When people in the tech industry talk about “design,” they often make the mistake of not differentiating between classical designers and computational designers. The former kind of designer might craft a Review: wooden chair for a home which is used by a few people; the latter kind of designer might craft an app for a smartphone which is used by hundreds of millions of people. Classical Design vs Computational Design CLASSICAL DESIGN COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN Number of Active Users Few to Millions Few to Billions Time Needed to Deploy Weeks to Months through Distribution Instantaneously Delivered Completed Product Channels Over the Net “Perfection” is Achievable Yes There’s a final state. No It’s always evolving. Designer’s Level of Confidence Absolute, and Self-Validating Generally High, but Open to Analyzing Testing/Research Overlapping example of these Production Materials Paper, Wood, Metal, and Anything Physical Data, Models, Algorithms, and Anything two kinds of design: A smartphone, Virtual laptop, robot, and any human-facing Skills With Tools Are Generally IoT device. Grounded In Hands and Laws of Physics Mind and Computer + Social Sciences @johnmaeda Section 1: Computational Design 8