This paper takes examples of virtual, visual artificial life and discusses the relationship between the important aspects of the simulations and their visualization. It is hoped that this discussion of visualization's particular importance to a-life, will encourage authors to give this aspect of their research proper consideration and that they will come to treat the visualization, not as additional decoration for conference presentation slides, but as an intrinsic part of effective research. This will help other researchers understand the advances made, and will assist the authors themselves to more clearly comprehend their own work.

Writing in 2002, Florian Cramer draws a fundamental distinction in software art practice, between “software formalism ” and “software culturalism. ” [1] The former focuses on the generativity of code; the latter on software as a cultural text. Formalism is typically visually abstract, and focuses on the processual relations of coding and aesthetic output; culturalism is critical, discursive and reflexive,

Generative design offers new modes of aesthetic experience based on the incorporation of system dynamics into the production of artifact and experience. In this paper, we review a number of processes that can be explored by designers and suggest how design as a discipline can benefit from this research. These processes include self-organization, swarm systems and ant colonies, evolution, and generative grammars. We give example applications of these processes to creativity and design. 1.