If all goes to plan it should be about five weeks until the frame and forks are ready, which is why I set today as the deadline by which I had to decide what colour the frame will be painted. Because I’ve gone for a lugless construction there’s no possibility of accent colours, so this should have been a relatively easy decision. On the other hand it’s a bike that I hope will last me a long time, and since this is a bespoke item it’s one which I want to reflect my personality to some extent, certainly more than an off-the-shelf model.

Although it might seem a bit backwards, one of the things driving my decision was that I’d already ordered a set of Velocity Deep V rims in orange. I’d seen these rims on a Surly Steamroller in NYC Velo last year, and my first thoughts were to copy the colour scheme but with orange rims instead of red.

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One of the basic assumptions of my PhD’s hypothesis is that as rapid manufacturing technologies (by which I mean, primarily, 3D printers) become more affordable, and as the quality of parts they produce approaches that of mass manufacturing technologies, consumers will want to start using them. They’ll begin by taking products apart and making their own plastic covers, then sharing or selling the files so that others can recreate their designs. Part of my research is likely to look at what position manufacturers and brands take towards this consumer enthusiasm - do they embrace it or do they try to stamp it out. But assuming that at least some companies are enlightened enough to take the first position, another significant question is how consumers will actually begin to design their own products.

According to Alison Black of the UK Design Council,

“The central premise of user-centred design is that the best designed products and services result from understanding the needs of the people who will use them”

Rather than relying on market research or simply gut feeling, a user-centred design approach requires the designer to engage directly with the consumer, interviewing them about their specific requirements and observing them in situations where a proposed product would likely be used. Other designers have taken this even further, advocating the inclusion of users in the design process, critiquing designs and adding ideas of their own in a sub-category of user-centred design often referred to as consumer co-design.

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Trendwatching.com is a research network which aims to spot emerging trends worldwide. Along with its sister network Springwise, it’s one of my favourite sources of what’s-going-on information, mainly because unlike most trend research agencies it gives most of it’s findings away for free. Today I saw they have published their annual report of important trends for the coming year, one of which is ‘Make it Yourself,’ or MIY.

The report itself doesn’t contain that much new information, highlighting Ponoko, Fab Lab BCN (the Barcelona manifestation of Neil Gershenfeld’s Fab Lab), and Front’s Sketch Furniture as evidence of the trend having gone mainstream,

“with millions of consumers uploading their creative endeavors online, and tens of millions of others enjoying the fruits of their creativity”

The end quote is interesting though:

“we’re not saying every consumer is going to design and manufacture his or her own furniture or appliances. Rather, MIY is yet another piece of the participation puzzle: enabling those consumers who feel like it to call the shots, bypassing traditional players.”

I’ve read some research papers which suggest what kind of consumers are interested in customising or designing their own products, but I’ve not yet come across any data which quantifies these consumers. One of the most interesting things about Ponoko is that it allows consumers to not only design but also sell products, such that consumers who perhaps do not have the creative skills to design their own products can nonetheless support those who do. Most interesting of all though, in my opinion, is the Threadless community, where consumers similarly limited in skills are often invited to comment and make suggestions as to how a design might be improved.

Yesterday I took the first step in a project that I’ve been thinking about for a year or so now, which is to custom build a bike. Although this won’t strictly be part of my PhD, I’m hoping the process will tell me a lot about the differences between bespoke design and mass customisation, with the advantage of course of ending up with a really nice (and unique) machine at the end of it.

Whilst most of the parts will be standard or mass customised components, the frame will be hand-built. It’s being made by Mercian Cycles in Derby, and yesterday I met with John Eley, who went through my requirements, measured me up, and explained the options I was unsure about (such as the difference in ride characteristics between straight and curved forks). One of the things that interests me about this project is how much I’m required to learn in order to make the right decisions - on a personal level it interests me because I love bikes and cycling, but in terms of my research I hope to find out how a consumer’s level of expertise might dictate the customisation experience they are offered.

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