For hundreds of years, innovation in technology has pre-empted innovation in design. Today, computers are at the forefront of surface design innovation. The computer embodies all that is modern and the potential of the future. Therefore it is only appropriate that unique computer generated patterns would emerge as a leading trend is forward-thinking design.

Designers are only beginning to explore the fruits of the computer. We are only beginning a dialog in which images are generated exclusively within the machine, in which we generate images that could only be generated by the machine.

The designer Karim Rashid describes a state of "seamlessness" in the modern world in which all of our thinking or designing is conceptualized in the computer then emailed to the manufacturer, where it is then physically made under the direction of the computer - a digital gestation birthed into a physical reality.

Makelike is a graphic design studio in Portland, Oregon. They are particularly adept at creating images that are an artful pastiche of graphic elements, icons and decorative patterns. These images are built up or "layered" and then sub-sequentially "reduced" all in the computer. Much like mixing and scratching in music, Makelike synthesizes appropriated images and merges them into a unique and authentic creation. "The computer allows us all to collaborate easily," explains Kimberly Harrington. "Our work is always a collaboration and we each have very different interests, but on-screen we know when it all comes together."

Computers are computational tools — they solve problems mathematically. Good computer work marries science with aesthetics. It presents us with things we have never seen before. There are a number of graphic devices that computers execute exceptionally well. They render minute details with exceptional clarity. They can produce gradient and three-dimensional patterns easily. And there are a number of special effects that are now available to the public.

One of the most brilliant pioneers of this genre is John Maeda (see the Maeda profile on this web site). Maeda refers to the computer as a design machine. His work combines art and technology to create virtuoso images that can be both separately or at once simple or complex.

We will explore other design trends in future months. Please check back with us regularly!

Karim Rashid calls his computer generated graphics Infosthetic. He creates a visual language that is a new vernacular for a new age. His work is solely derived from digital media but his figures are not two-dimensional. Instead, Rashid conceives of them three-dimensionally.

Karim Rashid is interested in twisting the familiar into something modern. Look at his concept for a New York City manhole cover.