Interactivos?'15: Culturas materiales en la era digital
Name (of applicant):
Libre Objet
Surname:
Comments(optional)
Libre Objet is a collective composed of Julien Deswaef, Mathieu Gabiot, Martin Léveque.
If selected, Julien would be attending the whole 2 weeks, while Mathieu and Martin could only attend 1 week.
City
Brussels, New York
Country
Belgium, USAhttp://pad.constantvzw.org/public_pad/LO-interactivos15
Phone number
+1-646-427-4897
Email address
hello@libreobjet.org
Web page address(optional)
http://libreobjet.org
Project title
A manual to get started making libre and open source objects
Open guide into open objects
Keywords
libre, open source, manual, book, licenses, examples, resources, introduciton, collective, object
Project summaryTry to describe your project in a clear and concise manner. This is the text that will be published in the web, should your proposal be selected.(max. 3000 characters including spaces)
We want to collect your experiences with open source product design and condense it into a manual to inspire others to join the movement.
The term "open source" is becoming a trend among product designers. We see websites and initiatives appear here and there with a lot of good intentions but sometimes missing the point and often creating confusion. Design magazines and blogs are always rushing into calling an openly published creation "open source" but rarely talk about the license or propose schematics or design files to download. What is the difference between DIY and open source design? What is open making? I want people to use my objects but not make money with it? How do do you make a living with open source design? If I publish my design files on the internet, is it then open source by default? Where can I find open source objects I can download and modifiy? How can I modify a design and then publish it again under my name? How do I know this object I use is open source or not? Why should I learn about open source design? Why is everyone so excited about it?
During the past 3 years of existence of the collective Libre Objet and the many workshops we organized, we have constantly heard these questions and spend a lot of time trying to explain these somehow difficult concepts, if you don't have a long experience with libre sotfware. There is a lot of info to digest and not really a comprehensive documentation so far that could help someone get in the train of libre product design. With the time available during Interactivos and the diversity of people joining for these two weeks, we plan to make together the "manual to get started making and publishing libre and open source objets".
Ideally, the manual should cover all the topics and questions that a novice would have. So, to make this book, we will then talk about definitions, gather examples, compare approaches, mention creation tools, cover available licenses, point out the common pitfalls, suggest methods of distribution, invent workshop subjects and forking challenges,... The manual will be created in a collective manner, with as many authors as participants, using open source tools such as "Booktype", "Etherpad" or similar, and will be released under an open source license. A special interest will be also put into making the full process of printing and publishing the book as an open object in itself, or at least get as close as possible to that objective.
We hope that this tool could be a base for teaching and learning about open source product design, a collective memory of what one should know today to get started and join the movement, a reference students, amateurs and professionals would have in their back pocket when they go out to explain what they are passionate about.
Technical requirements
Internet, lots of paper, post-it, writing board, laser printer, an open Booktype/Etherpad instance somewhere.
Profile of collaborators needed (ie. programming, ...)
Many collaborators needed with various experiences in open source, making, crafting, designing, writing, licensing, teaching, publishing… People with no experience also welcome.
Schedule
Day one: Mindmapping the structure of the manual
Day two: Discussions, methodologies, definitions & task distribution
Day tree to seven: Interviews in other groups, reading, writing, searching, discussions
Day height to ten: layout experiments, text reviews and corrections
Day eleven to thirteen: layout and print tests
Day fourteen: final print and distribution
This schedule will be subject to change depending on participants' expertises and interests.
But overall, we should split the time available in 3 equal parts: collecting information, condensation & writing, layout & print.
Documentation(optional)
(optional) Visual documentation (max. 3 files)
Other attached files (max. 3)
Short bio(max. 1250 characters including spaces) (J'ai du réduire car trop de caractères)
Libre Objet is a group of industrial and graphic designers, hackers and artists founded in 2012 by Mathieu Gabiot, Martin Léveque, Raphael Bastide and Julien Deswaef. We all share a common question about open source industrial design, processes and products resulting from our work, with the aim of providing tools for accessing a free philosophy applied to the manufacture of objects.
http://libreobjet.org
Mathieu Gabiot studied product design at La Cambre, Brussels and has been publishing many of his work under a Free Art License. www.mathieu-g.be
Martin Léveque studied product design at La Martinière Diderot in Lyon and then worked for a time with Xavier Lust. In his research, Martin tries to integrate environmental and social aspect in his designs. be.net/martinleveque
Mathieu and Martin just founded a design company called "Nonpareil". www.nonpareil.be
Julien Deswaef studied digital arts at St-Luc, Brussels and has been making video installations, unidentified web objects, scenographies and other multi-media projects. He found a passion in libre technologies, collaborative practices and the challenges of copyrights in the digital ages. Julien has also published open source furniture designs. www.xuv.be
Curriculum Vitae(optional)
Motivation and expectations
Having a manual like this could be an essential tool for anyone willing to teach open source design. This could be something that participants take home or that individuals could download as a reference. It could also be a motivator for anyone willing to start making libre objects but not knowing how or where to start. Practical experience and experimentation is important, but sometimes, you want to have something to read, something to make you think about what you do. The experience we have from workshops is that, although we spend some time explaining definitions, licensing, distribution, financing,… this takes time to understand and to digest. The manual would be something that people could come back to, after a workshop, when they have a sudden question about some aspect that they did not grasp during a workshop.
Doing this at Interactivos in Medialab would be an ideal situation. The short time frame would help focus on the task. But mostly, the large group of participants and project leaders present at the time would add an incredible amount of value and experience to the whole process. This is maybe the best opportunity to grasp as much of knowledge and insights from such diverse approaches and try to condense it into a book that could benefit all.
The point here is not to make a bible, or the perfect manual, but to gather examples, point of views, tricks and suggestions that could help readers understand what open source product design is about and to answer the most common questions.
For everyone involved, this would also be the oportunity to help write the first manual of its kind and bring home a piece of knowledge they can distribute and be proud of.
Julien already has an experience of Interactivos and also has participated in a booksprint, so he feels confident about the project and its success in such a context.
Technical knowledge
None required.
Will you need accommodation?
yes