About two weeks ago I posted the article “Mass Customization WON’T Make it for a Mainstream Business Model“  in which I mentioned the reason why so many companies experimenting with “Create Your Own” products stuck or even fail.

I also noted that the ominous Design Space (or Solution Space as Frank Piller e.a. call it) can serve as a source for  Mass Customization’s “salvation”.

I additionally mentioned that we use Creative Coding (to be understood as a certain kind of programming based on mathematical rules) to define Design Spaces and thus enable our customers to easily create their own products.

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Today I am introducing  Generative Design & Art, which are expressed best by Creative Coding and explained best by this quotes:

Generative Design allows to produce new designs automatically by the push of a button. A basic form, pattern, or object is automatically modified by an algorithm. The result: infinite random modifications of the starting solution (within a solution space set by the designer).
Frank Piller

Generative Design Processes is about the modeling of initial conditions of an object (its “genetics”) instead of modeling the final form.
@eloisapaola

Generative Art is a term given to work which stems from concentrating on the processes involved in producing an artwork, usually (although not strictly) automated by the use of a machine or computer, or by using mathematic or pragmatic instructions to define the rules by which such artworks are executed.
Adrian Ward

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Next time I’ll show you some awesome Generative Design & Art in action!

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Everyone can cook a nice dinner. Also lighting a fire is not that hard (at least when you are properly prepared with a match and a fitting box!). But to design your own tealight holder  is much harder. Only Fluid Forms customers have the ability and possibility to give such a special gift. The best thing about it: You don’t have to work very hard. By simply clicking your computer mouse you can form a stylish accessory.  And in a wink you’re finished with a little thing that will rise the romantic atmosphere in your house by far.

What makes the Serene teacandle holder so special is that even though you are not that creative and can’t really do beautiful stuff with your own hands-your Serene will look good, splendid, enormous! I promise! It even does not matter which wood you choose. Every type of Serene looks good and is perfectly played to the gallery in candle-light. Lucky you!

Additionally you don’t have to buy tall candles, simple and astonishingly cheap tealights make the trick. Your Serene changes these simplest candles into design elements. Wow!

Fluid forms in natural look, designed by you makes Serene the ideal present for everyone who pretends to already have everything. (I bet, they are certainly not proud owners of the Serene tealight holder. NOT YET!) As table accessory, decoration in nice restaurants, mood creator in romantic situations or simple candle-holder, Serene is a convertible, unique product with a big amount of style.

For the lucky ones among you, who can call themselves “proud Serene owners”, here’s a hint how you can keep them as neat and tidy as you got them. Put a little sunflower oil on it every once in a while and it will stay as classy as you got it.

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QR Codes get more and more attention even in Europe – I think we’re partly responsible for that  . 

Using the momentum we give you a glimpse of what we are compassing next and consequently like to introduce the QRring and the QR Cuff Links to you!

Yep! Soon you can leave your old-fashioned, granny style rings at home and show off your 21st century interpretation of the classic signet ring. And the QR Cuff Links will make it for an action loaded scene in the next James Bond movie

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This was the “pain in the a**” creation of the first prototype:

More to be announced soon!

Learn more about QR Codes.

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Via Fabbaloo I found a 3d print service focused on 3d-printing your game avatar from digital models. Not unlike Figureprints, a digital fabricator recreating your virtual World of Warcraft character as a fully detailed 3D replic, Offload Studio turns your virtual Super Hero into a real one. This service might also be a big deal for the thousands of Warhammer enthusiasts out there…

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Offload Studio about their approach:

Imagine a system where the game player can take their virtual personal experience to their personal reality by holding in their hands their own unique customized game character. Offload Studios Inc. has developed a production pipeline that will support the GameMaker’s desire to diversify their player’s experience and realize physical custom products from the game. These artifacts are created as fully coloured figurines. Building upon technologies borrowed from the rapid prototyping industry, Offload Studios provides the spectrum of service required to bring your virtual world to your player’s physical reality.

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If you like to get a deeper insight into Offload Studio, I recommend you this interview with Bill Henderson, Founder of Offload Studios.

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Recently launching the QR Belt Buckle, a buckle you design yourself with custom QR Codes, I thought it’s time to take a look around the QR Code Universe and check out what other people do with QR Codes.

If you are not familiar with QR Codes, here is a short (Wikipedia) introduction to the two dimensional pixel-pattern:

A QR Code is a matrix code (or two-dimensional bar code) created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The “QR” is derived from “Quick Response”, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. QR Codes are common in Japan, where they are currently the most popular type of two dimensional codes. Moreover, most current Japanese mobile phones can read this code with their camera.

If you want to learn more about the Codes read  this more detailed description of Bar Codes and QR Codes or watch the video guide to Bar Codes. Additionally check out the slide shows “Whats the power behind 2D Barcodes” and “Trends”

Vizitag.com also gives  you some useful information about the codes in their free ebook “Mobile Tagging – Getting Started”.

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I conducted the following list to provide you with an idea how useful QR Codes can be and what people really do with them. If you know other great sources or more cool appliances of QR Codes and Mobile Tagging please drop us a line!

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QR CODES IN FASHION ART & MUSIC:

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Lendorff.Kaywa Scarf:

Lendorff.Kaywa is a collaboration between London based pixel-knitwear designers Office Lendorff and mobile enthusiasts Kaywa from Zurich, Switzerland.

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Fluid Forms QR Belt Buckle:

Turn your custom QR Codes into a belt buckle with our online design-interface

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QR Art on Flickr:
Different approaches to QR Art can be reviewed on the Flickr Foto Pool with QR-Art

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Pet Shop Boys Video “Integral”:
British popgroup Pet Shop Boys used QR Codes for the artwork of their download-only single Integral in 2007.
The videoclip for the song also features QR Codes

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QR DECODER & QR READER SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS:

Decode QR Codes online or download the reader software for your apple, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung or Sonyericcson mobile phone

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QR CODE GENERATOR:

Generate QR Codes with the Kaywa QR Code Generator

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QR CODES – ARTICLES, BLOGS & FACEBOOK:

Mobile Tagging Blog (German):

The Mobile Tagging Blog covers developments, news, and stories concerning the world of mobile tagging

Mashable on QR Codes:
You don’t know how to use QR Codes?
Find 5 reasonable answers in the mashable article “5 Unique Uses for QR Codes”

More sources:

All About Mobile Life Blog – The Kaywa Blog about mobile life

2d code - News, views and analysis about QR Codes and two dimensional bar codes

Article on David Harper’s Blog – Different Things Mainstream America is ready for Bar Codes – Converging “Realspace” and “Mobilespace”

Article on Norbert Hillinger’s Blog Filmvermarktung 2.0 - Mobile Coding – Neue Wege (auch) für das Kinoticket und die Filmpromotion (Article in German)

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Facebook & QR Codes:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/QR-Code/46402543055

QR CODES & SCIENCE:
The QR Code page of the University of Graz is a great academic source to QR Codes. Find descriptions, links and videos (in German)

Comments & more suggestions welcome!!!

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Florian Puschmann and Tobias Kestel from White Elephant DesignLab won this year’s CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements Call For Tender“ contest. They designed a customizable lampshade with a myriad of Swarovski crystals.

The interview was held during our First Coding Design/Laser Cut Session

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Image by Cocreatr

In Japan it’s already “so today”. Well, in the rest of the world it will be “so tomorrow”! Trust me! I’m talking of a technology called QR (stands for quick response). A matrix code, which resembles –at least a little- the bar code we all know from our live-long experiences in shopping malls and supermarkets.

I’ve added a shortish (Canadian) video with loads of information on qr codes:

In Japan this black and white square is all over the place. You can see it on posters, advertisements and even over whole house walls. People who are interested in further information (like the webpage etc…) on a product, time and date of a major event or just any other message that is hidden between the seemingly arbitrary little squares, simply photograph it with their cell phones and through a QR orientated program the information will soon find its way to the right section of the phone.

Imagine how much easier our lives will be as soon as we all get a new cell phone and/or install the suitable QR-readers!

The sudden appearance of QR-codes also raises some questions: What should I get first? QR tattoed on my forehead saying: free advertising space? Or rather a simple QR Belt Buckle with a link to my personal myspace-page? I don’t know yet. Do you?

Wouldn't it look nice on my forehead?

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Tobias Kestel, Designer from Graz, was thinking about eternity during our last laser cut workshop
and came up with a partly romantic  partly philosophic approach to customized give-aways:

Carving messages or symbols (hearts?) into trees is like adding a timestamp. And usually people only do that when lots of feelings are involved. Of course, you are actually wounding the tree’s bark – but time will heal it and the tree will keep the message over time, and it will
eventually be changed and transformed by the growth of the tree.

Rediscovering a long-ago carved symbol after years brings back memories and probably a smile because you wonder why you were so sentimental about something or someone (sometimes even about yourself?) making you search and mark the right tree, maybe after dark…

By scaling this procedure to a fracture of the “real thing” you could now be able to cut out the unfulfilled part and give the message together with the whole tree to whom it may concern right away! People could choose to have either a branch or a selection of Bonsai trees marked The
laser-engraved tree or branch will then be sent per mail to the one person.

Putting the branch in water would grow roots so it can be planted.

I tested the result first with a freshly cut wicker branch. Then with a bonsai tree. The detailing is quite good, although the symbol is 9x9mm small. I was surprised how quickly the branch grew roots and after three weeks it thrives and got new leaves. Time to plant it and watch it grow,
maybe give it to a special person….

pics 1 and 5 by Fluid Forms; pics 2,3 and 4 by Tobias Kestel

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Image by Patrick Chia

The oxymoron mass customization has been buzzing around for some years now. As far as I know the first big mass customization wave passed through back in the mid 90s. (Although the term was discussed before by e.g. futurist Alvin Toffler in the 70s . Toffler also coined the term “Prosumer” in the 80s by the way).

Mass customization was/is praised as the holy grail of customer satisfaction. But has the mass customization management system made it to become a widespread mainstream business model yet? Not really, maybe only within in a handful of branches (e.g. automotive sector).

But why not?

Let’s make a step back to Joseph Pine’s definition of mass customization in 1993:

In the mass customization management system, the goal is to develop, produce, market, and deliver affordable
goods and services with enough variety and customization that nearly everyone finds exactly what they want.

I think we should put some stress on the phrase “enough variety” to answer the question why mass customization isn’t so widespread yet. “Enough variety” does not necessarily refers to hundreds of product options to choose from.

“Enough variety” means that prosumers always feel good (receiving an additional benefit) when changing parameters or pushing triggers of a product configurator. Whatever they do, they should never feel overburdened while co-creating/co-designing a custom product.

In practice “enough variety” is often misunderstood: prosumers are often confronted with so many customization choices that they feel puzzled and uncertain about their custom creations. Offering an overwhelming variety of product options can even reduce the perceived benefit. This phenomena is known as the “Paradox of Choice”.

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Barry Schwartz (author of the book with the same name) on the Paradox of Choice:

.watch Barry Schwartz key lecture on youtube

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So how can we define “enough variety” then?

Frank Piller, Fabrizio Salvador and Martin de Holan from MIT Sloan School of Management argue in a recently published paper that the right amount of variety can be defined with what they call a “solution space“:

A mass customizer must first identify the idiosyncratic needs of its customers, specifically, the product attributes along which customer needs diverge the most. (This is in stark contrast to a mass producer, which must focus on identifying central tendencies so that it can target those needs with a limited number of standard products.) Once that information is known and understood, a business can define its “solution space,” clearly delineating what it will offer — and what it will not.

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The lessons we should learn for today:

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1.  Find out what you will not offer.
2. Offer a level of customization-attributes that make sense.

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Read next time:

- Fluid Forms generative design approach to define the solution space -> the Design Space
– Explanation of generative art and generative design

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Day 2 of our laser cut workshop was joined (among others) by Franz Piffl, Stefan Kainbacher, Tobias Kestel and Stefan Schmid.

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Tobias Kestel: The calm product designer from Graz is the iniciator of White Elefant DesignLab and always on the quest to reach the limits of the materials he works with. Together with Florian Puschmann he won the competition CRYSTALLIZED – Swarovski Elements Call for Tender with  with the customizable lamp Crystalswitch.

Tobi, listening to the laser cut blues:

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Stefan Kainbacher: Coding VJ from Vorarlberg enriches the crew with his artistic artwork. Check out some of his awesome visuals:

.find more from Stefan on vimeo, Neon Golden,

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Franz Piffl: Brother Design and Microgiants are the two companies Franz’s creative energy flows in. Franz is working on a pendant lampshade during the laser cut session.

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Stefan Schmid: documentary filmer Stefan Schmid joined the crew the take some nice shots of the laser cut session. Watch Stefan’s video Uganda Ruanda.

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