Milano Design Week 2024

Each of them has found the means to do this by recognising how large industrial organisations are being replaced by new, smaller and flexible factory models that combine artisanal agility with the precision of digital technology. This opens an "alter-modern" era of industrial artisans that represents the beginning of a new approach to product design and production. Like the musician who freed himself from record companies or the author who can self-print his book in small quantities, designers now find the facilities to develop and produce their ideas without the interference of an intermediary client.

 

The beauty of diffused industry

Today is marked by rapid technological changes and the consequent availability of sophisticated production tools. Large industrial organizations are being replaced by new, smaller and more flexible factory models. This means that design and engineering companies have easy access to manufacturing facilities that combine artisanal agility with digital precision and industrial optimization. Like the musician who freed himself from record companies or the author who can now print a book in small quantities, designers are finding ways to develop and produce their ideas without the interference of an intermediary client.

This opens an "alter-modern" era of industrial artisans that represents the beginning of a new approach to production. When the workplace is a hotbed of ideas, the fusion between the artisanal and industrial models gives the possibility of creating objects in limited editions with extreme precision and care. The small scale and easy access to distribution networks mean that research, design, and development activities can be carried out by autonomous and interconnected groups, each with their own skills.

Unlike traditional industry, which developed linearly and divided work internally into repetitive tasks, industrial artisans are parts of networks made up of variable relationships and exchanges between people and places, sometimes far away. In this diffused way different skills and people can work towards a common goal. Ideas and research are easily fed into production networks and distribution channels. Decisions are made quickly, and the work environment is a community that opens the door to one of the most satisfying ways of being a designer: seeking and finding ways to make things.

- George Sowden