This system was designed by Tim Rodenbröker. He participated in the Flexible Visual System Workshop in Winter 2021.

“What direction are we graphic designers heading as media liquefies and takes on ever new aggregate forms? What ways of thinking can we learn to thrive as designers in the post-digital age? Surely it’s questions like these that subconsciously draw people like me to Martin Lorenz. His book made a heavy impression on me and I am very glad to have been close to it when it was written. 

The workshop with Martin gave me clarity on what Flexible Visual Systems are in the first place according to Martin’s definition. They are algorithms, analysis tools and methods at the same time that can be used to develop a contemporary visual identity and beyond.

I was fascinated to look at the systems I have developed before through the lens of Martin’s theory.Especially the form-based systems, in which predefined components can be connected in a variety of ways to create a consistent yet flexible visual world, have interested me for a long time. 

The exercises from the workshops helped me to classify and categorize visual systems. My end result from the workshop is a series of processing applications that either function like an interactive animation tool or owe their form and composition to a predefined algorithm. 

As a Creative Coding Educator, I believe that Martin’s teaching can bridge a gap between the thinking of designers and that of engineers. It provides terminology and diverse methodologies that make possible a foundation for more effective collaboration between the two parties.”

Tim Rodenbröker is a designer, educator and community builder from Germany. He is specifically concerned with teaching basic skills in creative coding and sees this as a valuable approach for a courageous, critical and reflective approach to digital technologies. Since 2019, he has been developing his own e-learning platform with a variety of course modules, which aims to simplify the entry into the subject. As a designer, he has worked for many notable clients in recent years, including The New York Times, Julia Stoschek Collection, Onformative, and Holo Magazine. He has given workshops and lectures at prestigious, international universities.