Week 4 Studio: One constraint

Choosing a single rule to enforce, and watching it do more work than a whole list of features would

15 March 2027

Before the studio#

Come with a guess at your constraint, not a final answer. A studio’s worth of other people’s constraints is the fastest way to find out whether yours is the interesting one.

In the studio#

Pick exactly one rule and hold it: one continuous line that never lifts, one colour, a resource that runs out and has to be earned back. The constraint has to cost you something real — if removing it wouldn’t change how the instrument feels to use, it isn’t a constraint, it’s decoration. Build it in, then build a toggle that turns it off, purely so you can show the room the difference in the same two minutes.

Afterwards#

Keep the toggle even after the studio. It’s the fastest way to answer “why does this rule matter” for the rest of the semester, including to yourself.