Curvature and the fairness of curves and surfaces

The use of curvature plots for the design of curves that have to meet aesthetic requirements is discussed. The aim is to emphasize the usefulness of curvature as a measure for curve fairness. A local method to optimize the curvature plot of a given cubic spline curve is presented. It automatically determines where the curve is to be faired and can be applied repeatedly. A straightforward generalization to surfaces is easy to formulate.>