John James Marshall thesis.pdf - OpenAIR @ RGU - Robert Gordon ...

information about these on their website and allow visitors to explore them.
When enough people express interest in a design, Elephant displays virtual
prototypes on the site and asks for suggestions on how to improve them. They
take orders for these and when the number of requests for the product exceeds
the minimum number required by the manufacturer it is put into production.
2.7.5 Individualised production
Individualised production involves the fabrication of tailor-made goods. In
2002, Lionel T. Dean was appointed Designer in Residence at Huddersfield
University and began working on FutureFactories, a digital manufacturing
concept for the mass individualisation of products.
“In contrast to mass customisation, the ‘FutureFactories’ model derives
no input from the consumer. Where mass customisation consists of
consumer selection and specification, ‘FutureFactories’ allows the
consumer only to select the moment at which the process of form
generation is arrested. Each artifact produced is therefore a one-off
realisation of the designer’s formula, as interpreted by computer
software.” (Atkinson, 2003, p.5)
“FutureFactories has no fixed designs. Instead of creating a single
discrete design solution (or indeed a finite range of options), the designer
creates a template. This template defines not only the functional
requirements of the form but also embodies the character of the design.
Through the design template, the designer establishes a series of rules
and relationships which maintain a desired aesthetic over a potentially
infinite range of outcomes.” (Dean, Atkinson and Unver, 2005)
CAD software can help optimise products, eliminate production errors and
reduce time to market in industry. Previously, this knowledge was integrated in
the finished object. Yet, with FutureFactories the value and innovation is in the
software. This change encourages us to look at the method and result of the
design process differently. Undoubtedly the instances that are produced as
physical objects each have aesthetic value. However, the intellectual property
and the creativity of this process are located in the software’s capacity to
produce an infinite number of slightly different forms. This indicates a definite
discontinuity with objects produced as the result of either unique craft-based or
mass-manufactured processes.
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