Hi this is Duann and I will be joining the Shapeways team and will be contributing with blog posts, on the forums and generally discussing Shapeways, 3D printing and the democratization of design.
As way of introduction and to let you know a little of my background, I am currently a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia, my research is focused on ‘Mass Customization and the Democratization of Product Design’ especially online tools and the communities surrounding them. Whilst undertaking this research I also work as an industrial design consultant on a wide variety of projects ranging from jewelry to furniture, touchscreen kiosks to children’s playgrounds, museum and retail interiors to large scale public sculpture. Throughout all of my professional practice my passion is the use innovative materials and processes to produce aesthetically resolved and humanized objects and spaces.
What excites me about Shapeways and the services it offers, is the opportunity for more people to have access to these advanced tools of manufacture. To see what can be achieved by an individual with a great idea, without them having to invest thousands in tooling or have their idea diluted and normalized by a third party. Shapeways empowers the consumer to create meaningful objects that can express and emotion or function like no ‘off the shelf’ object can.
My contributions to the Shapeways Blog will initially focus on these areas, of the democratization of product design, interesting examples of industrial design, jewelry, art and interior design using relative tools but I would really appreciate your input, comments and criticism to ensure we stay on track and keep you all up to date with relative information.
Look forward to working together
Duann
Image above is Go you little dynamite go by Michael Kutschbach a sculpture 3D modeled for production.