Design Between the Physical and the Digital

What are the boundaries between the physical and the digital in design? This is the main question motivating the theoretical and practical investigations carried out in this work. However, the reasons for this question itself, as well as its relevance, proved to be more important than the mere search for answers. Another question arises: since when are the boundaries between the physical and the digital relevant to design? There are three areas of design that make a strong contribution to exploring the above question: parametric design, interaction design and digital fabrication. This paper is a search for a state of the art of the proposed themes and for a better understanding of the growing separation between the three areas, which, despite using similar terms and definitions, follow different paths in the literature. What has been written recently about parametric design, interaction design and digital fabrication presents us with varied and even divergent discourses. Because of this multifaceted aspect, the importance of a historical and bibliographical search for their origins and an understanding of the different points of view presented today is evident.