Form Follows Function
Filmed on October 18, 2016 at the 2016 AIGA Design Conference
New technologies and scientific discoveries are enabling new expressions in art and design. Thanks to the Internet and open movements in software, media, and education, new visual aesthetics, forms, and experiences are emerging from a variety of disciplines and locations. This talk focuses on new tools for visual/spatial expression and creation; how these tools emerged because of the aforementioned technologies; how these tools differ from traditional tools and help rethink workflows in design; and how mathematical and algorithmic approaches can be used in design.
Reza Ali is a design engineer whose work encompasses computer graphics, digital fabrication, computational design, user interfaces, and software engineering. His projects take the shapes of visual art; hardware; 3D print forms; video; interactive installations; and mobile, desktop, and web apps. His clients include Dolby Laboratories, OK Go, deadmau5, Samsung, Nokia, Razorfish, SXSW, and others.
As a researcher, Ali is passionate about solving complex problems by creating new technologies and open-sourcing them to allow others to utilize his work. Through his projects, Ali explores the feedback cycle that occurs when custom tools are written to accomplish a project and/or product, and how those tools can enable work to go beyond a designer’s original vision. His work has been shown in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. Currently, he is conducting self-driven research in digital fabrication, computational design, and software tools and interfaces.
