Really enjoying thinking about the implications of planning a means of manufacture in citizens’ hands. It’s been a while since I did any serious work in this area and technology has caught up sufficiently to make this a fruitful area of design research again. The FISCAR10 conference I just attended was a great, jumping off point.

One thing that struck me are the parallels between the recent history of graphic design (dtp (an acronym from history), web and web 2.0, bedroom web design agencies) and the current emergence of rapid manufacture capability, the lowering of technical barriers to entry and diffusion of technology.

If the parallels hold true we can expect a ‘gold-rush’ scenario and a rush of pseudo-professionals looking to make a fast buck, a reappraisal of the industrial design profession and, after a few painful years, new forms of both design process and new types of products and processes will emerge.

Last time (graphic) design was on the back foot with technology and technologists dominating the debate and while this debate was going on, there was a groundswell of activity. Design needs to be more proactive, visionary and dynamic this time.