Co-design4… Workshops

Socio-eco innovation by co-designing products & services Co-design4… is a series of inter-connected workshops facilitated by Alastair Fuad-Luke.

The co-design loop’s three pronged strategy which focuses on experiencing, problamatising and solutioning will be used to nurture collaborative exchanges. Co-design means ‘designing together’ therefore multi stakeholder and interdisciplinary action will be facilitated to develop holistic practice.

The workshops are aimed at:

…Design professionals …Design educators …Other professionals working within the sustainability arena …Design and other post-graduates …Socio-preneurs and eco-preneurs …Social and commercial enterprise managers …Sustainability managers or officers

There are 8 scheduled workshops with workshop 9 FREE to any participants in attendance to the previous workshops. Student rates are available.

Workshop 1 Eco-efficiency & Eco-effectiveness, 01 May 2009 The Venue: Hub King’s Cross, 34b York Way, London, N1 9AB, UK Tel: +44(0)20 7841 3450 Visit the website for further information

Trendy Workshop

Trendy-workshop.com is co-founded by Tristan de Montebello, a french fashion platform designed to allow users to design their own clothing and share their designs with other users within the trendy workshop community forum.

I think a lot of retailers are beginning to realise the potential in mass innovation v mass production. As consumers begin to use these co-creation methods, will we see a trend toward more personalised goods and services? I think so. I also think that the clothing will be regarded with deeper consideration as the consumer has invested time and effort into the design process…

However, as the clothing is being produced  China its makes me questions some elements of the supply chain?

The Power of the Crowd

I found this video on youtube of the opening of the Primark store in Oxford Street. I was just amazed by the rush of the crowd… it shows the consumers determination to seek out fashion must haves on a budget. There are so many people rushing around and I think the video illustrates the impact and power of the crowd…

Just imagine what a difference we could make if we all worked together to engage in fashion! So many people coming together with shared goals could influence big change!

Co-Creation Quote

Illustration by JoyNevada

“I believe a desirable life depends on our deliberatly choosing a life of action, over a life of consumption, on our engendering a life style that will allow us to be spontaneous, independent, yet related to each other, rather than maintaining a lifestyle which only allows us to produce and consume.”

Ivan Illich (1970)

Learning to Love You More

Digital media is changing the consumer experience. No longer are we led by super brands telling us what we need and when we need it. We are becoming more educated about the reasoning behind the goods and services we buy into – allowing us to make informed decisions.

The way we engage with goods or services is changing as technology advances. We now have many more opportunities to connect with others on a global scale to share skills, ideas and experiences.

I came across an interesting project called “Learning to Love you More” by artists Harrell Fletcher and Miranda July. They have created a web platform which present a series of 70 assignments and member’s of the public are invited to complete any/all of the assignments using film, photography or text. The submissions are curated and posted on the “learning to love you more” website. Since the launch of the project in 2002, over 8,000 people have participated and some of their work has been included in exhibitions which have been shown in venues all over the world. A book has also been written and curated by July and Harrell, presenting some of the content.

Some of the assignments are open to interpretation and prompt thinking about relationships, society, our environment, memories, feelings, experiences, people… This is a lovely example of participatory practice, allowing the public to creatively engage and collaborate. The project presents beautiful insights into human experience and interactions showcasing how people think, act and love.

The Clothes Show – Guide to Swapping

Swapsies – what’s mine is yours

“Sisters, sisters, never were there two more devoted sisters, caring, sharing every little thing that we are wearing…” song by Irving Berlin

Clothing has caused so many rows between my sister and I when we were growing up… never did we think we would speak the words “what’s mine is yours” out loud!

My sister and I are only a year apart in age and through our childhood we were always dressed in the same (sometimes different colours, but always the same clothing). The downside to being the youngest is that she had to wear the outfit longer by wearing my ‘hand me downs’ as I grew out of them. My Mum is not one to be wasteful would get the last possible wear out of each piece of clothing before handing over to friends or charity shops.

We can recollect times when family dropped in clothing that no longer fitted our older cousins. We used to ransack the bag with delight – it was always something new to us and we found it exciting.

As fashion has become more accessible, prices have dropped and people don’t always associate a great deal of value to their clothing. If a top costs £3 and the trousers £5 why go to the effort of passing it on – when someone can buy an outfit for less than £10?

With the gloomy reality of being in the midst of a recession consumers are being encouraged to buy into clothing that is more durable, classic and will last the test of time. Will this bring back trading, swapping and exchanging?

My sister and I’s relationship to clothing has changed and we now work as a team. We recently started doing “swapsies” where I take a bag of clothing over to her house or mine and we trade. Similar to when we were children in the playground and traded sweets  we called the process “one for one”.

I recently came across a website founded by Judy Berger in 2004, called “whatsmineisyours.com” –  this online community allows users to upload clothing, while other users bid their interest to purchase or exchange something in return. I think this is an exciting way to update or refresh your wardrobe without spending a fortune. It also brings people with a genuine love for fashion together to exchange style tips and value clothing.

We Think

The Value of User Generatated Content

We attend many different talks and presentations as PhD students this week – as a first year students we only spectate and poise question’s at the end of our colleagues presentations. I don’t think one talk so far has connected completely with my practice as a whole but I feel I can make connections by relating methods, process and application of practice. Its also inspiring to see other PhD formats and how they approach their research problem.

There are so many talks I couldn’t possible write about them all – therefore I am only highlighting one todays which I connected with and found thought provoking.

The student Brita Pollmuller introduced “Machinima – making movies in a virtual world”.

She is using Second Life as a platform to participate within an educational group called Schome. The group is strictly moderated and supports teenage learning within a digital environment. Brita’s presentation highlighted how youths of today are engaging with technology. They are using new language of ‘terminology‘ to describe their practice and process and becoming more design savvy as a result of growing up surrounded by digital technology which has becomes integral to their daily rituals.

It fascinates me that a six year old can pick up a games console and just play…

No instructions are required, they subliminally just ‘know’ what to do. Brita highlighted the playful element and how this inspires youths to engage more freely. She presented some beautiful examples of movies made by her students, whom remain anonymous and adopt alias characters to present themselves within the digital community.

I began to think about other platforms for co-creation. For example, PlayStation home and the game “Little Big Planet”. The game LBP presents a platform for co-creation, allowing players to construct their own levels within  digital world. The design team are reviewing player generated worlds and even scouting new level designers – from user generated content!

I asked Brita about these other methods and if she thought this had scope for future investigation. She facilitates participatory practice within Second Life to make movies – can Little Big Planet or similar games be used in the same way to nurture creativity? Can an Artist/Designer facilitate practice to educate consumers through digital frameworks? Another student in the audience stated that Sony heavily audit and regulate user generated content therefore there are limitations into what can be achieved.

There are many current debates about regulation and intellectual property? Who should profit from user generated creativity? If Sony design and produce the tool –  are the right to stake ownership over the outputs?

I think further research, practice and reflection needs to be done to resolve these issues. The main issue is accessibility – to make co-creation accessible to a mass audience it needs to be presented in a functional way designed for mass participation. Sony may regulate the content but they do provide a platform for creativity and if that allows a 6 year old to design their own game level – it has real value. I think there needs to be a balance between real time/digital worlds to support co-creation and children/teens and adults can learn more from real time social experience and interactions. But, if a design framework presented through gaming platforms nurture and support creativity we can reach exciting results  – push boundaries?

If anyone has any insight or debates into this  – please comment!

Harahuku Girls

Image Illustrated by Joy Nevada

Well they inspired the words for Gwen Stefani’s Love, Angel, Music Baby and some even accompanied her on tour.  “Harajuku Girls” can be found in the Harajuku district in Tokyo, Japan and are legendary for their style. They epitomise street style and are inspired by things like manga anime, video games and pop culture. There are many different styles from Gothic Lolita, Gothics Maid, Wamono, Decora, Second Hand Clothing and Cyber Fashion.

I first heard about them when I subscribed to the Japanese publication Fruits – a fashion magazine that catalogued the Harajuku Culture and fashion. The magazine was later edited into two books with little words – just beautiful photography of these bold ensembles.

What I like about Harajuku girls is their bold fashion choices and freedom of expression. They are creative and resourceful in seeking out key pieces and trinkets to create new looks. These fashion parades also represent emerging trends inspired by new technology. Inspired by computer games – they utilise technology to adapt their looks.

As they gather in groups – texting, blogging and playing digital games they remind me of the show Gossip Girl. Their relationships between fashion and technology are similar only its a different kind of fashion and they are using technology to communicate different messages.

The harajuku girls are also experts at DIY fashion – everything is customised to create a unique, bespoke look. Their bold self expression makes them iconic – style is style and fashion may be fashion.

Harajuku Girl – you got style!