Randomness, Rules and Compositional Structure in Design

The paper examines how concepts of randomness and chaos impinge on the creative study and practice of design. A body of original work is documented involving the transformation of computer-generated random number streams into visually fascinating and thought-provoking graphical arrays. A simple computer-based method for generating a vast number of unique graphic shapes is described. Also examined is the role of rule development in design and the degree to which even simple rules can dramatically influence the appearance of compositional structure.