Design involving artificial intelligence will always require a human touch, write YuJune Park and Caspar Lam as part of our AItopia series.

There’s no escaping the rapid and impressive advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), which have naturally led to equal parts excitement and panic.

Meanwhile, last month, scientists at the University of Cambridge presented a 3D-printed robot hand capable of ‘touch’ (pictured). The robotic hand can grasp objects using the feeling in its ‘skin’, yet can’t move its fingers independently of each other. That means no pointing, counting, or chef’s kiss: the robotic hand symbolises how even advanced technology cannot hope to speak to the totality of human experience.

Even advanced technology cannot hope to speak to the totality of human experience

We’ve seen the progressive capabilities of AI in pattern recognition for text and images, enabling “smart” editing (automatically “improving” or modifying an image or written passage) and the ability to generate both text and image through prompts. Moreover, AI is now capable of “seeing” and “coding”, which gives designers the capability to move from ideation to prototyping almost instantaneously.

In many ways, the tasks related to execution are being outsourced to AI, and it is here that a designer’s ability to discern, to critique, and to contextualise becomes more important.

Indeed, there are so many aspects of human experience – especially in the context of design and creativity – that will never be replicated by any technology.

As technology and machine learning progress, a tactile, human approach to design becomes ever more important. Where many have seen AI developments as encroaching uncomfortably on designers’ work, on a more positive note it’s creating new opportunities to explore the relationship between the digital and the physical.

As AI becomes more advanced, digital experiences could be more easily generated because of their fundamental structure being built from code. It will provide the ability to iterate and bring to fruition ideas that may previously have been laborious to prototype, such as complex data visualisations. It can take away the time-consuming legwork for designers.

But at the same time, for this stuff to have value in the physical world, designers need to develop a more discerning eye to understand and refine AI’s output by providing critique, contextualisation, and ultimately providing a human perspective.

We have to return to the essence of the role of the designer

Design can act as a translator between our experiences of the physical and digital, reconfiguring the digital experience into one that is more familiar to us. Think skeuomorphism – digital design in which items mimic their real-world counterparts, such as early iPhone calculator designs.

On the other side of the coin, design can hide and make the digital experience invisible so that we do not see what is happening underneath in order to make the experience more comfortable and usable. Think loading indicators that hide the realities of processing computation and code.

Since many of the laborious and repetitive tasks by designers can easily be replaced by AI, we have to return to the essence of the role of the designer, which is about the more philosophical and existential role of human beings and the things they create. Human beings are often defined by their ability to utilise tools and the open question is: are we able to utilise and harness this new tool, AI?

It becomes necessary to consider the value of the human person and their ability to see and imagine which is shaped by the experiences of the five senses. Ultimately, it is through these five senses that we encounter the world, whether man or machine-made.

It would be useful to revisit the discussions surrounding the 1860s Arts and Crafts movement, which emerged in the wake of the industrial revolution. Its main tenets were around craftsmanship, which stresses the inherent beauty of the material, drawing inspiration from nature and the value of simplicity, utility and beauty. Ultimately, it interrogated what we collectively value as a culture, a society, and as makers in light of these ideas around the more sensorial aspects of design.

Whether a practising professional or a student, designers should make time to enhance their creativity away from a computer screen and explore more tactile approaches – exploring a museum or gallery; browsing the stacks in a library; trying out physical printmaking techniques.

Now more than ever, it’s vital that designers trust both their eyes and their hands

In being mindful of the ways in which we observe and the emotional resonance of the handmade, we see more clearly how human designers have power beyond the capacity of technology. While AI might be able to one day mimic the way the eye moves across a painting, arguably it will never be able to articulate or replicate how doing so elicits deep, powerful feelings in people.

In general, designers need to be more observant. Tuning into the aforementioned five senses gives designers the ability to compare and to develop preferences – something that an AI out of a box does not have and could never have, because AI can ultimately be re-trained and re-programmed. As human beings, we like what we like and dislike what we dislike. Sometimes, that subjectivity is seen as a flaw, but paradoxically it’s what allows us to create variety and new experiences.

Each designer responds to the material world differently and weaves their own mythologies into their creative works. The interaction between intuition and form and the translation between vision and media are the genesis of creativity, and it’s only by learning through making that we serendipitously discover the real reasons why we are attracted to certain forms and the joy that results from their discovery.

Designers should think about how the design we cannot see, but still experience, is often the most inspirational. They should consider the ways in which you can bring tactile qualities to design with the use of multimedia, interactive techniques including sound, light, haptics, user interface, user experience, and more.

Now more than ever, it’s vital that designers trust both their eyes and their hands, as well as the feedback of digital technologies. It’s the only way that they can truly grasp how the physical translates to digital – and vice versa – and how great design elicits powerful emotions.

YuJune Park and Caspar Lam are co-founders of New York digital design consultancy Synoptic Office and associate professors of communication design at Parsons School of Design.

The photography is courtesy of the University of Cambridge.

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AItopia

This article is part of Dezeen’s AItopia series, which explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on design, architecture and humanity, both now and in the future.

The post “As machine learning progresses tactile design becomes ever more important” appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Showroom: research suggests people prefer to have their backs to the wall in open-plan workspaces, so Form Us With Love has developed a furniture system that simulates the experience.

The design studio worked with Danish manufacturer +Halle to create Cubicle, a furniture design it describes as a “bench and wall system”.

Launched during Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design festival, Cubicle is designed to replicate the specific qualities that people look for when finding a seat in an open indoor workspace such as a library or co-working office.

It draws directly from the PhD research of engineer Andrew Khoudi, whose thesis investigated the topic.

By analysing data collected from four zones in Dokk1, Scandinavia’s biggest library, Khoudi’s research found that people preferred to sit with their backs to the wall facing outwards, either for individual focus work or group collaboration.

“In a lot of settings, the majority of the people want their back covered with the potential to overview the room, so we could relate to Andrew’s research,” said John Löfgren, co-founder of Form Us With Love.

Armed with this knowledge, Form Us With Love developed a family of freestanding furniture pieces that look like they are set against a low wall.

The designs take their cues from diner booths and train carriages, both examples of semi-rooms within larger spaces.

“We had a discussion about where you feel most productive and at the same time at ease,” Löfgren told Dezeen.

“With all the easy, portable technology that is part of your toolbox today, we just want to offer a platform with the essentials for the user to feel comfortable in, either to do laptop-related work or have a tete-a-tete with a colleague.”

The design comes in a few variations but the setup always involves a 1.2-metre-high backdrop, one or more bench seats and small integrated tables.

These elements are realised with as little material as possible. The entire structure is formed of oak-veneered plywood with optional upholstery and power sockets integrated beneath the seat.

The project forms the latest in a series of +Halle products that look towards the future of the workplace, with others including the multi-use Sui Desk Chair and the cocooning Proto chairs.

The ideas behind these designs emerge from the Annual Briefing, an initiative that sees the brand invite different speakers to share their insights into how changing behaviours will shape the furniture of the future.

“Advancements in creative thinking, critical thinking and problem-solving call for an updated conceptualisation of our workspaces,” said +Halle creative director Martin Halle.

“We are moving away from the open-plan office to respect the individual and at the same time nurture small-scale communal seating areas.”

With the name Cubicle, this latest design deliberately references the office cubicle of the 1960s.

Form Us With Loves hopes to show how the traditional cubicle can be adapted for the modern workplace, offering a sense of comfortable enclosure rather than confinement.

Other experimental furniture designs from the studio include a reconfigurable hammock designed to replace the sofa and a collection of pegboard-inspired furniture for the Form Us With Love studio.

Product: Cubicle
Designer: Form Us With Love
Brand: +Halle

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For sneakerheads, collecting their footwear of choice has become a lifestyle (and sometimes an obsession?) that they are willing to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to buy the latest one or the more unique models. But would you be willing to spend $50,000 to own a pair of vintage sneakers that you may not even get to wear since it might fall apart? If you’re a die-hard Apple fan and a sneaker collector, then you might consider spending that much for this pair.

Designer: Apple

Click Here to Buy Now!

Auction house Sotheby’s is selling a pair of Apple sneakers called the Omega Sports Apple Computer Sneakers that were specifically created for the tech company’s employees during the 90s. They weren’t sold to the public but were only given to those who worked for the company during that time. The pair being sold is still in “mint condition” in that they were never worn yet and are still in the box but since it’s been a couple of decades since they were created, expect it to not be totally okay.

Design-wise, it’s just a pair of white sneakers that have the old Apple rainbow logo on the sides and on the tongue and come with white laces. It is pretty retro-looking but since a lot of retro things are now “in” once again, it should fit right in with the Gen Z aesthetic. This particular pair is US men’s size 10.5 so if you’re planning on actually wearing it, you should have that particular shoe size. Otherwise, it will just be a pair of shoes on display in your cabinet or room (if you collect that many sneakers).

There have been some other pairs of this particular sneakers that went on sale before although they didn’t look exactly the same as this $50,000 one. Let’s see if there is someone out there who would be willing to spend that much for this vintage and mint condition sneakers. Hopefully they also don’t fall apart if said person tries to wear it.

The post Vintage Apple sneakers for $50,000 is a must-buy for hardcore fans only first appeared on Yanko Design.

In today’s fast-paced world, capturing memories has become an integral part of our lives. Every second holds a unique experience worth preserving, from the beauty of a soaring kite against a clear sky to the soothing sounds of chirping cicadas on a summer day. Enjoying these little moments adds to the happiness quotient in our stressful urban lives. Understanding the importance of these precious moments, we are thrilled to unveil the latest addition to our product lineup: the P-Series Portable Thermal Print Camera, designed especially for children and students.

Designer: Mengling Hai , DPP

Combining the functionalities of a thermal printer, and camera the P-Series Thermal Print Camera is a versatile device that empowers young users to express their creativity and document their world in a unique way. Its sleek design features organic shapes that are visually appealing and ergonomic, ensuring a comfortable grip for extended use.

The thermal printing capability of the P-Series Thermal Print Camera surely adds an innovative twist to the traditional concept of photography. Gone are the days of waiting for photos to be developed or relying on digital screens to view your images. With this camera, users can snap a picture and instantly print it using thermal printing technology. The resulting prints have a unique vintage aesthetic, reminiscent of the classic Polaroid instant photos that have charmed generations. However, it is not a product that’s one of a kind. There are many more popular alternatives that have more testimonial appreciation.

One of the standout features of the P-Series Thermal Print Camera is its rapid photo-taking capabilities. Often, we find ourselves wanting to capture multiple shots in quick succession, only to be hindered by the camera’s sluggish performance. However, this camera addresses this issue by incorporating a meticulously designed viewfinder. The challenge lies in controlling the speed at which the viewfinder pops up. Through careful adjustment of the gear bite tightness and the precise amount of specialized damping oil used, the viewfinder achieves an optimal pop-up effect in just 1.2 seconds.

The viewfinder is not the only aspect that sets the P-Series Thermal Print Camera apart. Its model verification at the functional level ensures consistent performance and durability, allowing users to rely on their devices for countless adventures. Whether it’s capturing spontaneous moments during a school field trip or documenting creative projects, this camera is built to withstand the demands of active young users and is designed to be held for longer hours.

The P-Series Thermal Print Camera caters specifically to children and students, providing them with a creative outlet for self-expression and a powerful tool for documenting their lives. It combines the convenience of a portable thermal printer with the joy of photography, all in one sleek and stylish device.

In addition to its photography features, to cater to the inquisitive nature of a child’s inquisitive nature, the P-Series Thermal Print Camera can consider incorporating a search tool to enhance the overall user experience. With this functionality, young users can scan QR codes, search for additional information, or even translate text through the camera’s lens. This feature could promote curiosity and exploration, making learning an interactive and engaging experience in this innovative world. It would almost be like a smartphone for children but with limited features that solely help their development. These features would also stand out in the market.

Having said that, the P-Series Thermal Print Camera is a game-changer in the world of portable photography. Its unique combination of thermal printing, rapid photo-taking capabilities, model verification, and ergonomics make it an ideal companion for children and students. With every second of life worth recording, this camera ensures that no moment is left uncaptured. Let the P-Series Thermal Print Camera be your child’s gateway to exploring the world and immortalizing their memories in a truly tangible way.

The post Allow Your Kids to Capture Moments with the New P-series Thermal Print Camera first appeared on Yanko Design.

Dezeen School Shows: a foldable mobile structure designed for Google‘s community outreach initiatives is included in Dezeen’s latest school show by students at Florida Atlantic University.

Also included is a museum that pioneers new ways of displaying aircraft and a project that examines how AI can be used in architectural education.

Florida Atlantic University

Institution: Florida Atlantic University
School: School of Architecture
Course: Bachelor of Architecture
Tutors: Joseph Choma, Francis Lyn, Anthony Abbate, Daniel Bolojan, Diego Camargo, Jean Martin Caldieron, Philippe d’Anjou, Willa Granger, Jeffrey Huber, Heather Ligler, Tyler Rodgers, John Sandell, Emmanouil Vermisso, Dustin White and Shermeen Yousif

School statement:

“Schools of architecture are a balancing act. There are many polyvalent dimensions that make up architecture – in particular, our school focuses on three areas – technology, environment and community.

“How will technology transform the practice of architecture? How can we reduce the carbon footprint of how we build? How can we design for hydro-generated urbanism?

“What role can design play in social justice? How do we design public space and affordable housing? How do we reveal biases in how histories are told?

“These are some of the questions we explore to project possible futures for the discourse of architecture.

“Florida Atlantic University School of Architecture continues to contribute to the growing complexities associated with the cultural and technological trajectory of architecture.

“The school blends innovative research-based methods with professional practice conventions. We embrace pragmatic constraints as poetic design opportunities while tackling the most challenging problems of our time.”

Space as Product by Advanced Architectural Design 2 students 

“This course embraced the pedagogical approach of teaching through research and research through teaching, where students collaborated with director Joseph Choma on an industry-sponsored applied research project.

“The project began with a series of client-driven questions and prompts. Currently, the client Google conducts all of its product testing and user experience research within carefully designed spaces inside its headquarters.

“However, it found that its research results were often skewed because it was not reaching a broad enough demographic beyond the geography of the headquarters, which are dominantly based in major metropolitan areas.

“As a result, it posed the questions, what does it mean to design space as product? How can we design and fabricate deployable structures for community engagement initiatives around the world? How do we take product research outside of corporate headquarters and engage the public directly within outdoor public spaces?

“A lightweight pop-up structure was created for Google’s community engagement initiatives. The foldable fibreglass structure was designed by combining funicular geometric principles with controlled buckling from curved creases.

“The two-dimensional crease pattern with a diameter of 30 feet was folded into place within two hours. As catenary-based arcs are folded into a series of structural ribs, four cantilevering canopies pop into place.

“The full-scale prototype spans 22 feet, stands 10 feet tall and has a material thickness of 1/16 inch.”

Student: Advanced Architectural Design 2 students
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 2
Tutor: Joseph Choma

Curves with Lines by Hannah Adamson

“Throughout the semester, Architectural Design 1 students created a series of objects and drawings as they transitioned through four pedagogical exercises.

“Curves with Lines is a pedagogical exercise where ruled surfaces were explored. Before the computer, ruled surfaces were a popular way to construct and calculate curved surfaces.

“Students began this exercise by making analogue hand-drafted drawings of ruled surfaces by connecting different spatial boundaries with a series of straight lines.

“Later, the students translated these two-dimensional representational abstractions into three-dimensional surfaces on the computer. From there, each student learned how to precisely record their digitally designed surface through physical analogue modelling using wooden dowels.

“Pictured above is Hannah Adamson’s interpretation of this exercise.

“Throughout this exercise and others, students learned to fluently move back and forth between analogue and digital tooling within a rigorous rule-based framework.”

Student: Hannah Adamson
Course: Architectural Design 1
Tutor: Joseph Choma

Intimate Institutions by Mickhyle Dangalan

“The project brief, Intimate Institutions, explored a small museum and community centre located on a site between two urban scales – a dense urban grid and a sprawling transition space.

“How do you design an institution that fits the scale of both the city and a neighbourhood while embracing the creative ambitions of an art centre?

“Mickhyle Dangalan’s Miami Museum of Graffiti translates the ethos of graffiti into a fluid spatial experience, imagining pathways that are more free-flowing than those experienced around the rigid existing site.

“Through different intensities of speed and density of spaces, the museum brings people in for intimate spatial moments.”

Student: Mickhyle Dangalan
Course: Architectural Design 4
Tutor: Tyler Rodgers

Xenomorph by Daniel Lasso, Jerry Velasquez and Matthew Smithmullally

“The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques into the field of architecture has the potential to revolutionise the design process by expanding the design space of possibilities.

“In Architectural Design 7, students delved into the use of deep learning (DL) tools in architecture, which can augment the design process by providing a wider range of options and possibilities for the designer to choose from.

“Through the use of these tools, designers can engage in a more dynamic selection process, utilising the capabilities of these tools to generate a more diverse range of possibilities.

“This has resulted in the creation of three-dimensional datasets, which are then used to train and interpolate three-dimensional deep learning models. Beyond designing a building, the students also designed their own AI workflow.

“Daniel Lasso, Jerry Velasquez, and Matthew Smithmullally embraced this approach to creative AI in their design of a hotel located adjacent to the High Line in New York City. Massing studies, circulation diagrams, and programmatic organisational strategies were fed into the DL tools.

“Additionally, a stigmergy algorithm was utilised to create over four thousand three-dimensional models as datasets that were interpolated with self-organising maps.

“Within this project, AI was more than just a tool, but a collaborator in the creative process.

Students: Daniel Lasso, Jerry Velasquez and Matthew Smithmullally
Course: Architectural Design 7
Tutor: Daniel Bolojan

Deep Ecologies by Yagmur Akyuz, Luisa Giffoni and Matt Craven

“This research project develops a novel design workflow that leverages multiple interconnected deep learning (DL) models to enable varying degrees of design agency.

“By adopting this iterative collaborative approach, the design process becomes enriched, encouraging creative design thinking and augmenting the prospects of innovative outcomes.

“In this way, the designer becomes the choreographer of how multiple DL models interact with each other and human agents, thus determining the levels of autonomy in the design framework.

“In the test-case application of the prototyped design workflow, the brief was to design a speculative bio-centric architecture that can leverage a new symbiotic relationship with natural ecosystems.

“Yagmur Akyuz, Luisa Giffoni and Matt Craven explored mycelium as a building material and an algorithm to provide three-dimensional datasets to the DL models.

“Their project grounds this experimental approach in the socio-economic realm of a city on the verge of climate crisis.”

Students: Yagmur Akyuz, Luisa Giffoni and Matt Craven
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 2
Tutor: Shermeen Yousif

Creative Nexus by Arie Chocron and Alyssa Scherger

“Located in Little River in Miami, an innovative artistic enclave, the concept of the Creative Nexus project revolves around the artist.

“The desired user group includes a wide variety of artists, from painters and sculptors to digital and artificial intelligence creators.

“The design approach is to provide specific commercial, office and residential spaces curated to the needs of artists and art consumers.

“Throughout the building, creative hubs are arranged with social areas between them called design blocks.

“These collective spaces encourage serendipitous encounters by providing opportunities for different creative disciplines to informally share ideas.

“By analysing how different artists work, a series of precisely calibrated spaces were designed to support those needs.”

Students: Arie Chocron and Alyssa Scherger
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 1
Tutor: Hadi Alhaffar

Make-Shift Architectures of Necessity by Shambil Khan, Ian Fennimore and Nicole Grueser

“This research project explored the application of pre-trained text-to-image AI models (neural language models) for architectural ideation.

“The project considered restructuring the Bangladeshi ship-breaking culture to reimagine new communities from decommissioned marine vessels.

“Shifting from the semantics of disassembly to re-assembly enabled the unveiling of a latent visual language from the logistics of ship construction.

“The site is stationed in the Bay of Bengal, the world’s scrapyard for marine vessels.

“This project envisages a future in the past, in which a cataclysmic event isolated a number of ships in a small quadrant of the coast, leading to their destruction and rebuilding into an utterly fantastic series of social spaces that celebrate the raw power of people with mythological levels of creativity.

“Guided by generative semantic AI tools, feedback loops and processes were chained together to develop a catalogue of potential spatial scenarios, carved and welded by the shanty-dwelling ship-breakers.”

Students: Shambil Khan, Ian Fennimore and Nicole Grueser
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 2
Tutor: Emmanouil Vermisso

Encoding Intelligence by Arie Chrocron, Alyssa Scherger and Thomas Tucker

“The project explores how features from various design-based professions, such as fashion, furniture, sculpture and car design, can be integrated into an architectural project.

“The project proposes an innovative approach that uses artificial intelligence networks and tools to extract, transfer, generate, blend and analyse features from different domains through an interconnected workflow to encode them back into architecture.

“To achieve this goal, the project entails a comprehensive process of extracting, analysing and encoding features from nine design domains.

“The trained diffusion model encodes features from the nine domains onto images of the project site location, utilising a combination of semantics from all nine domains to blend the features cohesively onto a set of images representing the project site.

“The three-dimensional site is represented through sectional images that sequentially cut through the site, providing a two-dimensional dataset that can be utilised throughout the artificial intelligence networks and converted back into three-dimensional space.

“The project’s end result is a catalogue of 28 three-dimensional variations, each with unique architectural features from the combinations of all the encoded information that can be further explored and implemented into future design phases.”

Students: Arie Chrocron, Alyssa Scherger and Thomas Tucker
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 2
Tutor: Daniel Bolojan

Salty Urbanism by Advanced Architectural Design 2 students

“Adapting to the changing coastal landscape is key in the face of sea level rise and climate change.

“Led by professor Jeff Huber in collaboration with architecture students and interdisciplinary experts, Salty Urbanism is a research project that offers an innovative solution to this pressing issue, combining the best practices in ecological and urban design to create a more resilient and sustainable future for our coastal communities.

“From managing flooding to new development patterns, Salty Urbanism is leading the way to rethinking our relationship with water.”

Student: Advanced Architectural Design 2 students
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 2
Tutor: Jeff Huber

Residual Fields by Matt Deveau and Ian Fennimore

“The Boca Air and Space Museum challenges how we define spatial boundaries and perceive scale.

“Stemming from a graphical exercise in extracting latent contextual data, the field conditions are refigured as an architectural arbiter.

“The literal and metaphorical fields act as geometric input driving a performative response focused on delaminating constituent programmatic elements.

“By lifting the building, the ground plane is liberated, allowing aircraft to move freely through the project.

“The museum reorients people relative to aircraft, creating new spatial configurations within this programme.”

Students: Matt Deveau and Ian Fennimore
Course: Advanced Architectural Design 1
Tutor: Andrew Hayes

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Florida Atlantic University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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