Designing Differently – paco gutiérrez hardt

Project: Designing Differently

Context: Bachelor thesis (at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences)

Fields: creative coding custom tool editorial design

What is design standardization, and how can creative coding and open design change how we think and work? "Designing Differently" explores the ideas and process behind poster.system. This open-source, web-based design tool aims for designers to approach their practice from another perspective. First, the current developments in the design industry are analyzed. Following that, poster.system and its development are introduced. Finally, the open call and survey results are shown.

The book

The initial section of the book provides a concise analysis of contemporary industry trends, urging consideration in the way we pick and use our design tools. Highlighted projects from Talia Cotton, Patrick Hübner, Kiel Mutschelknaus, Studio Dumbar, and LettError show the significance of concepts such as creative coding and open design, which offer new ways of thinking, working and approaching design.

First spread from Designing Differently thesis. Left is a white page and right is a black background with a wave-shaped abstract form.

Second spread from Designing Differently thesis. Left is a black page and right is text.

Animated overview of the Designing Differently thesis.

poster.system

Using code to enable new possibilities in graphic design is something that intrigued me when I first got introduced to creative coding. The idea behind poster.system was not to make a tool that focuses on producing captivating visuals, but rather to offer a different design experience and results. Part of it was done by implementing randomness generators, enabling users to quickly create compositions and experiment with different layouts. Moreover, it was important to make it easily accessible, which is why it is web-based and open-source instead of licensed, downloadable software.

poster.system is written on p5.js, which is a JavaScript library for creative coding and visual expression. Additional extensions used in this context include quicksettings.js and p5js-svg.js. Quicksettings.js aids in creating user interface controls, while p5js-svg.js allows exporting sketches as scalable vector graphics.

Screenshot of poster.system showing the default settings and some buttons and panels

Screenshot of poster.system showing all the panels and controls available.

The open call

One of the main aspects of this project is the idea of users interacting with a given framework and seeing how it influences their design decisions. To showcase what poster.system is capable of and how different people approach it, designers could experiment with the tool and submit their results.

Click to see the open call submissions!

Project: Designing Differently

Context: Bachelor thesis (at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences)

Fields: creative coding custom tool editorial design

The book

poster.system

The open call

Click to see the open call submissions!

Paco Hardt is a creative coder and graphic designer based in Mannheim, Germany. Through the use of custom-made tools, he turns abstract concepts into dynamic design systems and solid visual identities.

About

With a foundation laid as an in-house graphic designer spanning 2016 to 2023, he initiated his freelancing career in 2021, eventually transitioning to full-time freelancing by 2023. That same year, Paco interned at Amsterdam's studio thonik and subsequently completed his bachelor's degree at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences. His thesis, titled Designing differently, explores alternative design practices and software through his web-based, open-source design tool: poster.system.