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Creative Code: Aesthetics + Computation
A rich compilation of work by some of the most inventive minds in the field of digital design. John Maeda, probably the most important digital designer, educator, and artist working today, created a sensation with maeda@media (2000), which documented his complete oeuvre and laid out his belief in the importance of designers understanding the computer as a medium, not just a tool.
Maeda's work as an educator and director of the Aesthetics + Computation Group (ACG) at the MIT Media Lab has largely remained behind the scenes. For seven years, Maeda and his students―several of whom are already internationally celebrated―have created some of the most digitally sophisticated and exciting pieces of design to emerge anywhere. Little of this research has been seen outside the laboratory.
This book presents the most fascinating work produced by the group, arranged into themes that apply to today's design information visualization, digital typography, abstraction, interaction design, and education. Each section also features brief essays by leading names in the field of interaction and digital design―Casey Reas, David Small, Yogo Nakamura, Joshua Davis, and Gillian Crampton-Smith.
Deftly bridging the chasm between art and science, John Maeda, a true pioneer in the digital realm, leads the way to a greater understanding and richness of experience. Over 600 illustrations, most in color
Maeda's work as an educator and director of the Aesthetics + Computation Group (ACG) at the MIT Media Lab has largely remained behind the scenes. For seven years, Maeda and his students―several of whom are already internationally celebrated―have created some of the most digitally sophisticated and exciting pieces of design to emerge anywhere. Little of this research has been seen outside the laboratory.
This book presents the most fascinating work produced by the group, arranged into themes that apply to today's design information visualization, digital typography, abstraction, interaction design, and education. Each section also features brief essays by leading names in the field of interaction and digital design―Casey Reas, David Small, Yogo Nakamura, Joshua Davis, and Gillian Crampton-Smith.
Deftly bridging the chasm between art and science, John Maeda, a true pioneer in the digital realm, leads the way to a greater understanding and richness of experience. Over 600 illustrations, most in color
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2004
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325 people want to read
About the author
John Maeda
31 books226 followersJohn Maeda [MY-ay-da] is a world-renowned artist, graphic designer, computer scientist and educator whose career reflects his philosophy of humanizing technology. For more than a decade, he has worked to integrate technology, education and the arts into a 21st-century synthesis of creativity and innovation.
Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining skilled computer programming with sensitivity to traditional artistic concerns. This work helped to develop the interactive motion graphics that are prevalent on the web today. A pioneering voice for simplicity in the digital age, he also initiated the Design by Numbers project, a global initiative to teach computer programming to visual artists through a freely available, custom software system he designed.
As a digital artist, Maeda has exhibited in well-received one-man shows in London, New York and Paris. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Cartier Foundation in Paris. In the design realm, he is a trustee of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and has developed advanced projects for major corporations such as Cartier, Google, Philips, Reebok and Samsung, among others.
In 2008 Maeda was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine. In 2001 he earned the National Design Award in the US; in 2002, the Mainichi Design Prize in Japan; and in 2005, the Raymond Loewy Foundation Prize in Germany.
A former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Maeda taught media arts and sciences there for 12 years and served as associate director of research at the MIT Media Lab. He has published four books, including his 480-page retrospective MAEDA@MEDIA and his most recent, The Laws of Simplicity, which has been translated into 14 languages. Maeda has lectured widely, including at Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, the Royal College of Art, Stanford and UCLA; at the Centre Pompidou, TED conferences and Walker Art Center; and for corporations such as Herman Miller, Sony, Steelcase, Toshiba and Yahoo!.
A native of Seattle, Maeda earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT, followed by a PhD in Design Science from the University of Tsukuba Institute of Art and Design in Japan and an MBA from Arizona State University.
Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining skilled computer programming with sensitivity to traditional artistic concerns. This work helped to develop the interactive motion graphics that are prevalent on the web today. A pioneering voice for simplicity in the digital age, he also initiated the Design by Numbers project, a global initiative to teach computer programming to visual artists through a freely available, custom software system he designed.
As a digital artist, Maeda has exhibited in well-received one-man shows in London, New York and Paris. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Cartier Foundation in Paris. In the design realm, he is a trustee of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and has developed advanced projects for major corporations such as Cartier, Google, Philips, Reebok and Samsung, among others.
In 2008 Maeda was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine. In 2001 he earned the National Design Award in the US; in 2002, the Mainichi Design Prize in Japan; and in 2005, the Raymond Loewy Foundation Prize in Germany.
A former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Maeda taught media arts and sciences there for 12 years and served as associate director of research at the MIT Media Lab. He has published four books, including his 480-page retrospective MAEDA@MEDIA and his most recent, The Laws of Simplicity, which has been translated into 14 languages. Maeda has lectured widely, including at Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, the Royal College of Art, Stanford and UCLA; at the Centre Pompidou, TED conferences and Walker Art Center; and for corporations such as Herman Miller, Sony, Steelcase, Toshiba and Yahoo!.
A native of Seattle, Maeda earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT, followed by a PhD in Design Science from the University of Tsukuba Institute of Art and Design in Japan and an MBA from Arizona State University.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 2, 2024
5 stars • Oh what a fascinating book! Maeda is perhaps one of the most influential names in creative coding. For good reason, he created the programming language, Design by Numbers (DBN). And that laid the foundations for our present-day Processing and p5.js. And this book shows more of his visions and insights of art and computation, with specific emphasis on his student work. I loved seeing the absolute variety of projects, so inventive, visionary and creative. I really love the concept of using the computer or even ‘code’ as a tool for art. This showcases a lot of artwork from the 1990s to early 2000s. It was quite inspiring. I got many of my own ideas from reading this book. I also wish I was a student at the MIT Media Lab 😖
August 2, 2018
Dr. Maeda is a great artist as well as an inspiring educator. I enjoyed reading this as well as getting some good ideas or two from it (I'll make sure to quote the creators though!) Thank you Dr. Maeda, and thank you all of you at the ACG, PLW, and OpenAtelier! You are one of the pioneers of the digital media as art if not THE pioneers! I wish I had the opportunity to take your class!
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February 28, 2023Creative Code: Aesthetics Computation by John Maeda (2004)
March 16, 2010
very fascinating gallery's of 'digital era artwork' ( not all of them are virtual, some installation art, graphic artwork, etc ). If you know John Maeda, and like his style, its a collection you definitely have to own
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews