For the past five years or so, Autodesk’s product evangelists and marketing team have aggressively promoted Generative Design as a design methodology. Now generative design in and of itself is neither good nor bad. Like any tool, it is how it is used that matters. Numerous applications of generative design have demonstrated how it can help the designer explore a broader solution space to arrive at better and more novel solutions. However, used inappropriately, it is not only counterproductive to the design, it is determinantal to the advancement of the industry. This article explores one of those generative design fails and elaborates on why aligning design goals and digital processes is crucial in achieving a successful design outcome.
Lessons from cycling
At the time of writing, the 2021 Tour de France has just finished with Tadej Pogačar of Slovenian, winning his second consecutive title. But I would like to take a minute to look back to the penultimate stage…