This talk explores the deep intersections of design, art, and technology, drawing from Ge Wang’s unconventional new book, Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime. What we make, in turn, makes us. We find ourselves in an age of rapidly evolving technology, where the world we inhabit, increasingly, is the world we make. This talk examines the nature, purpose, and meaning of design in human life, and asks the fundamental questions of what design is, why do we do it, and the ways in which the fashioning of technology can reflect who we are. Using computer music design as the vehicle, we will explore everyday examples of design: tools, instruments, toys, games, and social experiences. We will break down the design of music programming languages, instrument design for laptop orchestra, toy-like apps like Ocarina for the iPhone, and game design. This is a meditation on design for all engineers, tool-builders, and anyone curious about the shaping of technology -- not only what it does for us, but also what it does *to* us.

Presenter Bio

Ge Wang, Stanford