Open Design

Open design is a movement whereby designs and blueprints for products and components are available to everyone for free. This gives other designers the opportunity to improve and adapt these designs and pass these on to others to be improved further. Whilst this is seen as a modern phenomenon, it was arguably an idea first pioneered by Enzo Mari when he released his 1974 book, Autoprogettazione. The book contained blueprints and instructions for building items of furniture. These designs were intended to be easy to make using inexpensive materials and simple manufacturing methods such as a hammer and nail. This made the designs easily accesible.

Today, the advances in computer technology and the advent of the internet has propelled the movement to new heights. CAD files can now be exchanged online and commercially available 3D printers and laser cutters mean that almost any shape can be created on the spot in a relatively short amount of time.

It is undoubtedly a very exciting time to be a designer. The open source movement is making design more and more accessible with the potential to completely change the way products are produced and perceived.

However, I think that the movement does bring some dangers. Most of these centre around the fact that anyone can contribute towards a design. Having too many people working on a single project can result in a design that is unfocused and inefficient. Everyone has a slightly different idea of what the ideal design is and this can dilute the end product. It has some elements of too many cooks spoil the broth about it.

The nature of open design means that there is no vetting process on the quality of the design uploaded. There is also no obligation to conform to the safety standards of products produced through traditional means. Another issue is the ongoing controversy over intellectual property that refuses to go away.

Overall though, I think that open design should be embraced. It seems likely that it will change the face of design and manufacturing over the coming decades and in these situations it doesn't pay to be a Luddite.