Abstract
Evolutionary computation has made its way in design curricula in the last two decades. However, questions remain on how evolutionary computation can be made more accessible to design students and its potential to transform design thinking and learning beyond optimisation. This paper examines how the formulation and implementation of evolutionary systems can contribute to students’ learning of historical and theoretical aspects of design. The paper reviews evolutionary computation in design and presents genetic algorithms (GAs) as a design tool. Opportunities are identified on how to teach design students to create and implement basic GAs. Strategies that can help design educators to identify and build on these opportunities are discussed. Design activities aimed at applying GAs to rehash the learning of historical and theoretical aspects of design are described.
Keywords
evolutionary computation, genetic algorithms, design learning, design thinking
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2019.06012
Citation
Montiel, M.,and Sosa, R.(2019) Rehashing Design through Evolutionary Computation, in Börekçi, N., Koçyıldırım, D., Korkut, F. and Jones, D. (eds.), Insider Knowledge, DRS Learn X Design Conference 2019, 9-12 July, Ankara, Turkey. https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2019.06012
Creative Commons License
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Rehashing Design through Evolutionary Computation
Evolutionary computation has made its way in design curricula in the last two decades. However, questions remain on how evolutionary computation can be made more accessible to design students and its potential to transform design thinking and learning beyond optimisation. This paper examines how the formulation and implementation of evolutionary systems can contribute to students’ learning of historical and theoretical aspects of design. The paper reviews evolutionary computation in design and presents genetic algorithms (GAs) as a design tool. Opportunities are identified on how to teach design students to create and implement basic GAs. Strategies that can help design educators to identify and build on these opportunities are discussed. Design activities aimed at applying GAs to rehash the learning of historical and theoretical aspects of design are described.