that refers to our approach rather than our chosen media. We conduct our activities using the methods of philosophers, engineers, inventors and mystics.

Migena Sadikaj (w1496271)

Authorship & Interaction Module
MGRA501 Module Level 5
BA (hons) Graphic Communication Design

Process

The process is the product. The most important aspects of a process are time, relationship and change. The process produces formations rather than forms. We search for unexpected but correlative, emergent patterns. Even though a process has the appearance of objectivity, we realize the fact that it stems from subjective intentions.

Logic

Logic is our tool. Logic is our method for accentuating the ungraspable. A clear and logical setting emphasizes that which does not seem to fit within it. We use logic to design the conditions through which the process can take place. Design conditions using intelligible rules. Avoid arbitrary randomness. Difference should have a reason. Use rules as constraints. Constraints sharpen the perspective on the process and stimulate play within the limitations.


Input

The input is our material. Input engages logic and activates and influences the process. Input should come from our external and complex environment: nature, society and its human interactions.

Exercise 1:

The Perfect Circle

Each worker receives a colored marker to draw with and is asked to execute the simple but sometimes self contradicting rule. Each turn took exactly one minute and the rule was executed exactly 60 times.

End each turn with a perfect circle which is larger than the previous one.

We were put into groups of 4 people and together we imitated 'the perfect circle' conditional design workshop that was originally thought of by a group of young designers: Luna Maurer, Edo Paulus, Jonathan Puckey and Roel Wouters.
Below are photos of our own work and others.

Exercise 2:

Hatching

Initial setup

1. Play with four players.
2. Each player as a colored pen: red, green, blue and black.
3. Each player places a dot on the sheet at an arbitrary position but not further than 10 cm from each other.
4. The players take turns:

Task to be performed every turn by each player

Draw a straight line

1. The line must connect two dots.
2. The angle of the line must be within the following range: 0 to 45 degrees for the black lines, 45 to 90 degrees for the blue lines, 90 to 135 degrees for the red lines, 135 to 180 degrees for the green lines.
3. Connect the line to an existing line if possible.
4. Draw the shortest possible line from your starting point. If you enclose an area (a plane surrounded by lines) then hatch it with lines parallel to the line you enclosed the area with. The enclosed area may not contain unconnected dots or open ended lines.

Place a dot

The position of the dot is not further away than 10 cm from other dots and not inside the convex hull of all dots.

Outcome of our own hatching workshop

Exercise 3:

The Beach

Instructions

Each turn, find the most empty space on the paper and place a dot in the middle of it.

Do this as quickly as possible in 5 minutes.

Exercise 4:

Fluxfold

Initial Setup

Play with four participants.
Each participant has a colored pen: red, green, blue or black.
The participants take clockwise turns.

Tasks Performed the First Turn by Each Participant

Lift your corner of the paper from the table and bring it to any place on the paper so that one other corner must be lifted too.
While keeping the corner at its position, press the paper flat and make a fold.
Unfold the paper again to its standard position.
Place a dot somewhere on your fold.

Tasks Performed All Following Turns by Each Participant


Folding the paper

Bring your corner of the paper to the end of the line drawn by the participant on your right.
If that participant has only placed a dot, bring your corner to that dot.
While keeping the corner at its position, press the paper flat and make a fold.
Unfold the paper again to its standard position.
If the fold is almost parallel to the edge of the paper, place some small dots at the ends of the fold, so to clearly mark it as your fold.

Draw a straight line

Start your line at the end of your last drawn line.
Your line should always follow a fold.
Your line may cross other lines but it may not be on top of other lines.
The end of your line should always be where one of your own folds crosses a fold by someone else.