Make or break by Dave Nemeth for Fast Company


TECHNOLOGY IS ADVANCING at a rate of knots, and keeping up with all these advances is an almost impossible task for even the best analysts and forecasters. In a similar way, it is hard to predict what the physical design of items will look like. What is perhaps easier to predict and forecast, however, is how the physical process of design will change and evolve, as well as who will be doing the real innovative design. Will it be trained professionals, or weekend hobbyists who are part of a maker group?
I’m currently of the belief that due to the speed of technological advances, the education system within many fields has been caught on the back foot. Design, in particular, is one of those.


In a 2014 presentation at London’s Design Museum, Jonathan Ive—head designer at Apple—had this to say about design institutions and the hiring process: “So many of the designers that we interview don’t know how to make stuff, because workshops in design schools are expensive and computers are cheaper. That’s just tragic, that you can spend four years of your life studying the design of three-dimensional objects and not make one.”
As we venture into 2016, not much has changed within the design syllabus bar the fact that some (and very few at that) might have added a couple 
of 3D printers and scanners—which are more for experimentation than focusing studies around.

I recently addressed 200 final-year architecture students from the top universities around the country, only to find out that a grand total of three were experimenting with 3D printing and scanning. 
With such statistics, Ive’s statement rings true.

So from where will the design gurus of the future emerge, if not from the high-profile and established design schools? In my opinion, we will start seeing truly innovative design taking place by an assortment of individuals who are tinkering away on a variety of machines in warehouses and basements. Maker spaces are springing up all over. It is estimated that in South Africa alone, there are approximately 30 to 40, between the variants such as maker spaces, hacker spaces, FabLabs (Fabrication Laboratories), private group meetups and design-based spaces. With these new collaborative spaces offering a novel outlook on creating, making and designing, it is clear that it will not necessarily be the formally trained who will be at  the forefront of groundbreaking design and innovation.


Another dynamic within these new hubs is that many of the projects are based on an open-source approach: The development of products can be worked on by a host of different people. Just like open-source software that is available for constant improvement, so too is the philosophy of these ‘labs’. Hands-on mentorship is also key, and probably the largest facet currently missing from formal tertiary education.

The continual development of software has always aided the design process, as is evident in the fluid and futuristic works by visionaries such as industrial designer Karim Rashid and contemporary iconic architect Zaha Hadid.


The augmented reality and virtual reality we are already seeing from Google and Samsung will not only be used for gaming and entertainment purposes but to design within a full 3D virtual space that will allow the designer to get completely immersed within the process. Augmentation allows designers to see their creations in a real-world environment, where the ‘walkabout’ views are just as they would be in real life. This means an office chair design, for instance, can be viewed in an actual environment and the proportions, lines and aesthetics can be evaluated before a physical prototype is actually created. With the headset in place, the designer will be able to virtually walk around the item, and with interaction tools be able to manipulate the design with hand gestures in real time.

Although the future of design is guaranteed to be exciting and produce revolutionary innovations, the way great design will be envisioned and created remains the biggest unknown, as the barriers to entry will no longer be reserved for those with formal training.

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