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we are here, and it is now...
I'm GE!*Hi there!
he!o, world!
C'mon in!
I am a designer and a computer music
researcher.
*pronounced "guh"
We wi! usecomputer music design
as our lens, but the principles of artful design can be a"lied
to any domain.
this is a manifesto on the artful design of technology... a meditation on the nature, purpose, and
meaning of design.
I CREATE t!ls, toys, instruments, and experiences.
...and use design to bind
together technology and art, engin"ring and
the humanities.
*pronounced "karma"
I'm a profe#or at Stanford university, in the Center for Computer Research
in Music and Acoustics, or $RMA.*
I work with technology to co!ect people
and musical expre#ion...
c
f
B �
♪� � �
t
♬ ♪
d
d �
I design by writing code.
...To synthesize new sounds and experiment with musical interactions.
I design sound and graphics in tandem.
I create new t!ls -- like chuck, a music progra"ing language...
There is an art to design.
�
♪
♬�
I build new interfaces for musical expre!ion...
...combining sound design and interaction design.
I invent new instruments that we don't have
names for -- and that often defy cla!ification!
� ♪♬ �
We use these instruments to craft performances for LAPTOP ensembles...
...like SLOrk, the Stanford Laptop Orchestra!
...into expre!ive musical instruments...
...novices and pros.
♪
...to be played by anyone...
I design A"S to transform mobile devices...
hold the phone as you might a sandwich. blow into the microphone to play; use multitouch to control pitch; tilt the phone down to a! vibrato.
in 2008, I co-founded a mobile music startup, ca"ed smule...
within that time, I also designed ocarina 2, Magic piano, and other music-making artifacts.
♪ ♪♪
�♪
♬ �
�
These games, toys, instruments have reached more than 200 mi!ion users.
...and designed ocarina for the phone.¡
I served as chief creative o"icer and CTO during our early years, until I ste#ed down in 2013.
How to play:
♪
♬�
�
...a sma! f"ling that there is someone, somewhere out there... and that we
are more alike than di#erent.
This is design as experience, visceral and human...
This kind of design would not be po$ible without technology...
"Amazing Grace" is a global favorite.
...yet hopefu!y the user never notices the technology.
Listening to the world can make you f!l both alone and CO!ECTED at the same time.
in Ocarina, you can listen to other people playing from a"
corners of the world.
There is another dimension to artful design: a social fabric that co#ects us in new, expre$ive ways.
in Louisiana, someone plays the theme from
Legend of Zelda...
...or, from Hawa%, "Silent Night."
a realm of...
Reflecting something of our
nature, technology Pushes forward, always changing,
ever evolving.
No ma!er your walk of life or what you think about technology or art, and no
ma!er our di"erences, I invite you to venture into A realm where technology m#ts the
intangible...
our constant. Design should understand something of our n#ds, dreams, fears. it should
use of technology -- that is design -- how we make
it is artful
enrich our lives, Reinforceour humanity. Design
should make usf"l.
Reflecting something
GE WANGwritten and designed by
TECHNOLOGY IN SEARCH OF THE SUBLIME
ARTFULDESIGN
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
© 2018 by Ge Wang. All rights reserved.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSStanford, CA
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.
ISBN 978-1-5036-0052-2 (paper)
sup.org
This work would not be possible, as it is, without support from the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as Stanford University's School of Humanities and Sciences and School of Engineering; nor would it have been as rich without Creative Commons and the folks who shared through it. Please see Acknowledgments and Image Credits at the conclusion of this book for more information.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available at the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-5036-0803-0 (ebook)
contents prelude
You are here
Chapter 1Design isworking definition and the abiding elements of design as a human institution
Chapter 2Designing expre!ive toysco!ecting people to musical expre!ion using technology
Chapter 3
Visual designprinciples of designing interactive graphics
Chapter 4progra"ability & sound designart of progra"ing and the design of musical sounds
a roadmap for our adventure ahead!
of
........ 18
........ 56
........ 104
........ 160
Chapter 5interface designthe membrane of interaction betw!n humans and technology
interludeDialogue with a zen masterA Visit to a teacher and zen master of computer music instrument design
Chapter 6game design
Chapter 7 Social designTechnology to co!ect humans
Chapter 8ManifestoA search for design's nature, purpose, and meaning in the crucible of our ever more technological world -- A philosophy of artful design
list of principles 464 acknowledgments 474 image credits 477
a!otated bibliography 479
........ 206
........ 278
........ 306
........ 354
........ 398
coda ........ 454in search of the sublime
Designing for play and gamification
Sublime design presents itself, first and last, as a useful thing, but nestled within that window of interaction lies the novel articulation of a thought, an idea, a reflection—an invisible truth that speaks to us, intimate yet universal, purposeful without necessity of purpose, that leaves us playful, understood, elevated. It is a transformation so subtle that it escapes our conscious grasp but that once experienced—like music—we would never want to be without again.
In our age of rapidly evolving technology and unyield-ing human restlessness and discord, design ought to be more than simply functional; it should be expressive, socially meaningful, and humanistic. Design should transcend the purely technological, encompass the human, and strive for the sublime.
Design should be artful.
MANIFESTO
