Generative Design
Prof. Celestino Soddu
with Prof. Enrica Colabella
School of Design, Politecnico di Milano University
A.Y. 2014-2015, first semester

The aim of this teaching activity is:
1. Increasing the quality of Design acts.
2. Supporting the construction of own Design Style and Identity, identifying and constructing the “characters” of own recognizable approach to Design
3. Defining advanced theoretical and operative skills for increasing the Design quality
4. Helping to identify and select own Design imaginary in a way to be directly used in own Design process.
5. Experimenting the advanced Generative approaches to Design using technologies able to move the design act from Forms to Processes, from static solutions to a dynamic operative vision of future and its world of variations of recognizable events.

Generative Design is a morphogenetic process using algorithms structured as not-linear systems for endless unique and un-repeatable results performed by an idea-code, as in Nature. (C.Soddu 1992)

Teaching structure
Each student will be asked to:
1. identify own reference imaginary as process aims.
2. identify own design vision, focusing the characters of this vision.
3. costruct, starting from this imaginary, own design process codes (advanced generative scripts) able to be directly used into a design act and able to fit own design vision.
4. experiment this operative process in several design experiments, one each month, with the aim to sharpen the quality, identity and recognizability of the design acts.

5. increase knowledge by Generative Design experimentations

Generative Art International Conference and Exhibition
Each student will propose his/her design experiment to be exhibited in the GA2014 exhibition in Rome during the second week of December. This will be the occasion to show and discuss their generative design experiments with a international experts in this field. All will be published in the website www.generativism.com and in the site of the GA conferences www.generativeart.com. Selected projects in the international Journal GASATHJ www.gasathj.com.

Teaching management
Each student will have his own webpage in www.generativism.com where the design activity will be shown in real time. This will be useful for valuating in real time the increasing quality process and will improve the possibility to exchange opinions and results with all other students of the course, and also with other students of other international universities working in the same field.

The course will have the contribution of Prof. Enrica Colabella, an expert of generative approach to creativity and design.
International experts of generative approach to Design will be invited to give a lecture (or a short workshop) or on-line interations and suggestions during the course.


Step by step and final evaluation
Each student will be evaluated following the work shown in the web page. More, several ex-tempore tests will be activated to focus problems and lack of deepening.
The final evaluation will take care of the reached awareness of how a design processes must run and if the student has constructed a recognizable identity as designer.

References:
www.generativeart.com the website of Generative Art International conference where it's possible to consult around 700 papers about the generative approach to Art, Design, Music and more.
www.gasathj.com the website of the Generative Art Science and Technology hard Journal
www.generativedesign.com (the website of C. Soddu and E. Colabella and of the Generative Design Lab of Politecnico di Milano)
www.artscience-ebookshop.com where it's possible to read and download for free all the material (ebooks, proceedings and journals) focusing the generative approach.

Each student will be evaluated following the work shown in his/her web page at www.generativism.com.

More, several ex-tempore tests will be activated to focus problems and lack of deepening.

The final evaluation will take care of the reached awareness of how a design processes must run and if the student has constructed a recognizable identity as designer.