Throughout history and across the world, crafts have drawn inspiration from the beauty of nature and mathematics. Complex, algorithmic patterns can be seen across disciplines from Islamic geometric tiles to Nicaraguan pottery to the architectural forms of Gaudi.

While these natural, mathematical forms have inspired embodied skills in countless unique cultures, many of these crafts face extinction as globalization and digital prototyping take our focus away from the handcrafts that have been passed down through the generations.

Simultaneously, designers are embracing algorithmic and generative designs across disciplines. Starting with architecture and now progressing into industrial design, parametric tools are making visual scripting accessible to all, creating a barrage of visually noisy artifacts with little design basis as we learn what these tools are truly capable of. This raises the question: can design use modern, advanced parametrics that allow direct engagement with mathematics to highlight the many skill-based crafts that are in danger of fading away?

It is the position of this paper that the celebration of handcraft and ability to merge it with future-facing, generative tools can create greater awareness and connoisseurship, increasing the value placed on historical craft and knowledge embodied in parametric designs.