#artgr522

Right at the beginning of Silvo Lorusso’s ‘Learn to Code vs. Code to Learn’ he pointed out that most of his students that dislike coding at the beginning of his courses are women, and that possibly this has to do with “women’s internalized estrangement from the so-called STEM.” Being a woman, who got an undergraduate degree in a STEM field, I wouldn’t say that I agree with this assessment. Especially with how recently this was written, women are now more involved in STEM fields than they have ever been before, and more and more losing that ‘internalized estrangement,’ but continue to feel the oppressive, discriminatory nature that men bring to the STEM fields, including coding.

Lorusso seemed to continue the conversation of community in coding that we saw Zach Lieberman talk about earlier. Lorusso wrote, “Coding does not just manifest as a relationship between a user and a computer, but also between users through computers.” and goes on to describe chats and forums about coding, adding, “The input of this process of patience and a capacity of listening; the output is fun and a sense of belonging.” Both of these men are seeing and experiencing these community spaces as…men. Especially online, women continue to experience discrimination and hate in online community spaces, specifically related to the STEM fields. While women are breaking boundaries in these fields in the outside world, they are still being targeted and harassed in the same spaces online. Of course, not all online communities treat women negatively, but still, not all of them are as welcoming and kind as Lorusso and Lieberman suggest, especially to new-comers, especially to women.

#ArtGr522

 Silvio Lorusso's 'Learn to Code vs. Code to Learn'

I found the reading to be quite fascinating, especially as someone who is deeply involved in designing through coding. One part that particularly resonated with me was the idea that coding is a post-digital manifestation of capitalist realism, which forces individuals from various fields, such as graphic designers, journalists, and even coal miners, to deal with their situations through mandatory updates, much like software.

While I agree with this statement to a certain extent, it's not entirely true. As a graphic designer myself, I acknowledge that Adobe software is the dominant tool in the industry, and using anything else could be considered outdated and may require more time and energy. However, there are still many designers who choose to work with traditional methods or mix traditional and modern methods to achieve a unique and harmonious design. Therefore, it cannot be said that using new updates is mandatory.

Another aspect of the reading that I found intriguing was the "Code to Learn" approach, which views coding as a craft and cultural domain, valuing the coding process rather than just the technical skills it entails. Personally, I have experienced a sense of belonging and social interaction through my weblog during high school. Although I didn't have much knowledge about coding, but just searching and asking for certain codes and plug-in effects for my weblog and finding interesting people and websites and forums along the way was a really good experience that led me to one of my best friends, which is still my best friend after about 10 years. The universal community of coders allows for exploration and the opportunity to find like-minded individuals to interact with based on a shared love of coding.

Code to learn.

Creative coding beyond the economic imperative

By Silvio Lorusso

Code occupies weird places in graphic design; this is true, code is increasingly playing a role in the graphic design industry, and code has opened up new avenues for exploration and creative expression and has pushed boundaries for graphic designers to explore different places in the industry.

In the past, graphic designers always thought code only occupied web design, this allowed designers to create interactive websites that could respond to user input and interaction, but code has opened things like:

Generative Design: Code has enabled graphic designers to create generative systems automatically generating graphics and visual designs. This allows graphic designers to create highly complex and intricate designs that would be impossible to create manually. Looking at what we are doing in our class with the languages we use, each time you Improve code, it turns into something complex.

Interactive Design: Code has enabled designers to create interactive designs that respond to user input and interaction and has opened new possibilities for user experience design, allowing designers to create highly engaging and interactive interfaces; we can witness these on our daily mobile devices and the applications we use.

Data Visualisation: Code has allowed designers to create highly complex data visualisations that allow users to explore and understand complex data sets. This has opened new avenues for graphic designers to work in fields such as data journalism, where they can create highly informative and engaging data-driven visualisations. Interestingly most books now that portray data visualisation are through coding. Like Data sketches by Nadieh Bremeh Shirley Wu, most visuals in the book are created in HTML and JavaScript.  

Creative Coding: Code has allowed designers to explore new creative expression and experimentation forms. Creative coding has allowed designers to create interactive installations, performances, and even video games that push the boundaries of what is possible in graphic design.

Conversely, women today have become more aggressive towards learning code and getting into the world of technology, trying to overcome the lack of confidence in themselves and other obstacles they feel belong to the coding field.

Should graphic designers know how to code?

As the design industry has grown over time, there has been a demand for designers to have a basic understanding of coding. This has happened because of the increasing importance of digital platforms and the need for designers to better understand the technical aspects of their designs so that even if something goes wrong in the design, at any point, a designer can figure out something very fast just by playing with code. But in this current age, a designer may be required to have at least the basics of some coding language.

Besides designers, we realise that after the pandemic, many people returned to their jobs when they learned how to code, and this was a great opportunity for them to switch up in their line of work and become full-time coders.

But code is not a requirement for all designers. It depends on the nature of the work and the company or industry they work in. Some designers may benefit from having coding skills, while others may not require them. It is up to the individual designer to determine if learning to code would benefit their work and career goals. A diverse skill set can benefit the job market and provide a competitive edge.

Photo by energepic.com

Learn to code versus code to learn.

This reading was enjoyable for me because it exemplifies my current life as a graphic design student. I'm in the process of incorporating coding into my design process, and I've been assessing the potential, importance, and demands of myself as a designer. I do know that coding is steadily becoming a part of the design curriculum at schools, which begs the question, should designers be coders? I did not expect to be coding as a design student at Iowa State University, but I was introduced to Python in Drawbot and Javascript in P5.Js has significantly altered my design style and expanded my eyes to new avenues of creativity. 

Traditionally, designers and coders have been considered two separate entities in the world of digital design. Designers focus on aesthetics and user experience, while coders are responsible for implementing the design into a functional website or application. However, with the rapid advancement of technology and the increasing demand for digital products, the line between design and code is becoming increasingly blurred. This has led to the debate on whether designers should be able to code. From my personal experience, I think coding is a great skill to have, but I am still indifferent about whether designers must be able to code. 

One of the major advantages of designers who can code is that it allows them to have greater control over the final product. When a designer knows how to code, they can create designs that are not only visually appealing but also functional and user-friendly. This is because they better understand the technical limitations and possibilities of the platform they are designing for. For example, a designer who knows how to code can design a website with a more efficient and responsive layout, which can lead to better user engagement and satisfaction. Additionally, designers who can code can work more closely with developers, which can lead to better communication and collaboration.

A line of thought that interested me was that the idea of "Learn to Code" is based on the belief that programming is necessary for people who have lost their jobs due to technological advancements. Apparently, this is seen as a way for these people to serve the economic interests of capitalism through "retraining." There seems to be a condescending attitude toward coders. Conversely, coding is seen as semi-skilled labor and part of the workforce rather than a profession. However, I think coding is more than a skill to add to your CV but a craft. Despite how tedious and repetitive coding can be, it is an art of creative expression, just like creative coding. 

However, I know that some of the main drawbacks of coding are that it can be time-consuming to learn how to code, especially if a designer has no prior experience like me. This means that designers may have to spend extra time and resources learning how to code, which can take away from their design work. Additionally, some designers may simply not be interested in coding, and forcing them to learn could decrease motivation and creativity.

 Silvio Lorusso's 'Learn to Code vs. Code to Learn'

I really enjoyed this week’s reading. There were parts where I related to and have experienced and there were also moments that made me ask myself questions about coding and design. In the beginning of the reading, Lorusso talks about the way the students who were women in her class stated how coding was not “their cup of tea.” In my undergrad when I took a number of coding classes, I also very much remember walking in the first day of class and only seeing a handful of women compared to the mass amount of men. The difference in ratio was overwhelming and I had thought to myself maybe this was a mistake for me to be taking this class. Over the semester as I had befriended the other women in the class, they had also expressed to me that they had the same exact thoughts when they came into class that first day. Those same women also ended up being super great at coding and now have great jobs and are successful in what they do. 

Several instances in Muriel Cooper’s ‘Computers and design’ made me think further about past conversation we have had in class about design, coding, and previous readings. At the very beginning of the writing, she says, “Today’s personal computer is a functional tool that mimics old tools.” then goes on further to say, “ Each new medium has extended out sense of reality and each has looked to its predecessor for language and conventions, referencing and adapting its characteristics until its unique capabilities can be explored and codified.” This brought to mind the Jacquard Loom that is on our Canvas page and was an early form of computer technology. It also brought to mind the conversations we have had about the relationship between coding and programs like Illustrator or Photoshop. Illustrator and Photoshop are the new tools that are mimicking the old tools, they look to the predecessor, coding, for their conventions and so follow them, but now they are the standard expectation for designing instead of coding.

Muriel Cooper's 'Computers and Design'

It was an interesting reading that enlightened me on some aspects of the new world of computational design. The article dates back to 1989 and discusses that time in new technologies. I, as a Generation Z, could tell that future predictions and assumptions in the article have already happened. But reading about that time's ideas and primary thoughts behind the computational design was interesting and gave me a better understanding of it. Nowadays, the design world has changed, and we can only imagine designing using computers and Adobe software as the main way of design. As we discussed in class, although it could be a political strategy that leads us to just use Adobe software and nothing else, I believe when something is the best in their own field and it is the most convenient tool to use, it is inevitable that become the first priority tool in design industry.

As the author discussed, with the development of artificial intelligence, design, and design thinking would change more and more because people seeking more interaction with design want to be more involved in the process to have a more satisfying feeling.

Designers should go towards computational designs as well. As the field of design continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly clear that computational design offers a wealth of benefits to designers and audiences alike. This can be seen in the work of Hugh Dubberly, the Apple designer who created a series of trees using PostScript software. By using computational design techniques, Dubberly was able to make quick and precise modifications to his designs simply by adjusting a single number in the program. This level of flexibility and precision is simply not possible with traditional design methods, and it enables designers to experiment more freely and iterate more quickly.

Source: Photo by Tranmautritam

Computers and Design

From this article, I learned a few things. Firstly, I learned that the history of computers as a new medium follows the pattern of new media emulating old media; early digital paint systems were modeled on physical, analog brushes. Computer graphics, image processing, computer vision, and robotics required huge computing power and were used only in high-cost research environments. The cost-effectiveness of connecting pre-press tools to the creative part of the graphic arts and communication industry was soon apparent, and the term user-friendly was unheard of. Desktop publishing emerged from the union of the laser writer and good typography, transforming the graphic arts industry. Many design departments use computers as design tools, and some designers have coupled design and programming knowledge to influence big players in developing new design roles, futures, and methods. This makes sense because I got into university to study graphic design, and I am taking a course this semester in creative coding. This surprised me, but I learned that the design profession has started incorporating programming into their discipline because of the evolution of computer and design software. 

As computers continued to evolve, so too did the software and hardware capabilities that powered them. With increased computing power and more accessible technology, computer graphics, image processing, computer vision, and robotics has become more widely available and affordable. This has allowed for greater innovation in the creative industries, leading to the emergence of desktop publishing. The role of computers in the design industry has continued to expand and evolve over time. 

With the proliferation of software for graphic design and image processing, designers can now explore a wider range of creative options than ever before. This has led to an explosion of new visual styles and techniques across various media. In addition to desktop publishing, computers have also played a significant role in the rise of web design and digital media. The internet allows designers to reach larger audiences and collaborate with colleagues worldwide.

As designers continue to push the boundaries of what's possible with technology, we're also seeing new job titles emerge, such as UX designer, UI designer, creative coder and motion graphics artist. These roles require a blend of design skills and technical expertise and are in high demand across various industries. Looking ahead, the continued growth of computing power and artificial intelligence will likely have a profound impact on the design industry. From generative design tools to virtual and augmented reality experiences, countless exciting possibilities exist.