John Maeda was born in Seattle Washington in 1966 and is most known as a contemporary American designer of Japanese origin. His father owned a tofu factory where Maeda helped him with paperwork on the computer, jumpstarting his interest in computer science. He decided to study the subject at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, right around the time when computers became visual. There he wrote his first software programs and dabbled bringing in some design. While at MIT, Maeda came upon the book Thoughts on Design by Paul Rand which made him realize how much he had a passion for design. From there he began to publish some of his book designs and other initial graphics.
Once he completed his bachelor and masters at MIT, Maeda took some advice from the designer Muriel Cooper, who told him to leave MIT so he could attend art school. He then enrolled in the Tsukuba Institute of Art and Design in Japan, to receive his PHD in Design. He went there to “get away from computers” which gave him new outlooks on technology itself and motivated his awareness into the intersectionality of technology, art, and design. While in Japan around 1993, Maeda became influenced by performance art and created a computer out of people called the Human Powered Computer Experiment, where humans would be doing the normal jobs of a computer acted out with cardboard and other materials at a life size scale.
Alongside these other explorations, Maeda was creating software that resembled programs like Adobe Illustrator. He then began working in the tech industry creating ads and working on various design projects. Still in Japan, Maeda found a mentor in designer Inami Naomi, who inspired him to consider the dimensionality of technology and computers. As a result he began to observe the way humans interacted with different machines such as a copier, and started to reimagine the way we use technology. Maeda would even transform his old macintosh computers into odd objects that served very different purposes than initially intended.
Maeda side stepped away from technology creating various paintings and works with plastic, ultimately designing an installation for San Francisco’s California College of the Arts using blue tape. From there he returned back to computers and technology, specifically interested in one chip computers and mini technology systems. He created bento box lamps with led lights and sculptures using early iPods.
Around this time Maeda served as a Professor at the MIT Media Lab, teaching for almost 12 years creating multiple design groups collaborating with other media professors like Henry Holtzman. He also wrote and published a book titled Laws of Simplicity, which explored the idea that simplicity is about living life with more enjoyment and less pain.
In 2008 Maeda left MIT to become president of the Rhode Island School of Design where he served until 2013 despite receiving a vote of no-confidence from RISD’s faculty majority. Since then he has worked on various projects, and was even the former global head of computational design and inclusion at Automattic where he worked to address the diversity gap in tech. Inclusion, diversity, and leadership became a major focus for Maeda; he argued that inclusion was the key to success in the tech field. He speaks on these ideas in depth throughout his nine publications and 3 humorous TED talks.
Maeda contributed to the world of design by helping bridge the initial gaps between art and technology as well as inclusion and design. Through his leadership, he was able to carry with him a passion for technology but more so for the human aspect. His early ideas shine through the current design climate as designers focus on the human experience and simplicity applied to technology. Maeda was very sure in his ideas, though playful and explorative, he had many critics and non-believers who probably took for granted his contributions which prevail heavily throughout our modern interactive digital world.
Maeda, John (2013) “STEM + Art = STEAM,” The STEAM Journal: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 34. DOI: 10.5642/steam.201301.34
ULAN Full Record Display (Getty Research). The Getty. Accessed September 29, 2020. http://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500292242
Posted By: Kate Torgovnick May October 9, Kate Torgovnick May, Helen Walters, Helen Walters, and Kate Torgovnick May. “4 Works from John Maeda That Explore the Intersection of Technology, Art and Design.” TED Blog. October 30, 2014. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://blog.ted.com/4-works-from-john-maeda-that-explore-the-intersection-of-technology-art-and-design/.
“John Maeda: Biography, Designs and Facts.” Famous Graphic Designers. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://www.famousgraphicdesigners.org/john-maeda.
Maeda, John. “My Journey in Design.” TED. Accessed September 29, 2020. https://www.ted.com/talks/john_maeda_my_journey_in_design.
