Creative Computation for Visual Communication Design 2020—Present

In 2020 I was invited to design and teach a new compulsory course on creative coding for the Visual Communication Design MA programme at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. There had not previously been a coding course in the VCD MA curriculum, so I was tasked to outline the learning outcomes, plan the entire syllabus and create the teaching material.

The aim of the intensive, six-week course is to introduce creative computation as a practical and experimental method for visual communication design. Students learn the basics of programming through visually and creatively engaging coding exercises. Using JavaScript and the p5.js library, students learn to produce generative and interactive illustrations, visualisations and motion graphics, as well as simple applications and games. During the course, students participate in approachable live-coding workshops and tackle creative programming assignments individually and in groups. The course also provides a critical context for discussing the aesthetic and ethical implications of computational practices in visual communication design. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to adopt a curious, hands-on approach, where explorations and mistakes can lead to surprising and successful outcomes.

The course information can be found here.
All the student projects from 2020—2024 can be found on the course showcase website.
The course coding exercises can be found on GitHub or directly on the p5.js web editor.

Romurobotit 2024

During my Kodinhengetär exhibition at the Salo Art Museum in 2024, I was asked by the museum to run a public workshop relating to themes of the exhibition.

During the one-day workshop the participants crafted imaginative and whimsical robots from recycled materials. The aim was to explore the basic principals of electrical engineering and robotics through hands-on experimentation and joyful crafting. The participants learned how to build simple electrical circuits that could give a new life to abandoned or broken household objects.

Photo: Oskari Pekonen / Salo Art Museum

Soft Synesthetic Synthesis 2021

How are our senses connected to one another? How could we translate touch into sound?

The aim of this two-day workshop was to explore the sonification of touch by creating haptic textile instruments. Participating artists and designers learned how to design and construct simple electronic textile circuits using various conductive soft materials and the Arduino programming environment.

The workshop was organised 31 June — 1 July 2021 in collaboration with the Softislab pilot project.

Soft Tech for Hard Times 2021

I was invited to teach a one-week remote workshop for the Graphic Design BA students at the Estonian Academy of Arts in March 2021. In the context of the workshop, softness was considered both figuratively and literally: By learning about electronic textiles, wearable tech and interaction design, the students imagined and created soft technologies that might offer care, comfort and companionship, help with communication, or support physical and mental well-being.

During the week the students learned how to make simple electronic circuits, examined different aspects of human-technology interfaces, and produced their own interactive textile devices ranging from electronic sock puppets to gesture-controlled gloves.

Example Prototypes

Example Soft Circuits

Student work

Garbage Patch Kids 2020

Artificial life is beginning to form amongst the flotsam and jetsam of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Curious bionic creatures, animal-machine hybrids consisting of junk and debris, crawling ashore with whatever appendages they have, squeal “I’m finally alive!”.

I was invited to teach a one-week workshop for second year graphic design BA students at Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn in August 2020. During the workshop the students learned how to build analog electronic circuits and mechanical structures, and applied those skills into making robotic creatures out of recycled materials. Drawing inspiration from the natural process of evolution and role-playing techniques, the students bred and evolved the robots throughout the week. The end result of the workshop was a taxonomy of robotic creatures that have emerged from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.