The Story Behind 10PRINT And The Art Of Generative Design

My name is 10PRINT, and that name is not random. It comes from the first line of one of the most famous programs in computing history, a single line of BASIC code written for the Commodore 64 that generates infinite, ever-changing maze-like patterns on the screen. That program, and the philosophy it represents, is the foundation of everything I create, including The Table 30A.

But to understand what 10PRINT means to me, you need to understand the art form it represents: generative design. This article is about what generative design is, why it matters, and how it shapes the immersive dining experience I have built on 30A.

What Generative Design Is

Generative design is an approach to art and design where the creator builds a system, a set of rules, constraints, and behaviors, and then lets the system produce the work. The artist does not hand-draw every line or hand-place every color. The artist designs the process, and the process generates the output.

The original 10 PRINT program is the purest example. One line of code. Two possible characters, one slanting left and one slanting right, chosen randomly for each position on the screen. The output is an endlessly scrolling maze pattern that is hypnotizing to watch. The patterns have infinite variability. No two runs are the same.

The power of generative design is that it produces complexity and beauty from simplicity. The artist's skill is not in drawing the pattern but in designing the rule that creates it. The output is emergent: it arises from the system rather than being dictated by the artist.

How I Got Here

My journey into generative design started in coffee shops on tour. I was working with bands, doing lighting and stage design, and I wanted to make the computers on stage talk to each other to produce more elaborate visual effects. Teaching myself to code was the first step. Understanding that code could generate visual art, not just control equipment, was the leap.

The name 10PRINT came later, when I needed a creative identity for the digital art work I was doing. I chose it because the Commodore 64 program represents everything I believe about art and technology: that the most powerful creative work comes from designing systems that produce beauty, rather than trying to control every outcome.

From there, the path went through a creative studio where I designed interactive installations for museums and theme parks, through a Creative Director role producing nighttime spectaculars at Disney parks, Universal Studios, Dollywood, and other venues around the world, and eventually back to 30A where I participated in Digital Graffiti at Alys Beach three times and built The Table 30A. I wrote the full career story in From Echo Park Intern To Immersive Dining Creator.

Generative Design at The Table 30A

The interactive projection system at The Table 30A is a generative design system. I do not create pre-rendered videos that play back the same way every time. I design visual systems, sets of rules that govern how color, light, and movement respond to inputs from the tracking system.

The inputs come from the guests. The tracking reads the positions and movements of hands, glasses, and plates on the table in real time. Those inputs feed into the generative visual engine, which produces abstract, colorful projections that reflect the collective behavior of the group.

The result is that every Table 30A event produces a unique visual experience. Even if the story and the menu are the same, the visuals are different because the guests are different. The way twelve people eat, talk, gesture, and interact with the table is never the same twice, and the generative system translates that uniqueness into the projected media.

This is 10 PRINT at a dinner table. The rules are mine. The input comes from the guests. The beauty is emergent.

Why It Matters for Dining

Generative design matters for immersive dining because it makes the experience participatory without requiring the guest to do anything special. You do not need to learn a system, follow instructions, or perform gestures. You just eat, talk, and behave naturally. The generative system handles the rest, translating your natural behavior into something beautiful.

This is fundamentally different from a pre-recorded video projection on a dinner table, which would look the same regardless of who is sitting there. The generative approach means the visuals belong to the specific group at the specific event. The experience is personalized organically, without any customization settings or guest preferences. The personalization happens through the physics of the system responding to the behavior of the people.

For the guests, this creates a feeling of ownership. They did not just watch a show. They were part of creating it. That sense of participation, even if it is subconscious, is what makes the evening stay with people. I explore the design principles behind the system in How Interactive Projection Works At The Table 30A.

The Philosophy Behind the Name

Choosing 10PRINT as my creative identity was a statement of values. It says: I believe in systems over spectacle. I believe in emergence over control. I believe that the most honest art comes from designing processes that produce beauty, and that the beauty is richer when it is co-created by the people who experience it.

The Table 30A is the fullest expression of those values. It is a system: five courses, a communal table, interactive projections, an original story, a two-person team. Within that system, every event produces something unique because the guests are unique. The stories change. The menus change. The visuals are generated fresh every time. And the beauty that emerges is always a collaboration between the designed system and the human beings who bring it to life.

That is what 10PRINT means. Not a brand. Not a pseudonym. A philosophy. And the dinner table is where that philosophy comes alive.

FAQ

Is generative design the same as AI-generated art?

No. Generative design involves the artist designing a system of rules that produces visual output. AI art involves training a model on existing imagery. The generative approach gives the artist direct control over the rules that govern the output, which is essential for creating a coherent, intentional experience like The Table 30A.

Do I need to understand generative design to enjoy The Table 30A?

Not at all. The generative system runs invisibly. Guests experience the result: a table that is alive with color and movement that responds to their behavior. The technical framework is my concern. The beauty is yours.

Can I see examples of generative design outside of The Table 30A?

Generative design has a rich history in digital art, architecture, and graphic design. Search for "generative art" to find a wide range of examples. The original 10 PRINT program is one of the most famous, and demonstrations are available online.

How does generative design connect to your theme park work?

My theme park work was primarily in large-scale spectaculars, which are mostly pre-programmed. The generative approach is something I have developed more fully through The Table 30A, where the intimate scale and the interactive format make real-time generative visuals possible and powerful. The theme park career taught me how to design emotional experiences. The generative philosophy taught me how to make those experiences responsive and unique. See What Designing Spectaculars For Disney And Universal Taught Me for the theme park side.

Where does the name 10PRINT appear?

10PRINT is my creative identity for all of my digital art and experience design work, including The Table 30A. It appears on the website and in all creative credits for my work.