The Digital Craftsman and his Tools, paper

Paper accompanying the talk Dries Verbruggen gave at the All Makers Now! conference in Falmouth UK. Find the PDF of the article here.

"From knife to hammer to 3D printer, the influence of tools on a design is not to be underestimated. In his essay ‘Tools’, originally published in 2000 in a book covering the work of LettError, a collective of two Dutch typographers, Jan Middendorp (2000) argues for the importance of creating your own tools. He refers to the fact that a craftsman, the predecessor of the designer, was never completely satisfied with the tools that were sold in shops. ‘They always had the tendency to personalize their tools, to appropriate them by honing them, converting them or expanding them. The more specialized the work, the greater the demand for customized or individually made instruments.’ Yet for a long time the instruments of production have been closed systems, discouraging appropriation. This is now changing..."

Paper accompanying the talk Dries Verbruggen gave at the All Makers Now! conference in Falmouth UK. Find the PDF of the article here.

"From knife to hammer to 3D printer, the influence of tools on a design is not to be underestimated. In his essay ‘Tools’, originally published in 2000 in a book covering the work of LettError, a collective of two Dutch typographers, Jan Middendorp (2000) argues for the importance of creating your own tools. He refers to the fact that a craftsman, the predecessor of the designer, was never completely satisfied with the tools that were sold in shops. ‘They always had the tendency to personalize their tools, to appropriate them by honing them, converting them or expanding them. The more specialized the work, the greater the demand for customized or individually made instruments.’ Yet for a long time the instruments of production have been closed systems, discouraging appropriation. This is now changing..."