Designing the New Industrialism | Amit Kudtarkar | TEDxUTA
The presentation argues that current industrial technology is ushering in a "new industrialism" that blends the low-cost variety of mass production with the personal expression of craftsmanship, empowering individuals to build and shape their own worlds. This transition is exemplified by individuals utilizing digital fabrication techniques, such as building a $350 prosthetic hand, which challenges the multi-billion dollar R&D spending of established industries. The speaker concludes by urging an embrace of this technological shift to unleash personal creativity for collective betterment.
## Speakers & Context
- Unnamed speaker; gave the talk at TEDx UTA in 2015.
- Inspired by Chris bangle, the former head of design at BMW.
## Theses & Positions
- Technology's advancement is changing us culturally and societally, moving beyond mere electronics to impact human creation.
- The current system moved from a handcrafted world to an industrial world to achieve lower costs and higher profit margins, sacrificing individual craftsmanship and culture in the process.
- The coming shift is a "new industrialism" that aims to combine the low-cost benefits and innovation of the industrial world with the culture and individual contribution of the handcrafted world.
- The core human need remains the desire to express oneself and unleash creativity, which was previously restricted by a lack of technology.
- The purpose of leveraging technology is to gain a voice in shaping one's world and enabling collective change.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Industrial World:** A system characterized by mass production, standardization, low costs, and high variety.
- **Crafted World:** A historical model emphasizing individual craftsmanship, pride, and unique personality in goods.
- **Globalization:** The phenomenon observed in kitchenware where different regions (Japan and America) featured identical pans.
- **Digital Fabrication Technology:** Modern tools (3D printers, laser cutters, endmills, CNC equipment) that allow for complex, customizable object creation.
- **Maker Spaces / Fab Labs:** Physical locations where individuals can learn and utilize these new fabrication technologies without needing professional engineering or design backgrounds.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Industrial Shift Mechanism:** Driven by the need to lower costs and increase profit margins, leading to standardized, mass-produced goods (e.g., Walmart pots and pans).
- **Craftsmanship/Creativity Unleashing:** The means to realize personal, individual designs that were previously impossible due to technological limitations.
- **Company Co-design/Crowdsourcing:** Companies (like Local Motors) soliciting designs from the public to participate in the development process and gain marketing benefits.
- **Self-Empowerment through Tech:** Utilizing accessible technology (internet, camera, 3D printing) to create professional or high-value items without needing institutional support or large corporate budgets.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Ancient Period:** Characterized by handcrafted goods (e.g., Greek pottery found in modern Britain).
- **Past 100 Years:** Transitioned into the Industrial World, prioritizing efficiency and low cost.
- **Period Leading to 2015:** Culmination in the current stage of "new industrialism," marked by the emergence of accessible digital fabrication tools.
- **Near Future:** Anticipated acceleration of technology adoption, similar to the rollout of GPS and cell phones.
## Named Entities
- **BMW:** Company mentioned regarding its former head of design.
- **UTA:** Institution where the speaker was giving the talk (TEDx UTA 2015).
- **Local Motors:** Example of a company utilizing crowdsourcing for design.
- **East Side Chapel:** Location of the individual who built the prosthetic hand.
## Numbers & Data
- Age of prosthetic hand builder: **19**.
- Cost comparison: Original prosthetic hand cost was **$80,000**; self-built version was **$350**.
- Cost of 3D printer at the time: **$1,000**.
- Estimated income from toy reviews: **$1.3 million** every year.
- Time needed to print a decal: **five minutes**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Ancient Greek Pottery:** Intricate, unique, utilitarian items showing local craftsmanship.
- **Walmart Pots and Pans:** Mass-produced, standardized items designed based on popularity and broad market appeal (e.g., a specific shade of red appealing to 68% of kitchen designs).
- **The 3D Printer:** Demonstrated ability to create complex items affordably, contrasting with earlier limitations.
- **Evan's YouTube Channel:** 8-year-old utilizing the internet/camera to create content and build a brand, circumventing traditional media gatekeepers.
- **Toy's R Us:** Example of a large corporation with minimal online presence compared to independent creators like Evan.
- **Prosthetic Hand:** A 19-year-old building a functional, superior hand for $350, contrasted with corporate R&D spending.
- **Local Motors Car Design:** A company allowing public input to design off-road vehicles, benefiting from the community's creativity.
- **Keychains/Stickers:** Small examples of customization people still desire, indicating a residual need for personal expression.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **3D Printer:** Device capable of fabricating objects from digital models.
- **Laser cutters, Endmills, CNC equipment:** Digital fabrication tools forming the core of modern manufacturing capability.
- **Digital Fabrication Technology:** The overarching suite of tools enabling customizable, on-demand manufacturing.
- **Fab Labs:** Physical "maker spaces" providing access to digital fabrication technology to the public.
- **Internet/Camera:** Used by independent creators to build platforms and distribute content (e.g., Evan's YouTube channel).
## References Cited
- **Chris bangle:** Former head of design at BMW, who inspired the speaker.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Old World:** Handcrafted goods = personality, individual contribution, culture (high cost, low scale).
- **Industrial World:** Mass production = low cost, high variety, efficiency (low personality, low culture).
- **New Industrialism:** Combining both by making advanced fabrication tools accessible to individuals, allowing for personalization at scale.
- **Buying vs. Making:** The choice between buying a standardized item (e.g., phone case) versus expressing self through creation.
## Methodology
- Using visual evidence (Greek pottery vs. Walmart items) to demonstrate historical shifts in industrial methodology.
- Presenting case studies (prosthetics, Local Motors) to demonstrate the current application of decentralized, technology-enabled creation.
- Utilizing the concept of "accessibility" (Fab Labs, affordable tech) as the mechanism for future change.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Embrace the "new industrialism" by utilizing accessible digital fabrication tools.
- Recognize that human creativity and desire for self-expression ("Our voice is in it") must be integrated into the economic model.
- Final guiding principle: *design creates culture culture shapes values values determine the future.*
## Implications & Consequences
- The failure to adopt these decentralized technologies keeps human creativity restricted and undervalued.
- Industries spending billions on R&D (like medical prosthetics) risk being disrupted by nimble, self-taught, technologically enabled individuals.
- The shift empowers the average person to participate in value creation, moving from passive consumer to active producer.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I want to talk about how those pieces of Technology are changing us but you and I of course but culturally societ societally how it's going to change what we do and Chris bangle the former head of design at BMW got me super fascinated with this topic."*
- *"Notice that there's no personality there's no character there's no individual craftsmanship in it right."*
- *"We became an industrial world and we started with this handcrafted world where things are made there's an element of craftsmanship to it and a lot of Pride and personality that came out."*
- *"what we gave up was this this whole world that we had this culture this this individual contribution from each one of us."*
- *"this is a 3D printer... I could print anything I could do anything."*
- *"I can come in you can learn the technology you can figure it out you don't have to be an engineer you don't have to be a designer to say I want to build something I want to make something..."*
- *"The point here is not that Evan is a YouTube Star... he's utilized the technology around him."*
- *"It's really important that's the point of this talk is if we can get our voices out there and if we can unleash our creativity to create our ideas how can we change our own worlds for the better"*
- *"design creates culture culture shapes values values determine the future"*