Tracing Design’s Value in Distributed Manufacturing

Today, much of “ innovative ” design tackles purely digital products or physical products extended by digital functionalities or connectivity. Meanwhile, the digital environment of the web deeply impacts the marketing — and increasingly the design process — of purely physical objects that surround our everyday life. The increasing technological maturity of digital fabrication tools has already established the conditions for a wider diffusion of distributed manufacturing, an ever more valid alternative to conventional manufacturing in many product categories. Distributed manufacturing promises a more direct connection between designer and consumer/maker. On the other hand, new challenges emerge around the management and monetization of the work done for an unforeseeable mass of consumers rather than a single business client. Observing recent trends in other creative industries, this paper outlines three possible scenarios for a stimulating compensation of designers: free, pay-per-download, and subscription-based distribution of creative works. Beyond simple economic concepts, each of these scenarios operates on a different metaphor, requires a different kind of digital infrastructure, and offers a different kind of incentive to attract designers and their efforts. The contribution hopes to help identify possible strategies that might lead to sustainable business models of design for distributed manufacturing.