Desktop Manufacturing: Good Idea or Potential Disaster?

FastCompany has a quick article about Desktop Manufacturing using 3D printers.  I can see how technology such as this might be a good solution for some products/industries.  Imagine printing out a replacement part for a particular product without having to ship it from overseas? 

However, put this kind of technology in the hands of apathy and soon we have an army of (plastic) producers. 

“For now, it prints only polymers, but is coming close to its initial goal of being able to produce all of the plastic components of another RepRap device. The greater goal, of being able to print out all of the components of a RepRap (that is, to make it truly replicating), is still in the distance, but will probably come sooner than expected. In the meantime, the current RepRap design is just getting more precise, and more powerful.”

I can also imagine companies intentionally skimping on the quality of some parts–planned obsolescence–requiring the consumer to then buy the “downloadable replacement part design” and manufacture at their own cost.

Better Bike Lanes…Really?

I just read a post on Fast Company about Los Angeles-based designer Joseph Prichard’s proposed Better Bikeways.  In a nutshell, Josh believes better signage will accomplish two things:  encourage others to bike more often and make bike lanes safer. 

Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Josh must be one of the “early adopters” who traded in his mountain bike for a cool fixie.  You know, the guy who suddenly thinks he’s a road warrior living the crazy life of a New York City bike messenger because he flip-flopped the hub on his older brothers 1980 Nishiki and started wearing Gore-Tex capris.  The kind who’s been riding his bike for a whole 4 months and is now one of the thousand or so entitled single-speed cyclists who demands respect while commuting to his graphic design job in Venice.

But I digress.

Let’s talk about the first goal, encouraging others to bike more often.  I don’t know about you, but a well designed traffic sign isn’t enough to encourage me to start riding my bike to work.  I raced bikes competitively for a short period of time and my brother is a highly accomplished triathlete who logs hundreds of miles per week on his bike.  If you want people to change their routine and use a bike instead of a car, the major barriers needs to be addressed…safety and urban sprawl. 

Knowing how far it is to a bike shop is irrelevant for 95% of people who cycle on a regular basis.  Chances are, if you cycle more than once per week you already know where these shops are located.  You also have a pretty good idea how far your end point is thanks to “new” web tools like MapQuest and Google Maps.  Not to mention for about $20 I can install a computer on my handlebars that displays this info in real time.  The whole bus-schedule/bike route-map idea is useless as well.  It’s more suited for the eco-tourist who’s opted to rent a bike for two weeks instead of a red Sebring Convertible from Enterprise–yeah, good luck with that.  The truth is, someone who cycles the same route to work on a daily basis will find these signs useless.

Now let’s talk about safety.  How do these signs make current bike lanes safer?  Uh, they don’t.  Sorry Josh, but if you haven’t noticed already the only people more entitled than a mob of hipster cyclists are soccer moms in Escalades.  Call them what you will, but the average driver (especially in Southern California) could give two shits about your purple signs.  In fact, some of my friends openly admit to running down cyclists or pinching them between parked cars.  As appalling is it may sound, it’s the truth.  Not a day went by when I didn’t encounter at least one “close call” with a motorist and it had nothing to do with lack of road signage.  At first, it pissed me off but as I became more experienced I came to understand that it’s driver apathy and an assortment of in-car distractions that make riding so dangerous.  Cars rule the road–they always will–and the only way to make bike lanes safer is to take them off the road.

This will probably never happen here in  LA or in San Francisco or New York or Boston.  Our cities were not built to accommodate the masses efficiently and the cost to build such a system would be astronomical.  To be honest, I don’t know what the answer is.  I wrote a business plan years ago for a system that inserted RFID chips into cycling shoes.  The chip frequency would trigger flashing lights embedded into the road and as the cyclist traveled through designated, high traffic areas the lights would flash alerting nearby motorists.  The signal could also trigger alert chimes inside cars equipped with the right software.  Talk about expensive.  Plus, I could just imagine one of my buddies hearing that alert in his new BMW and taking aim.

I don’t mean to sound hard or cynical or rip Josh’s idea, but I’ve just experienced too much frustration and anger from riding the roads in Southern California.  I’m all for cycling to work but until it becomes less of a death wish I’ll gladly drive. 

Changing behavior is the mark of truly good design.  Personally, I don’t believe this system (or my system for that matter) will do it.  Maybe I should just move to Amsterdam where bike and car seem to coexist fairly well?  Maybe I’ve just becoming too frustrated with drivers in Southern California?  Maybe this would make a good thesis for grad school?

Designing for the Long Term

Mark Dziersk ,VP of Design at Brandimage-Desgrippes & Laga, one of the world’s largest design and branding firms, has an interesting post today on the FastCompany blog.

As is the dialogue from many in the field, he states “design thinking, combined with sustainable ideas and sustainability for that matter, will create enduring business successes.”

When I read this article, I couldn’t help but think of two brands really pushing the envelop for sustainability, design and style.

Both Patagonia and Howies make high quality clothing with a sustainable, low impact model to boot.  What I really admire about both of these brands is that instead of trying to keep up with the ebb and flow of fashion design, both have opted to take the time to craft timeless pieces that are engineered to last.

Imagine that!  A clothing company designing pieces you can have for years.  Quality so good the garment can be passed down from generation to generation.  Sweaters built from fibers that allow for 100% recyclability.

As Americans look closer and closer at who (yes, brands are considered a “who”) they’re giving their money to, it will be brands like Patagonia and Howies that survive in the long run.

Some may ask, “What about Nau?”  Their product carries the same eco-cred as Patagonia and they barely escaped extinction.  The difference, in my opinion, is Nau products(although beautifully made) are fashion inspired.  Their product mix must mimic the roller coaster world of high fashion  to stay relevant with consumers.  With that comes astronomically high retail prices and garments that may look cool one season but a bit out of place the next.

I believe the key to long term growth for any business is total transparency, a high quality product and perfect customer service.  I know…real original.

Platform

 

At SXSWa few months ago, Alex Bogusky from Crispin Porter+Bogusky delivered a speech about a bike share project his agency is involved in called B-Cycle.  According to the research, 462 millions gallons of gas can be saved each year if Americans increased bike usage from 1% to 1.5%.  Basically, the program aims to change the behavior or habits of individuals to create good.  Sounds like a project for the pragmatic and inquisitive minds of a design consultancy, not for an ad agency known for it’s creepy Burger King commercials.

During the Q&A a member of the audience asked, “Is CP+B trying to be the next IDEO?”  Alex responded by proposing, “Maybe IDEO will become an ad agency?”

This brings me to an interesting side project from Wieden+Kennedy London.  W+K produces several of my favorite blogs one of them being welcome to optimism.  Scrolling through this morning I noticed a new endeavor called Platform. 

Platform is described as, “a future creative talent platform, which will hire, teach and work with a diverse mix of people, from around the world. We will recruit talent from the arts, sciences and technology backgrounds who will work together to solve business problems through creative solutions. You will learn by doing which means being involved in everything from building prototypes, enabling and assisting in research development to curating your very own event space and programme.”

Now this is really interesting.  It looks as though W+K is looking to create a collaborative group that will use design thinking principles to solve various projects on a global scale.

What does this mean?  I’m not sure.  But in regards to the statement made by Mr. Bogusky, my bet is that ad agencies will be changing their model much sooner than design consultancies.

This sounds like an incredible project to be a part of and I’m undecided, as of now, whether or not I will go through with the application process.  I do, however, have to tip my hat to creative minds at W+K for seeking individuals with diverse backgrounds and world views.  With all the uncertainty in today’s economy (particularly in advertising) it will the companies not afraid to take a risk that will deliver the unique solutions the world needs.  I look forward to seeing how this project evolves.

Design Strategy Visual

John Schneider on his blog schneiderism posted an interesting visual of the Design Stratgy process.  Check it out along with some of his other posts.  Some of my favorites are here and here.