DESIGN FOR MASSES?
MASS PRODUC
PRODUCTION By masses (by people) For masses (for people) In mass (quantity) or combinations of the above three
CTION Production by masses is considered to be democratic, as the power is distributed in the hands of people. Production in masses should then simply refer to the production of large quantities, regardless of their use/consumption.
Production for masses is necessary to fulfill the needs of the mass. Production for the masses in many ways correlates with the industrialized manufacturing units, which are setup to produce common goods consumed by masses.
KEY ELEMENTS •Automated •Mechanised •Standardised •Bigger target audience •Low cost •Sustainable in terms of efficiency •Inclusive design
NOTE/ Mass production lead to simplified tasks. Since, each production line has a specific set of tasks, each person is designated a specialised task to perform. This promoted specialisation and generalisation was degraded from the advent of mass manufacturing.
MASSES
With a population of around 7.7 billion people on this planet, the definition may vary from region to region. I would assume ‘masses’ refers to a crowd of people that cannot be counted based on the individuals.
MASS CONSUMP
CONSUMPTION By masses (by people) In mass (in quantity)
PTION Consumption by the masses is more of a comment on overpopulation, than on how much they need. If large no. of people exist, they will need to consume the basic requirements to stay alive, and maintain health. Eg. Brush.
Consumption of masses (also consumerism) can be related to the concept of consumerism and gluttony.
What is the relationship between mass production & mass consumption Population has been ever-growing. If everyone has to survive, it is inevitable that they have to consume the resources available to them. Where do we draw the line of how much does a person consume? How much can we consume based on the limited resources we have?
The balance between resources, consumption, production and population is essential to understanding how much can we consume, and how much we should consume. In an egalitarian society, how much we need to consume should dictate how much we need to produce.
Since, this relationship relates to societal, political, economical, social, ecological issues, it’s important to understand a few terms.
Throwaway Culture According to Google, the throwaway society is a human society strongly influenced by consumerism. The term describes a critical view of overconsumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items over durable goods that can be repaired.
A snapshot from the film Pirana (by Nainisha Dedhia, student National Institute of Design) of Ahmedabad’s dumpyard.
Waste Management
Pre-cycling/ Source Reduction Precycling is the practice of reducing waste by attempting to avoid bringing items which will generate waste into home or business.
Reduce Reuse Recycle
Reduce Reuse Recycle Repair Recondition Remanufacture Refuse
World Overshoot Day Humans have used up more of Earth’s resources than it can regenerate within one year as of Aug. 1, 2018, according to the Global Footprint Network.
Global Recycling Disposable Crisis Income China has closed their borders to be the west-world dumpyard and the G7 countries are facing a crisis of recycling their products.
Income remaining after deduction of taxes and social security charges, available to be spent or saved as one wishes. Mass production has increased the disposable income. hence, the richer become richer and the poor becomes poorer.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
INDUSTRY 4.0 The future of Manufacturing Industry 4.0 is a name given to the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing.
According to Wikipedia, Industry 4.0 is the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is defined as the ability to sustain, both for the current and future context.
This was the time when globalisation, industrialisation and capitalism didn’t take over the world.
One can go back to the concept of a village. A village was utterly sustainable. Everything that came in, went to the Earth back in the rightful manner or got reused. It is interesting to observe it was based on a Zero-Waste strategy and circular economy.
It is balancing without exploiting the harmony of human and natural resource, for both the current and future potential. It’s about achieving the beautiful balance. I would refer Decentralisation to be an important subset of Sustainability.
An illustration by Manoj Kothari, co-founder Turian Labs on his zero-waste flow of materials in his village.
x,y,z,a x,y,z,b
x,u,w,a x,u,w,c
MASS CUSTOMI x,y,w,b x,v,z,a x,y,w,c y,v,z,a
a
“Developing, producing, marketing and delivering affordable goods and services with enough variety and customization that nearly everyone finds exactly what they want” - Joseph Pine, 1992 in his book ‘Mass Customization: The New Frontier of Business Competition’
IZATION In simple words, mass customization is customization at various stages of the production process. So, it no longer needs to be a linear x,y,z,x,y,z combination of tasks, it can have iterative differentation as well as flexible to customization in the hands of the customer.
A graphical representation by thesismusen representing the before and after situation of mass customization.
Mass customization can be involving customers at various levels. It can be involving them at stages of supply, production, post-production, delivery and customization from their end.
Though, various tages prove to be of great benefit to the customer psychologically and reduces the risk of inappropriateness, different levels of their involvement will lead to different results.
PROSUMER PROSUMER (person) = Produces + Consumer It is derived from “prosumption”, a dot-com era business term meaning “production by consumers”.
These terms were coined in 1980 by American futurist Alvin Toffler, and were widely used by many technology writers of the time.
PROSUMERISM & Participatory Design Participatory design (originally cooperative design, now often codesign) is an approach to design attempting to actively involve all stakeholders (e.g. employees,
partners, customers, citizens, end users) in the design process to help ensure the result meets their needs and is usable.
In 1943 Ingvar Kamprad started first as a mail sales business. established IKEA as a global brand. His unique approach to business still guides millions of people.
IKEA in the last 30 years have rapidly expanded globally with recently entering one of the world’s biggest market - India.
203 million
Unique
names applicable all
49 countries products are
tested for
422 stores
around the world
957 million people
catalogue
printed in an year
Vertical Integration
in an year
49 countries
10th biggest retailer in catering
“DEMOCRATIC DESIGN” Design for everyone. Accessible. Affordable. Not compromising with the quality & functionality. (Nowadays, Sustainable )
THE CHALLENGE
v/s
Strategy Low cost Design for everyone
CREATIVITY V/S COMMERCIALISM
CUSTOMIZABILITY
with AFFORDABILITY
IKEA/ Bauhaus of today? Ikea can be considered the Bauhaus of today. Walter Gropius had a vision of designing for everyone, which alligns with the model of IKEA.
THE CHANGING SCENARIO Recently, IKEA has proved to be up-todate with the flexibility in the system to be more sustainable and meet the needs of the new-age customer. Be it Hanna Kareena’s Imperfect Vases. Selly Raby Kane, an amalgamation of different cultures. Tom Dixon’s new age bedcum-sofa or Isle Crawford’s humane and tactile collection. “African rituals meet Scandi” Selly Raby Kane x IKEA
DELAKTIG SOFA - Designed to customize Tom Dixon x IKEA
Design with Individuality Hanna Kareena x IKEA
Designed to engage your senses Isle Crawford x IKEA
3D printed ceramics experiments by Dutch designer Olivier van Herpt. By introducing elements of randomness he intends to reintroduce error, a human touch, stochasticity.
‘My fundamental hope from everyone is putting people first and that can be done at an individual level” - Isle Crawford
BEING HUMANE & BRINGING VALUE