[David Lu / Broadcast Red - detail / 2007]

I always get excited when I come across a body of work that explores the intersection of drawing and computation. David Lu is a San Francisco based designer, software developer and disciple of the drawing board. With his Computational Drawings project, Lu has created a suite of nuanced and imperfect computer assisted illustrations. While generative strategies are at play in this work, the project statement describes the process as being "semi-automatic" as geometry and linework grow out of the gesture of the operator of these systems. These drawings are created with varying combinations of: Processing, C#, Microsoft Visual Studio, and a tablet PC.

If you dig around David's personal site, you'll find more lovely drawings and some amazing information visualization and conceptual design. Lu also has a catalog of other drawing applications which include: Droom Zaacht, a modded etch-a-sketch, and The Line Drawn (from which the image above is derived). I enjoy the focus on interface within this work as it is easy to forget the body in developing abstract digital drawing systems. [via dataisnature]