Physical matter and materiality are central to the deeply emotive experiences of our everyday lives. From ephemeral materials like bubbles, sand, or rice paper to vibrations and particles traveling through various media, these elements and their transformative processes can be used to craft new narratives. Art and design rooted in fundamental phenomena, rather than relying on commercial technologies, have the power not only to capture pure moments and poetic translations but also to foster new, open dialogues and relationships with the world around us. In this course, Poetics of Matter, students will engage in weekly hands-on experiments to explore unique physical phenomena, complemented by generative pencil-based sketching. This approach shifts the focus from technology-led design to design-led technology. Students will investigate how understanding novel physical processes can serve as both a medium for creative expression and an inspiration for new forms of computing that transcend conventional digital logic. Conducted in a studio format, the course includes collaboration with a sketching expert from IDEO to explore generative design techniques, weekly instructor-led demonstrations (e.g: self-pouring liquids, anti-bubbles, edible electronics), field visits, and lectures from media artists around the world who work with unique materials. By encouraging students to challenge the limitations of digital-exclusive computation, this course empowers them to explore the inherent modes of computation found in nature. Poetics of Matter is additionally valuable for students entering their thesis years, providing a high volume idea generation and a collaborative space for rapid testing and iteration.

In this ONLINE course, students will use Javascript and the OpenAI API to make small projects that leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning. Prototype kooky chatbots, never-ending story-based games, fake-news generators, AI artists, and more. Assignments will range from targeted technical challenges to open-ended creative experiments. Learn about setting up a Node environment, network API calls with Javascript, and using the OpenAI APIs including GPT and DALL•E. Explore integrating LLM and Diffusion Models into your projects through hands-on experimentation. Discuss the practical implications, ethics, and future of using AI and ML technology in design practice. This is an intermediate coding course. Students should have completed an introductory programming course, have a foundation in Javascript and/or p5.js, and have a strong interest in coding. AI/ML experience is not required.