According to Christopher Alexander, humans recognize and implement systems in order to understand the greater forces at work. They do this to gain a better understanding of the whole. We as humans, also think of systems as a “kit of parts.” The “parts” of these “kits” are guided and organized by certain rules and these rules are the system.
There are forces that can disrupt a system and cause a reaction which can, in some cases yield a serendipitous outcome. These forces are called chance operations. Chance operations may disrupt, but they provide a new way of looking at the system. They increase our understanding of the intricacies of the system. As John Cage once said, “Chance operations are no mysterious sources of the ‘right answers.’ They are a means of locating a single one among a multiplicity of answers.”
In the context of this project, the systems at use, will be that of visual systems and visual systems thinking. And although combining systems thinking and chance operational practice is a course of study which has been paved and well travelled, I feel it has reached a point of change. I have found a current trend in “just applying a chance operation,” to be prevalent in the field of design. I am wondering if there is a way to better define chance operation and its implementation in the practice and procedure of design.
The project(s) produced during this open re/search process would ideally become components of my body of thesis work. I want to discover new ways of thinking about graphic design systems and how chance operations can be implemented as a method of growth through design. I began this fascination with systems in graphic design during the first year of my graphic studies. I want to find a way to gain better understanding of systems, through the implementation of chance.
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