Play The System—Parametric Approaches in Graphic Design

Please note: This is a pre-order only, the book gets shipped once published in February 2026.

Play The System explores how graphic design thrives within rules, parameters, and algorithms.

Today’s designers don’t just create results—they design processes. Sometimes they code them, sometimes they build them in collaboration with developers, but always they create systems where form unfolds dynamically. The book brings together voices such as Anja Groten, Frieder Nake, and Tom Bieling to address fundamental questions: How do systems encourage—or restrict—creativity? How do tools influence aesthetic decisions? And how can design respond to the structures of society itself? Selected examples show how simple rule sets can evolve into complex, parameter-driven design processes. The tension between structure and variation has shaped design for centuries—from medieval page layouts to today’s dynamic systems.

Selected examples show how simple sets of rules can develop into complex, parameter-controlled design processes and how these in turn create space for experimentation and chance.

Play The System is both reading material and a source of information, as well as a richly illustrated archive. It covers discourse, pedagogy, and practice, and links to the website ↗ www.play-the-system.xyz.