[OpenDesign] research on application of open design processes

Tue Nov 27 21:36:37 UTC 2012

On 27 Nov 2012, at 16:15 , Bram Geenen wrote:

> Maybe I can leave you guys with an interesting question:
> Do you think the biggest need is for technological sollutions? e.g. 'git' for 3d models / more tangible communication than skype and chat (such as the EU project asks)?
> or:
> Is the first step to grow this movement into an ecosystem, by connecting communities and platforms for example, and lowering the entry barriers to connect with this movement? And will the technology then follow?

Very interesting and very relevant question.

I can only respond from my personal point of view: 

-- There is certainly a lot of tech stuff to be dealt with, but I do not expect this to come from an EU project:  there are quite a few big players in the 3D modelling market, and I'd expect them to address the issue first. The .stl file format stems from 3D systems and was then adopted by ASTM as a standard.
So the question is: will anybody do a git for 3D, maybe it in a proprietary way, and will others (including an open source community) be able to benefit from it?
-- Similarly for 3D cooperation ... think of a 3D etherpad

-- I would argue that first we would have to arrive at a movement.  These days, the word "movement" is used much too quickly and often in an attempt to express a wish to become big one day (famous example: Lawrence Lessig rebranding Creative Commons as a movement instead of a project).
-- to do that, we actually need to achieve what you are proposing: connecting communities (and platforms), lowering the barriers to entry

and I think we need to do a lot more:  
-- we need to find the right "institutions" to support us becoming a movement; 
-- we need to find the good ways to connect with what is there in design, understand the developments that are ongoing in design--particularly in regard to open source and IP protection: there is at least as much push to more IP mussle as there is desire to more open source, while exactly some disciplines of design don't have strong IP regimes (look at fashion, for instance).
-- we need to free us from the simplistic business models of mass manufacturing
-- we need to work on the value created from attribution
-- ...

so currently the only answer I have is more questions ... looking forward to discussing them

/ Peter

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