Open P2P Design
While Open Source software has already developed various viable business models and design processes, other Open or DIY projects (like Hardware, Design, Public Services, Open Business, ... ) are still trying to define their best practices. In order to develop new kind of projects that radically changes the way we design, we need new design tools and processes. Moreover, if an open project can be modified in different localities, there may be the need to take into account this. Different cities and regions could have different materials, tools, companies, services and especially different culture and practices. Design tools and processes should be then carefully organized and modifiable by anyone.
Luckily, we can also use the same design tools and processes that we have now in order to build the new ones: this is what designers call metadesign. Metadesign is an emergent design culture that focus its activities more on the design tools and processes than on the final design projects; it is a critical and reflexive thinking about the boundaries, techniques, goals and contexts of the design practice. What is important to note now, then, is that developing new tools is not a difficult and only for professionals practice, instead it should be done more than often, as a reflexive thinking on what we are designing and how we are designing it. Furthermore, it is important to develop such new processes and tools collaborating together, adopting an Open Source strategy and P2P social dynamics.
These reasons are behind the development of Open P2P Design, a metadesign methodology that was first developed in 2005/2006 as Master of Science in Industrial Design degree in the Faculty of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). It has been in the process of testing and development since then, and currently its development process is part of a research at the Media Lab (Department of Media) of the Aalto University – School of Art and Design, Helsinki (Finland). The main idea behind Open P2P Design is that we co-design an open and p2p process with communities, in order to make it ft for the specific local context. For example, if we want to focus on Open Design projects, then the process is a design one (that will eventually lead to Open projects). Furthermore: it's not only a design process, but it's also a prototyping and manufacturing one, in the broader sense; it's about organizing an open process and about making it real at the same time. In this way, it is possible to co-design, run, test and modify an open process in a collaborative way.
Open P2P Design basically brings open source and peer-to-peer dynamics inside a community-centered design process, in order to have real co-design projects with people and their communities. We can use Open P2P Design for co-designing Open Design processes or commercial or public services with open and peer-to-peer dynamics, starting from communities and involving them inside the design process. We can also use it for analyzing an existing business and opening to collaboration some of its activities, or design new ones in order to start a collaboration with a community of users.
Technology, tools and the sharing of information alone are not enough for setting up successful open organizations: we can co-design such open organizations, tools and technologies with the active participation of communities that will use them. Since every locality and its communities have different features and needs, different available resources and knowledge, it is important to think about the proper design tools and processes carefully, and redesign them if necessary.
More resources about Open P2P Design:
- http://www.openp2pdesign.org/
- http://www.slideshare.net/openp2pdesign
- http://www.scribd.com/openp2pdesign
- http://issuu.com/openp2pdesign
If you want to discover more about Open P2P Design, please have a look at these resources:
