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04 May 2017
Modern design was invented by industry. The advent of mass manufacturing separated the design process from making. When the objects we needed were created by hand, they were made locally, often to bespoke specifications. Design and making happened simultaneously with craftspeople making decisions and adjustments throughout the process; managing what designer David Pye called the ‘workmanship of risk’.
Read more03 May 2017
The Factory Floor has its origins in the Industrial Revolution, a period of massive growth in manufacturing that changed how Britain worked. At the start of the 19th Century, Robert Owen was at the forefront of this change. When Owen became a partner at the New Lanark Mill – the largest cotton factory in Scotland – discipline among his workers was poor and management was enforced through verbal and physical abuse. He believed in a more compassionate approach and introduced a new way to monitor and improve performance. He called it the Silent Monitor.
Read more02 May 2017
Dundee Design Festival producer Siôn Parkinson speaks with founder of Make Works, Fi Duffy-Scott, about their collaboration setting up the Designer x Residency programme, launched for the first time in this year. Make Works are an open access online platform that allows anyone to find manufacturers, material suppliers and workshop facilities in their local area. Started in Scotland in 2012, Make Works now teaches other places, such as Birmingham, Bristol and Bath how to do the same thing. Siôn and Fi met at Make Works HQ in Glasgow.
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