virtualization of design and production a thesis - Bilkent University

disguise the predomination of exchange value over the use value as Adorno has
put it in the culture industry. However in mass customized systems as such, the
voice of the use value is echoed through the uniqueness of production for your
body because it reminds us the traditional mode of production. On the other
hand, one cannot speak clearly of the restoring of use value in the process of
mass customized consumption because the worth of the product rises
dramatically in relation to other trainers. This rise is apparently dependent on the
computerized design and manufacturing system that the company governs. Thus,
the computer integration inside the process seems just to speed up this
predomination along with an increased promise in utility.
Regarding the object of consumption as a sign value, the customized and unique
trainers can be considered as a sign since it is still a consumer product but of a
different sort. It is obviously different than the ring example because what you
wear is not simply a piece of fashion anymore that you can substitute as easy as a
ring. On the other hand it does not imply a singularity at all. It is the ultimate
point of the sign, and the differences that it promises. Distinctive in itself, the
trainers are the sign of yourself (or your computer model) in the eye of the
others. From this perspective the sign value seems to be reduced to one element
which is yourself. But on the other hand, it is this particular world wide known
company i.e. Adidas who produced these shoes for you. This is the point where
the product restores itself as a sign in differential relation to others.
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