Originally intended to be a downloadable design. Taking the principles of Gerrit Rietveld, this inside out – night stand by Minale-Maeda makes construction easy and attractive. The cabinet has been turned inside-out, now with the construction brackets and details on the outside and the coating on the inside.
Is the video not working? View it here
DETAILS featured design for download in its 10 DO-IT-YOURSELF DESIGN PROJECTS THAT ARE LESS CRAFTY, MORE COOL by Monica Khemsurov.
When Droog launches its game-changing Design for Download website in the coming months, it will do for design in the 21st century what Ikea did in the 20th—democratize it—in this case by bringing design directly to anyone with an Internet connection, with no international shipping or middlemen required. Just choose and configure your design, download the schematics, and either take them to a nearby fabricator or give it a try yourself. Among the first online offerings will be open-source decorative electrical sockets, tables and chairs made with wood and 3-D printable brackets, and shelves whose composition can be customized using Droog’s new software.
Domus featured design for download in its design report by Valentina Croci:
Droog continues to explore programmatic design issues. The group’s focus has always extended beyond the trends to concentrate on processes, production chains and user applications since it was founded in 1993 by Gijs Bakker and Renny Ramakers. Always conscious of social and market signs and changes, Droog has been analysing goods production methods.
Wall of furniture parts by Studio Makking & Bey (2008), Droog New York
Why did you embark a project on downloadable design?
Renny Ramakers: In 2008 we were working on the interior of Droog New York. The store featured Wall of furniture parts by Studio Makkink & Bey—a wall next to the stairs made of CNC cut furniture parts that can be taken out of the wall as needed for use. It turned out that the idea in principle was strong, but the design was not optimized for downloading. We wanted to explore in more detail the possibilities of developing products that can be downloaded as a file and an online distribution platform to enable this.
What were some of your findings?
RR: Three main aspects make this platform unique.
It will have a curated sphere next to an open sphere. The curated aspect is very important as we anticipate that the open sphere will give rise to a lot of low quality content.
Another important decision was to incorporate both digital producers and ordinary workshops in the network of manufacturers. I like the idea that through a digital network one can enhance crafts. In bridging high- and low-tech it becomes similar to our Dry tech projects. Our goal is to create a network of certified producers, and in some cases the files will go directly to the producers and the consumer will receive the finished good.
And, the platform will feature not only furniture and products but also food, architecture, inventions and fashion.
It’s important to note that this platform will not be a Droog platform. We will invite other companies and institutions to have their own curated stores on the platform and they can create their own business models on it. Droog will be one of the curated stores on the platform.
How did you work with the designers for Droog’s presence on the platform?
RR: We invited a team of designers to develop designs specifically for downloads. We also encouraged the designers to create a business model for themselves. Should the downloads be for free or should they cost something? Perhaps the designs ask for additional services? These were all considerations for designers.
For some of the products, software has been developed for downloaders to be able to customize the design. These design tools give users the possibility to change the design from a functional perspective. Customization goes further than just picking from a standard set of colours or materials. The interface also makes it possible for ordinary computer users to change the design. User involvement has always been important for Droog.
We asked Eindhoven-based design company “whose mission it is to give people the creative freedom to design their own products,” Studio Ludens to develop design tools for the project, design for download. At our presentation in Milan, we spoke with Alexander Rulkens and Wouter Walmink about the tools they created for Box-o-rama and Facades and functions by EventArchitectuur and Wanna-be wardrobe by Minale-Maeda.
Tell us about user involvement in the design of the products. What can they customize?
Each of the designs in their own way offered meaningful customization for the user. Customization is not a value in itself. It is only a means to something. Customization might offer functional or aesthetic choices, and on a meta level it gives users the possibility to be creative, which can be a very pleasant experience.
Wanna-be wardrobe offers a way for the user to determine the functionality of the product. The user knows what he wants and can make that. What’s strong about the digital tool is that it has a very low threshold; everyone can use it to make functional design decisions.
The tools we developed for EventArchitectuur ask for more creativity from the user. The user can make something that feels like it is his own design because the product is ultimately a composition. In Box-o-rama, the user can arrange boxes and this changes the whole shape. It’s not about adding things but about deciding on the whole design.
What was your role in relation to the designers in developing these tools?
The designer was the guardian of the concept, the product and had his own idea of what the changeable options could be. Our role was to be a guardian of the user. We always asked whether the tool was accessible enough and how the options were presented.
What are some of the things you have learned from the process?
Over time we’ve learned that it’s best when the interface is simple, playful and when there is an element of surprise. It’s important not to have too many features or options. That’s one of the biggest pitfalls of all website and interface designs. Sometimes two options are better than a whole range. It’s the paradox of choice; too much is overwhelming.
Do you think that the platform will be successful?
There are many open design initiatives out there. What is quite unique about this project is that we are working with products that have been designed well and that are actually producible. The production and the interface has been integrated into the design of the product. A good designer and a good platform are essential for the success of our tools. If the platform won’t work as it should then our tools won’t have a chance. All the components must come together, and here, we feel it might happen.
Try out the tools for yourself at design for download, via Alserio 22.
Founded in 1993, EventArchitectuur is an architectural design studio that tries not to define its style. It deliberately aims to make the outcome of their projects a result of the interaction of different participants in the design process. We asked founder and designer, Herman Verkerk and recently joined collaborator, Tal Erez a few questions about their designs for download.
When Droog asked you to design for download, how did you approach the brief?
Herman Verkerk: We were working on installations of a cupboard system and we wanted to standardize the design to make it more accessible to people. Digital media came as a good tool for us to communicate the design to the customer, and for the customer, to be able to interfere or interact with it. Ultimately the customer makes the design decisions. We wanted to make a framework and not to define the final design. We made building blocks and the interface so that people can add or transform the design. That gives a lot of freedom.
Tell us more about the kinds of design decisions that the customer can make. What’s the line between you and the customers?
Tal Erez: The process was about simplifying the design and giving options that are very clear. Our designs offer endless possibilities within very simple boundaries. Take for example, Box-o-rama. Dragging and dropping boxes gives an endless range of options. It is a fun process that normal computer users can understand. And this process gives people programmatic choices; functional choices which will eventually determine the design, rather than just decorative options.
Did working with digital media influence the designs?
TE: It certainly does by considering the interface from the very beginning. We have to think of an interface that is digestible. And, since a 3D representation on a 2D screen can be confusing, it means the core of the interface should be in 2D. This affects the design, which also starts with a 2D existence. We played with a dotted line, which is a very common 2D representation. Using Illustrator, we applied the same thickness, but modifying the gaps to achieve a specific tone or a unique rhythm in a dotted line. This was then transformed into press fit connections in 3D. The process went back and forth, like a ping-pong game between 2D and 3D in the design, interface, detailing, decoration, manufacturing and assembly. The ping-ponging gave it a specific character. It created a certain visual language that is recognizable. Whatever you do with Box-o-rama it will always be Box-o-rama.
HV: The interesting part of dealing with digital media is that they have their own limits. They give input into how they would structure the design, which is interesting for developing new products. The biggest and most difficult aspect is that there’s no sense of touch involved. You get into this virtual world and there are only fragments of the real thing. We love the gravity tool, which comes into play in Box-o-rama when customers put boxes on top of each other. Gravity is introduced in a digital sense and it’s one of the first steps for getting a feeling for the object. The other interesting thing is that the tool makes decisions of its own, making some options impossible. It ensures that one cannot order something that cannot exist.
How do you feel about opening up design to customers?
HV: We treated the assignment as a way to communicate not only the possibility for a consumer to be able to transform the design and to make his own stuff, but also to communicate about our office and our attitude towards open design. This system is not star designer based. Making a framework instead of defined and finished products is where I see the difference between star design and non-star design.
How do you think people will react?
HV: Knowledge is still transported through humans, institutes, or some other kind of “real world” channel. The internet is able to distribute, but I’m not sure it is able to educate or make people change their behaviour. But once they get started, a big universe all of a sudden opens up.
Since you don’t control the design completely, can you imagine some unintended consequences?
HV: It doesn’t matter that there might be unintended design consequences. What matters is that the process gives rise to a community, one that communicates through design. We really would like consumers to upload what they have designed and made. Or maybe even what they have designed, without making it at all. It is more a way of showing and communicating diversity. We are looking forward of a library of examples, which are ugly or beautiful, but certainly interesting.
Are you not afraid that people will copy your blueprints?
TE: With Box-o-rama and Facades & functions we are not selling a design but a tool. Besides the fact that the tool was not easily developed and therefore is not easily copied, the design is only complete when the user is involved. The thought of the user completing the design actually takes quite a bit of the edge of copying it, because what exactly is it that you copy?
We hosted a breakfast prepared by Sofie Lachaert for our contacts, designers and interested members of the press this morning. Come back tomorrow from 10:00 – 12:00 for one more breakfast.
Come by via Alserio 22 to see the video presentation about a new platform for downloadable design, followed by a showcase of products by EventArchitectuur and Minale-Maeda. You can try out the design tools to customize the designs for yourself.
Here’s the video:
Rotterdam-based design duo, German-born Mario Minale and Japanese-born Kuniko Maeda began collaborating in 2005. As Minale-Maeda they are interested in perspectives on contemporary material culture. We spoke with Mario about their designs for download.
Can you tell us how you approached the brief?
Mario Minale: On the one hand we were interested in creating a furniture system based on downloadable design and on the other, we were interested in making a statement about the current state of culture and how that intercepts with technology. In both respects, we were curious how downloadable design makes something new possible.
Creating a downloadable furniture system was in line with our ambitions to make things that can be easily manufactured. Inside-out furniture is a very simple line of furniture in which the joinery is brought to the foreground. Seeing the structure helps with the simplicity of the piece and also helps with making it downloadable.
We also had ambitions to make a statement about people’s desire for objects today.
Vanity charms are 3D printed representations of what someone actually wants. They are symbols of the actual objects desired, playing with the question of whether or not symbols are enough. Someone can just like something, and can have it as a charm.
You also designed virtual flowers. Can you tell us about those?
MM: In the Virtual florist collection, we took defining characteristics of flowers and reversed them. Real flowers decay. With 3D printing you can freeze them. Real flowers are known for their colours. Virtual flowers are visually strong because of their absence of colour. Fresh flowers are flown all over the world. Since virtual flowers are distributed as information, they don’t have the constraint of location or season. You can have them anytime and anywhere without needing transportation. Real flowers and virtual flowers are perfect opposites of each other.
You have referenced Gerrit Rietveld designs in previous work such as Red blue Rietveld chair and Rietveld Lego Buffet. What was the influence in your downloadable furniture?
MM: We find the principles of Rietveld very relevant to the downloadable design platform. In his aim to make design accessible, he develops structures that are very sturdy and easy to make. His pieces work in many materials even with limited skills of the maker. The beauty of his work comes from the structure. The same principles drove our downloadable designs. The connections we developed for Inside-out furniture are 3D printed with custom dimensions so that they can match different sizes of wood. The only necessary intervention is to cut the wood to length and to drill the holes. No routing is necessary. Even without a CNC machine, someone can make our designs with a saw and a drill.
In our brief we asked you to imagine a business model for yourself. How do you see this?
MM: The big picture is to create an alternative to large scale productions. Downloadable design makes it possible to take production into a small—or, I would say, human—scale. Downloadable design makes many of the logistical issues—transportation, fuel, warehousing, complex machinery, materials, and so on no longer necessary. The whole industrial overhead becomes unnecessary.
In terms of own business model, one approach can be seen in the 3D connections we developed for Inside-out furniture. They can be adjusted to different dimensions of wood easily, they don’t need a mould to be produced, and they simplify the joining process. They are a proof of authenticity, a sort of signature, perhaps. The other parts can be sourced anywhere.
Are you not afraid that people will copy your blueprints?
MM: Downloadable design is like downloadable music. You buy the band t-shirt because you want to show that you like something and not because you have to. Paying for the signature shows your appreciation.
Pictured above is Inside-out furniture by Minale-Maeda.
Special thank you to 3D print lab i.materialise
At Design for download we will present furniture and accessories by Minale-Maeda. Stay tuned to see the results or come by.
Japanese born Kuniko Maeda graduated in science of design at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. Italian born, German raised Mario Minale graduated in Industrial Design at the University of Wuppertal. After receiving their IM Master degrees at the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2005, they joined to establish Minale-Maeda in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Living in a melting pot with their intercultural backgrounds gives the duo a broad perspective on material culture. Their work for Droog includes the Red blue Lego chair, Rietveld Lego buffet, Touch wood and Chroma Key and the award-winning Dusk/dawn mirror.
At Design for download we will present furniture and accessories by EventArchitectuur. Stay tuned to see the results or come by.
EventArchitectuur is an architectural design studio that tries not to define its style. It aims deliberately to make the outcome of projects a result of theinteraction of different participants in the design process. A design firm for time and experienced based architecture, EventArchitectuur communicates by redefining space—a three dimensional organization of light, sound and movement—whether in moments that last five minutes or 15 years, dependingon the assignment.
EventArchitetuur was founded in 1993 by Herman Verkerk, who was trained as an architect at the TUDelft and ETH Zürich from 1984-1990. In 2003, artist Paul Kuipers joined the studio, a graduate of thedepartment OK5 / Visual Arts and Public Space at ArtEZ, Institute of the Arts in Arnhem.
Tal Erez, trained as an industrial designer at the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel and honourgraduate of the IM Masters program of the Design Academy Eindhoven, began collaborating withEventArchitectuur in 2009.
We’re at the same space we were last year, at via Alserio 22. Sun is shining and the weather forecast is good!
