Computer-aided design : past, present, future

Computer-aided design (CAD) has evolved at a tremendous pace, from simple two-dimensional (2D) draughting to more complex three-dimensional (3D) modelling to the use of animation and the linking with artificial intelligence. Since the first integrated circuit was developed in 1958, computational processing speed and memory capacity have grown exponentially, doubling every two years or so - a phenomenon known as Moore's Law after Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel, who first identified and predicted this trend. The proliferation of ever more powerful and cheaper computers has provided a fertile environment for CAD's growth, but, moreover, the great leaps forward have been when CAD has migrated from one discipline to another. This chapter is about this important migration. The way in which CAD has evolved by jumping between disciplines is indicative of the evolution of the design professions themselves. The resultant cross-pollination of ideas, practices and tools has led to new hybrid design disciplines. Computers are now increasingly mediating design processes and have changed much of design practice itself.