Jewellery Between Product and Experience: Luxury …
13
London gallery of Louisa Guinness, demonstrating that this technology also fits the
needs of art.
The introduction and diffusion of digital communication and production technologies—has entailed a radical change which has affected the very notion of artefact,
luxury and sustainability. Aesthetics and technical skills have now been joined by
the ethical selection of materials, respect for the environment and the protection
and promotion of the joint cultural and traditional heritage associated with the surrounding territory. Biology, chemistry and engineering have greatly contributed to
the identification of solutions favouring sustainability, thanks to the development of
new materials that are either recycled or made of biocompatible and biodegradable
natural fibres, as seen with the pieces made in 3D printed PLA by Maison 203;
digital technologies, however, can also supply some solutions which may make the
production more sustainable.
Indeed, digital technologies have favoured the transition from centralized and
large-scale systems of design and production to decentralized or distributed systems
in smaller units and connected to the network [17]. The production distributed on
demand reduces the resources used, the costs of production, packaging, transportation
and even the waste of finished products that remain unsold. The artefacts are therefore
territorialized, and they are produced closer to the final consumer, thus reducing the
pollution linked to the use of superfluous resources and to transportation.
Modern design arose from industrial chain production with great output and
brought about the aesthetic standardisation of the industrial offer, whose only lingering value resides in its very brand name; design’s widespread presence and distributed
production, however, Srai et al. [15] do not supply only products, but also services
which are instrumental in the creation of customized objects, and which actively
engage consumers by educating them and stimulating their creativity. The serial production of the finished product is replaced by the design of models, digital platforms
and semi-finished products which may be modified, customized and finished by the
consumers themselves.
The attribution of an active role to the consumer, his involvement in the practical
definition of the artefact, makes him more sensitive to the problem of waste. Technology has led to a massive penetration of design into the everyday life of consumers,
who have progressively taken on a much more active and critical, more attentive and
responsible role and claim the right to be able to take part in the creative phase [7].
The dynamics surrounding the cooperation and web-based design stage is somehow steeped in an ‘achronic dimension’ [13], in which the various stages may overlap: the implementation and creation stages take place simultaneously, and it is
indeed possible to consider also the design, production and distribution stages as
synchronous. The design aspect expands and moves from a closed to an open condition and consequently evolves from being a personal expression of individual talent
to a collective profession [3]. The ‘open’ qualification applied to digital design needs
to be contrasted with industrial design, whose output is by definition closed: in serial
production, the object is defined conclusively, and the creator and the interpreter
coincide in the same person [7].
13
London gallery of Louisa Guinness, demonstrating that this technology also fits the
needs of art.
The introduction and diffusion of digital communication and production technologies—has entailed a radical change which has affected the very notion of artefact,
luxury and sustainability. Aesthetics and technical skills have now been joined by
the ethical selection of materials, respect for the environment and the protection
and promotion of the joint cultural and traditional heritage associated with the surrounding territory. Biology, chemistry and engineering have greatly contributed to
the identification of solutions favouring sustainability, thanks to the development of
new materials that are either recycled or made of biocompatible and biodegradable
natural fibres, as seen with the pieces made in 3D printed PLA by Maison 203;
digital technologies, however, can also supply some solutions which may make the
production more sustainable.
Indeed, digital technologies have favoured the transition from centralized and
large-scale systems of design and production to decentralized or distributed systems
in smaller units and connected to the network [17]. The production distributed on
demand reduces the resources used, the costs of production, packaging, transportation
and even the waste of finished products that remain unsold. The artefacts are therefore
territorialized, and they are produced closer to the final consumer, thus reducing the
pollution linked to the use of superfluous resources and to transportation.
Modern design arose from industrial chain production with great output and
brought about the aesthetic standardisation of the industrial offer, whose only lingering value resides in its very brand name; design’s widespread presence and distributed
production, however, Srai et al. [15] do not supply only products, but also services
which are instrumental in the creation of customized objects, and which actively
engage consumers by educating them and stimulating their creativity. The serial production of the finished product is replaced by the design of models, digital platforms
and semi-finished products which may be modified, customized and finished by the
consumers themselves.
The attribution of an active role to the consumer, his involvement in the practical
definition of the artefact, makes him more sensitive to the problem of waste. Technology has led to a massive penetration of design into the everyday life of consumers,
who have progressively taken on a much more active and critical, more attentive and
responsible role and claim the right to be able to take part in the creative phase [7].
The dynamics surrounding the cooperation and web-based design stage is somehow steeped in an ‘achronic dimension’ [13], in which the various stages may overlap: the implementation and creation stages take place simultaneously, and it is
indeed possible to consider also the design, production and distribution stages as
synchronous. The design aspect expands and moves from a closed to an open condition and consequently evolves from being a personal expression of individual talent
to a collective profession [3]. The ‘open’ qualification applied to digital design needs
to be contrasted with industrial design, whose output is by definition closed: in serial
production, the object is defined conclusively, and the creator and the interpreter
coincide in the same person [7].