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Customers Designing Products is Hot TrendConsumer-designed products are a growing trend. Here's what's already here: T-shirts that say what you want them to say, shoes that you design yourself and soft drink bottles with your photos on them.
According to people who study trends, globalization and the growth of the Internet have made the world's 6 billion consumers more aware of choices across the planet. They are demanding to put their stamp on what they use and wear.
Part of this shift toward individualization is a reaction to the success of global brands such as Starbucks and Gap, said Barbara Coulon, vice president of trends at The Intelligence Group, a marketing and trend forecasting company in New York.
"There's been a rise of the creative class, and creative pursuits have become more important," said Coulon. Producers are therefore seeking greater customer input.
People also want more control over products they buy, said Kirk Olson, a senior consumer analyst at trend research firm Iconoculture, which calls this trend "fingerprinting."
Take, for instance, T-shirt company Threadless.com in Chicago. Visitors to the Web site are urged to submit artwork, which is then rated by other customers. After a week, the highest-scoring patterns are printed on T-shirts and sold.
Then there's shoe designer John Fluevog (fluevog.com), based in Vancouver, Britis
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June 6, 2005 | Viewed 22,019 time(s)
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