Forms of presentation in design are undergoing rapid change. This applies to the entire design process from the first sketch through to the model; everything is becoming more or less digital. Admittedly, when it comes to the basic procedures it is still the designer providing the necessary mental and physical powers, especially when it comes to the first dealings with a design. However, here the new media are already impacting on these first steps as well.

Tablets and touchscreens now compete with paper as mediums for drawing on. The divides between the physical and digital world are becoming increasingly blurred. This is especially evident in CAD programs or design procedures in virtual reality. Although VR goggles rely on two-dimensional displays for displaying a design, the user is given the impression of three-dimensionality and can even interact on this level. One result of such interaction will be to make it increasingly difficult to conclusively separate the input by the human and that by the machine. This makes it all the more important to consider how a digital model is generated from that initial idea and the classic quick sketch. How will the leap into the new medium be possible? What transformations are necessary? And how will the nature of design alter at the interface of such a transition? The project will explore this issue using the topic of the line as an example, because it is the classic starting point for realising any idea. By examining how the line is transferred from the drawing to a new digital model it must be possible to clarify fundamental questions. And it can be assumed that it is too simplistic to assume simple correlations ­ and that you have to ask what form of configuration and calculation can be made responsible for the development of three-dimensionality.

In methodological terms the project will draw on the academic knowledge about line in art and architecture. The aim is to relate this to the specific requirements of design. Classic methods and techniques will encounter the prerequisites for cutting-edge digital drawing programs. So ultimately the key question for the dissertation project is: What happens to the line when it is translated from the drawing into a model? What set of rules is necessary, and how can we better reappraise the nature of the line and perhaps even understand it better in light of its new mathematical spin?

Tutors:

Prof. Dr. Martin Gessmann

Prof. Dr. Klaus Klemp

Prof. Frank Georg Zebner