Generative Design Software Helping Users With DIY Design

One of the core problems of turning customers into co-designers is the burden of choice and the design process itself. To modify a customizable object, one has to select from parameters, make choices, click through option lists, and make decisions what one likes. The same task is also often a burden for professional industrial designers when developing a new product. Design (and problem solving in general) is trial-and-error, and to proceed with such a process to an "optimal" design demands many iterations.

Here the idea of generative design comes in. Generative design allows to produce new designs automatically by the push of a button. A basic form, pattern, or object is automatically modified by an algorithm. The result: infinite random modifications of the starting solution (within a solution space set by the designer). This automatic generation of designs allows for a much faster trial and error process. Instead of crafting a few different designs, this technique allows to create thousands of different designs -- and choosing the best. It also allows for very new designs, as the process is not restricted to the imagination of the designer.

Or as this blog explains it:

"What if our products had genes just like our animals, insects and fish? Wouldn't it then be possible to consider a vast range of variation within product design standards, perhaps letting the ecosystem (marketplace) select on those traits that were most adaptive? "

That's the inspiration behind Genometri, a Singapore based company that has recently been promoting their new generative design technology. Their idea:

"Genometri is inspired by genetics, empowering the designer with the power of evolution--the design technology of life. It allows the rapid generation of a vast number of designs based on a generic model."

Consider the image below by Patrick Chia, which offers multiple takes on a simple stool base. All modifications are machine generated, not the result of a craft design process.

In the moment offered as an add-on to CAD packages like Solid Gold, Geometri's software Genovate allows designers to explore form, texture and color in infinite possibilities. Their key breakthrough is primarily the ability to create distinctive variations and the ease with which this generative model can be set up using standard parametric CAD packages. However, spinning this idea further and making this technology part of an online configuration toolkit could bring this power to consumers. This kind of tools will become an important enabler for users to become co-designers. They lower the burden of co-design drastically while still allowing for freedom of choice and an high degree of individuality.

Update: A nice application of generative design can be seen at www.futurefactories.com. This site by designer Lionel Dean uses the technology for designing light fittings. Coimbine this with rapid manufacturing and you have a great product idea ...