John Maeda

Author profile

born

in Seattle, The United States

January 01, 1966

gender

male

website

http://www.maedastudio.com

About this author

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John Maeda [MY-ay-da] is a world-renowned artist, graphic designer, computer scientist and educator whose career reflects his philosophy of humanizing technology. For more than a decade, he has worked to integrate technology, education and the arts into a 21st-century synthesis of creativity and innovation.

Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining skilled computer programming with sensitivity to traditional artistic concerns. This work helped to develop the interactive motion graphics that are prevalent on the web today. A pioneering voice for simplicity in the digital age, he also initiated the Design by Numbers project, a global initiative to teach computer programming to visual artists...more John Maeda [MY-ay-da] is a world-renowned artist, graphic designer, computer scientist and educator whose career reflects his philosophy of humanizing technology. For more than a decade, he has worked to integrate technology, education and the arts into a 21st-century synthesis of creativity and innovation.

Maeda's early work redefined the use of electronic media as a tool for expression by combining skilled computer programming with sensitivity to traditional artistic concerns. This work helped to develop the interactive motion graphics that are prevalent on the web today. A pioneering voice for simplicity in the digital age, 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 he designed.

As a digital artist, Maeda has exhibited in well-received one-man shows in London, New York and Paris. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Cartier Foundation in Paris. In the design realm, he is a trustee of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and has developed advanced projects for major corporations such as Cartier, Google, Philips, Reebok and Samsung, among others.

In 2008 Maeda was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine. In 2001 he earned the National Design Award in the US; in 2002, the Mainichi Design Prize in Japan; and in 2005, the Raymond Loewy Foundation Prize in Germany.

A former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Maeda taught media arts and sciences there for 12 years and served as associate director of research at the MIT Media Lab. He has published four books, including his 480-page retrospective MAEDA@MEDIA and his most recent, The Laws of Simplicity, which has been translated into 14 languages. Maeda has lectured widely, including at Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, the Royal College of Art, Stanford and UCLA; at the Centre Pompidou, TED conferences and Walker Art Center; and for corporations such as Herman Miller, Sony, Steelcase, Toshiba and Yahoo!.

A native of Seattle, Maeda earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT, followed by a PhD in Design Science from the University of Tsukuba Institute of Art and Design in Japan and an MBA from Arizona State University. (less)

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John Maeda's Books

Average rating: 3.81 · 1,453 ratings · 144 reviews · 11 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Laws of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 1,160 ratings — published 2006 — 17 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Maeda@Media by John Maeda, Nicholas Negroponte (Foreword by) 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 77 ratings — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Creative Code: Aesthetics + Computation 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Redesigning Leadership 3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2011 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Design by Numbers by John Maeda, Paola Antonelli (Foreword by) 3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 42 ratings — published 1999 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	As leis da simplicidade: design, tecnologia, negócios, vida by John Maeda, Fernando Lopes Dantas (tradutor) 0.0 of 5 stars 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2007	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Plenitude: Creativity, Innovation, and Making Stuff by Rich Gold, John Maeda (Foreword by) 3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2007	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Screen: Essays on Graphic Design, New Media, and Visual Culture by Jessica Helfand, John Maeda (Introduction) 3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 avg rating — 24 ratings — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I'll Have What She's Having: Mapping Social Behavior by Alex Bentley, Mark Earls, Michael J. O'Brien 3.0 of 5 stars 3.00 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fresh Dialogue Nine: In/Visible: Graphic Data Revealed - New Voices in Graphic Design by AIGA/NY, John Maeda (Moderator), Aiga New York Chapter 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2009	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by John Maeda

“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.”
― John Maeda, The Laws of Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life

tags: design, simplicity

60 people liked it

“If you are going to have less things, they have to be great things.”
― John Maeda

9 people liked it

“Amidst all the attention given to the sciences as to how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of mankind, I believe that the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are considered "useless," will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever try to live longer or live more prosperously. The arts are the science of enjoying life.”
― John Maeda

8 people liked it

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100+ Books in 2013: Michael's 100 Books for 2010	68	83	Jan 14, 2011 01:34pm

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