TechnoCRAFT: The Rise of Co-creation in Design

YBCA announced TechnoCRAFT, a major new design exhibition that charts current movements blurring the boundary between designer and consumer. Curated by acclaimed industrial designer Yves Behar, TechnoCRAFT looks at the different ways that consumers are personalizing design in efforts to assert creativity and individuality in an age of mass-production.

The history of design and craft began with individuals making what they could not afford to buy, which created a deep and personal connection between owner and object. However, with the Industrial Revolution, the tradition of craft mostly disappeared as people became enamored with the abundance and affordability of mass-produced, high-quality goods.

The rise of mass-production and mass-consumerism undeniably elevated the average person's quality of life. However the cultural sameness that materialized, combined with the loss of individual connection to objects, left many feeling dissatisfied. As a result, they took matters into their own hands...

TechnoCRAFT explores how an emotional connection to objects has been resurrected in individuals and how the two realms-design and mass production-have combined to once again allow for "Design in the Age of Individuality."

These new "makers and craftsmen" range from the everyday person to the tech entrepreneur; from the young curious designer to the multinational, focused on custom solutions. All of whom share a new sense of "making", and openness to collaborate while operating in a more individualized marketplace.

This rise in popularity of integrated and collaborative design has been aided by a number of social and technological trends such as social networking, access to sophisticated design tools, open source technology, "fab labs," and the overwhelming desire to create.

TechnoCRAFT is organized around six subthemes: Crowdsourcing, Platforms, Blueprints, Hacks, Incompletes, and Modules. The following is a brief description of each of these themes with one project from the exhibition to serve as illustration.

Crowdsourcing mines the collective talent of the community to develop new design solutions. From product generation to the voting process, Crowdsourcing puts the decision-making power in the hands of the masses. One participant in the exhibition, Threadless, is an online apparel store that solicits consumers to design and vote for new t-shirts each week.

Platforms consist of designers creating open, software-based platforms, that provide the tools for individuals to create and/or customize their own unique products. From shoes to t-shirts to fantastic creatures, platforms make it easy for individuals of all skill levels to take on the role of designer. PUMA's Mongolian Barbeque is an iconic example of this theme.

Blueprints act as ideas that can be given away or sold, putting the power to create in the hands of the consumer. Rather than create and sell a finished product, designers sell or give away instructions so that anyone can create/recreate the design in their own way. Autoprogettazione (or "self design") is Enzo Mari's collection of designs for furniture you can make yourself. Originally exhibited in 1974,Mari gave out a free catalogue with detailed instructions for making these basic, easy-to-assemble furniture pieces using off-the-shelf lumber and nails.

Hacks is a term that has moved far beyond the manipulation of computer software, extending into the public's consciousness. Tables, iPhones, and bikes are revised, modified and manipulated to achieve a new look or new functionality.

Incompletes intentionally leave room for creativity on the part of the user. The degree to which the end user is involved varies with each design, but all depend on the role of the user to provide input for a design to properly function. With Marijn van der Poll's Do hit chair made by Droog, through a hammer or other tool you can change the original stainless steel cube into a chair of your own design.

Finally, modules are individual components that come together to create customized creations. Intelligently designed modules allow for the user to develop an outcome that is driven in equal parts by ingenuity and budget. Designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's Clouds, made in collaboration with Kvadrat, allows the user to arrange and re-arrange a variety of tiles to create installations and new designs.

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