On your web site, make sure that the following are visible:
an image of your exceptional Voronoi diagram
an image of your exceptional Delaunay triangulation
documentation of your design process
a 3-5 minute video (or slide deck with embedded audio) of your design analysis
For this homework, you will be creating two images:
an "exceptional" Voronoi diagram
an "exceptional" Delaunay triangulation
In class, we saw the definition of each of these objects, and for your first mini-project, you will be using the laser cutter to make a Voronoi/Delaunay lamp. To prepare for the mini-project, you'll start your design process for the sides of the lamp in this homework.
You are probably wondering -- what does it mean to have an "exceptional" Voronoi diagram or Delaunay triangulation? By this, I mean an object that almost satisfies the definition, but fails in one respect. For example, you may have a triangulation where all but one triangle circumscribes no other points. I am purposely being vague, because part of the homework is for you to be able to articulate your goal as precisely as possible.
I estimate that this homework should take you 5-6 hours. You will submit everything through your portfolio web site, including:
documentation of your process (40%)
articulate your goal(s)
record your iterative approach (plan, do, evaluate)
two images (which may be photos of a physical drawing or an electronically generated file) (10%)
exceptional Voronoi diagram
exceptional Delaunay triangulation
justification for each as to why they are "exceptional" (10%)
a 3-5 minute analysis of your design process (40%)
This may take the form of a video (please be sure permissions are set appropriately) or a slide deck with embedded audio. You may find the following prompts helpful in organizing your analysis. Be as specific as possible, while also recognizing the limitations of the time constraint. You will not be able to walk through everything you did, but will need to nominate takeaways and important points. You will be evaluated on the clarity of your communication and the depth of your analysis.
How did you go about this homework?
What parts did you find straightforward?
What was challenging?
What supported your understanding?
Were there embodied elements that helped you? Could you think of others?
What part of the process is a black box to you?
For example: You may have found code online that implements Fortune's algorithm, and you used that to generate a correct Voronoi diagram, which you then altered to be exceptional. Perhaps Fortune's algorithm is a "black box" -- you know what to give it and what it outputs, but you do not know how the algorithm works. Or you may have an intuitive idea of how it works, but wouldn't be ready to implement it from scratch.
For this homework, you may use any resources you'd like. You must cite them appropriately (e.g., I talked with a peer about my diagram or I adapted this GitHub repo or I gave Gemini this set of prompts).
To be clear, this includes usage of AI tools, as long as you are:
appropriately documentating and citing your interaction, which should include the platform, prompt and screenshots/links of sample parts of the interaction
analyzing how the usage of the tool(s) helped or hindered your design process
NOTE: MHC's access to Google Gemini provides certain protections of your data.
Some anticipated questions:
No! You might decide to use paper, a ruler and pencil. You might decide to try some other approach that does not use a computer at all. I encourage you to be innovative in your approach, and you might even try out a couple! Just be sure to take photos and document what you have tried and what did (not) work.
No! If you want to use this as an opportunity to learn a new platform, please go ahead and do so! Or maybe you found code that you want to adapt that is in a language you've never used. Wonderful! Take the chance to push yourself and build up your skillset.
Post more questions on Ed please!