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Introduction

What if you could press a button and have a machine build you any product you wanted? What if the knowledge that has long been the domain of engineers and industrial designers were freely available? What if all of us had the means and the know-how to modify our physical environment, to tweak and subvert the objects produced for us by designers and manufacturers?

A new generation of hardware hackers, more concerned with manipulating physical materials than cracking codes, is concerning itself with precisely these questions, and is making steady progress towards new models of production and consumption. These hackers have developed low-cost 3D printers, organized in hackerspaces, and built vibrant and creative communities, both online and offline.

Designers have not remained indifferent to this phenomenon. There are already several cases of cross-pollination where designers have experimented with open source creation and customization, trying to come to terms with the hacker’s vision of the future.

This book will examine both common histories and persisting misunderstandings between hackers and professional designers. By digging deeper into how designers have come to terms with DIY and hacking, I hope to uncover shared ground on which the two creative communities can work together.