Framing Open Design through Theoretical Concepts and Practical Applications: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This study reports on the results of a systematic literature review on 'open design' in academic fields including and beyond design and HCI. The review investigates how studies are framed as open design and open-source design (including 'open hardware'): how researchers contribute to conceptual theorizing about open design or study its practical operationalization, in do-ityourself 'making,' manufacturing and practices in-between these domains. Most of the papers reviewed were empirical studies from diverse fields. Open design was analyzed not only as contributions and solutions, but also as open-to-participate processes, openly shared processes, and open, closed, and modular (open and closed) outcomes. Various research fields presented an open design framing as an alternative to the status quo: new ways to do business and/or to foster socio-environmental sustainability. On the manufacturing side, open design was sought especially to accelerate innovation cycles; on the making side, it was espoused to foster democratization. However, the studies reviewed indicated that companies do not appear to develop much beyond business-as-usual. From the research perspective, the conceptual potential of open design to promote sustainability saw little practical exploration. Additionally, issues around open design community governance Yekta Bakırlıoğlu

Upcycling Systems Design, Developing a Methodology through Design

“…Tacit knowledge and its association with experience were a strong point of the second case study (Kingdom Mutantis) where we had to engage with introspective writing to uncover the experiences and transformations that the luminous atmospheres triggered. The tacit knowledge and the sense of belonging in a community of makers [55][56][57] was central in the fifth case study as well (Kingdom Lapideum). Prototyping using digital fabrication tools [58,59] is an important strategy in enhancing sustainability.…”

“…The community around precious plastics is a part of the Maker Movement [53] a phenomenon connected to the design discipline since makers can be considered a new kind of designer, often working with open, peer-to-peer, distributed and DIY approaches [54][55][56]. Its preeminent characteristic is the bridging of the local and digital dimension through the collaborative and social nature of its activities.…”

Discussing Emerging Topics in The DIY Design of Healthcare Devices

“…The evolution of digital technologies has had an impact for design practitioners and researchers: directly, through the development of new manufacturing technologies such as digital fabrication (Gershenfeld, 2012) and the larger trend of digital transformation of business and management processes (Schneider & Kokshagina, 2021). Indirectly, starting from the success of Open Source Software (Weber, 2005) to its application to design with the Open Design (Bakırlıoğlu & Kohtala, 2019) and Maker movements (Dougherty, 2012) and to research leading to the current mainstream status of Open Science, which started from activism (Delfanti, 2013) and that has now been accepted as an integral part of the research strategy of the European Union (European Commission, 2016). These phenomena have had an impact on design in other sectors too, such as biology with the DIYBio/Biohacking movement (Delfanti, 2013;Keulartz & van den Belt, 2016;Landrain et al, 2013;Wohlsen, 2011), a further expansion and development of the Maker movement in biology (Tocchetti, 2012), or healthcare -that is patients facing technologies.…”

Open-Source Philosophy in Fashion Design: Contesting Authorship Conventions and Professionalism

“…Open-source fashion is related to the field of "open design", which is considered the most user-driven co-design activity, and is manifested in the hacker and DIY maker culture (Marttila & Botero, 2013, pp.105-106;van Abel, Evers & Klaassen, 2011;Hyysalo, Jenssen & Oudshoorn, 2016;Niessen, 2010;Bakırlıoğlu & Kohtala, 2019;Kohtala, 2016). While open-source fashion shares the same philosophical roots as open design, this paper does not discuss amateurism or user-centredness in fashion design.…”

“…Rather, we understand "openness" in a broader way, as consisting of elements drawn from the open-source philosophy (Vainio & Vadén, 2012). Unlike open design, which is characterized (at least partly) by anti-capitalism (Bakırlıoğlu & Kohtala, 2019), open-source fashion is also identifiable in the (mass-)customization and transparency practices of companies that operate within the capitalist system. Cutting-edge research on open-source fashion has focused on questions of sustainability and social design (von Busch, 2008;Niessen, 2010;Fletcher, 2008;Fuad-Luke, Hirscher & Moebus, 2015;McQuillan, 2018;Niinimäki & Hassi, 2011;Seppälä, 2017), as well as customizable on-demand production (e.g.…”