| Biography
John Maeda is a world-renowned graphic designer, artist, and computer scientist at the MIT Media Laboratory. He has pioneered the use of the computer for people of all ages and skills to create art, and is a pioneering voice for "simplicity" in the digital age. Maeda holds the E. Rudge and Nancy Allen Professorship of Media Arts and Sciences, and is Associate Director of Research at the MIT Media
Laboratory.
Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining skilled computer programming with a sensitivity to traditional artistic concerns. This work helped to pioneer the interactive motion graphics that are prevalent on the Internet today. He also initiated the Design By Numbers project, a global initiative to teach computer programming to visual artists through a freely available, custom software system that he designed. He has displayed his work at numerous exhibitions, lectured extensively worldwide, and has published several books featuring his graphic designs.
In 1999 Maeda was included in Esquire magazine's list of the 21 most important people for the twenty-first century. He is also the recipient of the highest career honors for design in the USA (2001, National Design Award), Japan (2002, Mainichi Design Prize), and Germany (2005, Raymond Loewy Foundation Prize). In May of 2003, he received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He received both his BS and MS degrees from
MIT, and earned his PhD in design from Tsukuba University Institute of Art and Design in Japan. Maeda is the author of four books, including his 480-page retrospective MAEDA@MEDIA (2001, Thames & Hudson), and his most recent book, The Laws of Simplicity (2006, MIT Press).
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