It has been more common to associate the words revolutionary and platform with communications technologies than with design, as social media went from obscurity to ubiquity in about five years. But Tom Dixon is working flat out to change any such perceptions by using the latest manufacturing processes and software applications to spearhead a digital industrial revolution.

Showcased at Luminostity, part of MOST, Dixon’s new lighting designs have been formed in large part via digitally controlled mechanical processes.

But consumer participation is integral to Dixon’s latest work, and his designs ultimately allow a multitude of configurations, through co-design software, and in the assembly of the final objects by the end user.

Visitors were welcomed into the design conversation and given an opportunity to modify the objects they are consuming; this offers us a glimmer of what manufacturing on demand might look like.

To accomplish this project, Tom Dixon joined forces with Digital Forming Studio to create a “Co-Design Bar” where visitors could customize and digitally print their own lamps.  The Co-Design Bar brought an interactive element to the exhibition, the stand sparked an imaginative flare in passing visitors

The exhibit emphasized the manufacturing process as much as the end product and invited visitors to use 3D computer programming applications to create one-off lighting designs.

As visitors used the 3D software to produce their customized designs, they were treated to an illuminating view of the industrial design process. Once a design is completed it will be produced and transformed into flat-pack lamps, and within just a couple of weeks they’ll be shipped off to their new homes.

Co-Design Bar hosted multiple workstations that enabled visitors to create and purchase bespoke lamp shades or speaker covers at the click of a button.

“You can sit back and enjoy the experience because Tom has already done the majority of the work. All you need to do is alter the design as little or as much as you prefer and the Digital Forming team will be on hand to assist your needs.”