Question :: should an industrial designer focus on increasing the consumption of products?

The primary focus of the industrial designer (ID) ideally considers the purpose, (re)use, material + structural form, and more recently an emotional element within product designs. These are fundamental elements of design, which help to establish a product's value and marketability. The question posed here suggests mass consumerism and disposable products with a short life cycle. I think that what an ID would consider today is designing a more durable product, with a minimal consumable component. And so, of equal importance is considering an environmental responsibility, and using a 'well-informed' process. By the latter, I mean to say that historical and statistical data can be used to make informed decisions in design that reinforce the product's life cycle and usability. Both locally and globally. Thus enhancing quality.

That said, I would like to share a rare example of how an ID responsibly focused on increasing consumption. Magnhild Disington's Project :: Furry Object combines the material of fur with a portable electronic device. Although a controversial topic, the fur Dissington uses is otherwise discarded by manufacturers. Additionally, she believes that the material adds an element of value and emotional appeal to the product, making it more of a keepsake, and for some a wearable accessory. An object which also adds historical reference to the "rabbit fur" keychain, made popular back in the 1980's. Thus she has preserved a precious material, otherwise wasted, and extended the life cycle of the electronic device.

bookmarks

Here are a few bookmarks I've added to My Delicious account, related to web 2.0 topics of our social science course. 

Google Fast Flip
As described by Google :: (experimental) web application that lets users discover and share news articles. It combines qualities of print and the Web, with the ability to "flip" through pages online as quickly as flipping through a magazine. It also enables users to follow friends and topics, discover new content and create their own custom magazines around searches.


What is Web 3.0?  Web 3.0 Concepts Explained
A clear overview + slideshow presentations to explain Web1.0, Web2.0 and Web3.0

Ideas + Initiatives within a Web 2.0 world
Razorfish helps companies build great brands by creating engaging digital experiences for consumers.
Read their Reports + Papers on the digital media environment, user experience, marketing + experience design and more.

RSS screen capture :: SOCS300

Shirky :: Sharing Anchors Community

Web 2.0 :: SOCS300

Shirky's wisdom is well informed and thought through.  He illustrates the dynamics that exist between people in social media groups, effectively through his example of the "birthday paradox", where "instead of counting people, you need to count the links between people" (26).

There is a push and pull effect between readers and writers, their constant edits, responses, changes and updates.  Not necessarily comprehensive, but rather founded on potential.  The value, as with content, likely differs for each participant :: effecting a spontaneous experience for each individual.

So what is the purpose of it all?  Why do we share and create such varied collaborations?


How do we simplify it, to understand the overall value?  Where and what is the value?  Does each user perceive value differently?  Is the value within the tool that allows us an outlet to share, think, give and take?  Is value created by the human element?  Collaborative efforts, mass behaviour and collective intelligence evolving into various mashups.  


My questions still focus on the matter of quality :: is it becoming purely subjective? Is it still relevant in such media platforms? Is it about strength in branding, drawing attention and luring an audience?  Is it created through viral marketing?  Is it contagious? ..hypnotic? Is there a cure? Or does it incubate for weeks, surface with a full blown fever, then fade just as quickly?


Or is this merely the heartbeat of the net, with participants breathing life into its various elements.?  

Wikipedia contributors share their insight on the topic of "collective intelligence" ::  
In the words of Henry Jenkins "collective intelligence is not merely a quantitative contribution of information from all cultures, it is also qualitative."


George Por, described as a "CI pioneer", is quoted to define this phenomenon as "The capacity of human communities to evolve towards higher order complexity and harmony, through such innovation mechanisms as differentiation and integration, competition and collaboration".  

In watching Shirky's lecture on Institutions versus Collaboration , I agree that the cooperative framework he refers to in social media, certainly removes the need for institutional structure, however there is still the power law graph, which illustrates the 80/20 factor.  In this case, 80 percent of the content is contributed by 20 percent of the group.  Looking at the model of flickr, and photos tagged, the majority of the photos were shared by the same user.. perhaps this leadership not only shows amounts contributed, but simultaneously indicates interest level.

So here I am, getting acquainted with the web 2.0, learning how to get better organized with it.  The days fly by as I surf, search, browse, post, share, read and write.. I sometimes get caught in a maze of pathways, where I click and am constantly referred by hyperlinks to other pages on the web.


The resources are endless, and I click away in an incessant effort to filter quality over quantity.

From an artist's perspective, the existing value today is in: 

* sharing ideas :: source inspiration, develop creative projects, discuss ideas + opinions; 

* communication :: voice, video, email;

* organize :: events, calendars, groups;

* sales :: online promotions, auctions, sales transactions, shipping, delivery;

* exposure :: conveying ideas, visual thinking, displaying portfolios, blogs, tweets;

* research :: concepts, images, videos, podcasts, publications, regulations, trends, calls, jobs, projects etc.; 

* study :: learning from articles, online tutorials; 

* stay current :: tracking news, art sales, collections, exhibitions.. 

These are all things which we can take back to our own drawing board :: develop creative projects, improve elements within an art practice, source specific pieces + collections, 

To take it a step further, the next level includes:

* revealing our process ::  expression of visual thinking, concept development, virtual sketches;

* social media marketing :: strategic branding, effective avatar, viral advertising;
* analyzing future trends :: a digital media blog outlines 2010 Youth Trends report  

* scholarship incentives :: a unique myartspace.com offer inviting participants to join a group, get involved, build hype :: a website established in 2006 as a social networking site for artists and collectors.
* incorporate/strengthen personalized quality of contributions

Secret London is a good example of a collaboration project, to develop a website :: inviting participants to share specific info, useful to all.  Sharing the hidden 'treasures' (hot spots) in London, by Londoners.

The 365 Project is an interesting creative project phenomenon, which is makes extremely effective use of social media tools, including weblogs and Flickr.  

* MakeShift blog is an art and research project by Natalie Purschwitz, clothing designer and owner of Hunt & Gather, who for one year will only wear clothes she has made herself.

* Flickr breeds hundreds of such projects, which is popularly shared under the Project 365 group .

In contemplating the internet, and its developments in web 2.0, it will be interesting to see where the internet takes us next.