People are doing it for themselves
David Weightman, Deana McDonagh · 2003
To date, the objective of creating pleasurable products has concentrated on designers articulating and interpreting user needs as part of the product creation process. This paper explores approaches to enable users to adapt, modify, specify or create products to match their needs directly. Using the potential of new technologies, active consumers can now become product creators, paralleling developments in graphics, music and digital media production. Empowered users, self-builders, recreational manufacturers, web-connected silver surfers (retired individuals using the web) and punk manufacturers [1] all exemplify this new relationship between users and products, and the evolving role of designers [2].