Design Darlings Droog Enter the World of Mass Customization and 3D Printing.
During the Salone del Mobile in Milan in 2011, Droog will present furniture and accessories designed for download by EventArchitectuur and Minale-Maeda, including CNC cut tables, cupboards, desks, side tables, shelves, couches and 3D printed electrical outlets, flowers and charms. Droog will also present digital design tools that allow ordinary computer users to easily make functional design decisions, automatically generating blueprints for local execution in various materials. The tools also enable communication between designer and customer, streamlining and lowering the cost of a custom design process. The presented products have been customized by Droog for its collection.
At this occasion Droog will present the outcome of its Design for download investigation, announcing the coming of the first platform for downloadable design, which will feature curated and open content, easy-to-use parametric design tools and a network of local low- and high-tech manufacturers. The launch of this platform, featuring various brands and institutions alongside Droog, will occur later this year. The platform will not only include products, but also architecture, home accessories, fashion, food, wearables, inventions and more.
Wow, so obviously Droog have been taking note of some of the awesome designs that are emerging from sites such as Shapeways and Ponoko, the huge potential of customization and personalization of product designs, that this is where the cutting edge of design currently resides, with bespoke, personalized products.. Awesome. This adds greater validity to what we the Shapeways community already know. It will be interesting to see the level of customization that will be possible with their ‘configurators’ or whether the downloaded files will be completely open once purchased. Will the purchased digital files then show up for Download on Shapeways or Thingiverse? Will they have an option to share and show off co-created designs or will it be a fully closed, curated eco-system?
I am sure we will see much debate on the Droog angle, but in the meantime, get your entries in to the ICFF contest and lets show them how amazing truly open design can be
via @michiel_ontwerp