The Aesthedes was a

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

(CAD) system designed and developed in the 1970s and 1980s by Claessens Product Consultants (now Cartils) in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The Aesthedes was introduced to the market in 1984 by D.P.G. Claessens (1922–2019) who, after studying monumental art at the State Academy of Art in Amsterdam, studied Industrial Design. He started a Product Development company in 1960, Claessens Product Consultants (now Cartils) in Hilversum, with clients such as Heineken, Amstel, Bijenkorf, Philips, Douwe Egberts, Friese Vlag, Bols, etc. In the mid-1960s, he started experimenting with electronic equipment to support his design work. A growing need within his company for such equipment that did not exist before led to the development of the Aesthedes. The vision of Dominique Claessens was that a designer should be able to start immediately, without knowledge of computers. Meeting the need of designers to be able to use their creative brain, without being hindered by switching to the cognitive part of their brain, a keyboard was developed that matched the layout of the creative designer's desk. Everything had to be within reach and no overlapping of windows, for example. For that reason, the Aesthedes has 6 screens. 3 Data screens (below) showing project data, RGB values of the layer and the last 10 commands executed. The computer was launched commercially in 1985 from Aesthedes offices in Hilversum, London, Cologne and Los Angeles. The first version was equipped with ten Motorola 68000 microprocessors, three 20” full colour, high-resolution screens and three small data display screens. It was unique at the time for being able to manipulate

B-spline In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis, a B-spline or basis spline is a spline function that has minimal support with respect to a given degree, smoothness, and domain partition. Any spline function of given degree can be expresse ...

s (a type of curve) in

real time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

and to produce camera ready (i.e. ultra-high resolution) finished artwork for use in

offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on t ...

or other printing processes, including

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

.Computer graphics challenges artists
''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...

'', 5 September 1985 The 3 screens above are from left to right the "Zoom screen" on which a drawing can be zoomed up to 100x, the "Creation" screen in the middle where the total image of all layers is on top of each other and the right screen on which the current working layer can be seen and on which any animations can be seen. The 3 color monitors show 16 million colors at a resolution of 512 x 512. There are 64 layers available on which you can work with a canvas of 64000 x 64000 pixels. One of the earliest customers in the Netherlands for an Aesthedes CAD system was the state printer, SDU, which uses the machine to design various hard-to-forge works,Hestia Bavelaar (red.), ''The Style of the State: The visual identity of the Dutch government'', Foundation Design, Den Haag, 2010, including parts of the Dutch 25-guilder note

Jaap Drupsteen Jaap Drupsteen (born 1942 in Hasselt (Overijssel)) is a Dutch graphic designer. Drupsteen worked as a graphic designer for NOS and VPRO; he specialized in making leaders, music videos, and other video and television productions. His best know ...

(the "robin"). Aesthedes was also used extensively in the design of

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Febr ...

and

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the riv ...

beer bottle labels. Its launch customer in the UK was

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

, which used it to design signage and food packaging. The supermarket

Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

and design agencies such as Michael Peters & Partners and Holmes & Marchant were among other early customers. The

Apple Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...

revolutionized the graphic design world and rendered the Aesthedes effectively obsolete. The company was sold by Claessens to Barco.

Gallery

Aesthedes facility in Belgium, mid 1980s.jpg, Aesthedes facility in Belgium, mid 1980s Aesthedes1-ComputerAidedVisuals-JanVork.jpg, Aesthedes 1, at the company Computer Aided Visuals in Amsterdam Aesthedes 2 console.JPG, Aesthedes graphic editing console on display at the University of Amsterdam computer museum

References

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External links

Aesthedes 2 graphic designer's work station

Google Plus page showing pictures of the Aesthedes workstation.

Aesthedes 2
at the HomeComputerMuseum. Computer workstations Film and video technology Computer-related introductions in 1982 Information technology companies of Belgium Graphics hardware companies 1982 establishments in the Netherlands Companies based in Amsterdam Multinational companies headquartered in the Netherlands Dutch brands