Design Is Dispelled And Reconstructed In Information Technology Environment

Nowadays the design environment is changing. The new technologies are increasingly introduced into our lives, and therefore, into the industrial design paradigm, where CAD/CAM systems, Rapid Prototyping and 3-D images make the design process easier and more flexible. In the meantime, more and more people are starting to pursue the diversity of smart products and looking forward to the individualized usability. On the other hand, the traditional design approach and mass production mode restricted designers to a confined space and enabled them only to provide a limited versatility of products that users were compelled to accept. In the past, designer used to learn users' need by observation and probe before starting design process. During this practice, the power of design was under the control of the designers and manufacturers. Their subjective judgments and experience were compelled to the users and the real individual demands from users could not be satisfied. In such circumstance, the designer was the center and authority of the whole design system, the user-centered design and restoration of the democratic design power to users could not be achieved. Currently, flexible production has provided necessary technical prerequisite for designing products for individuals, the advance of Rapid Prototyping and 3-D images make it possible for users without relative design knowledge to participate in the design team, not only in the phases of pre-design and design evaluation, but throughout the whole designing process where used to be the work domain of designers and manufacturers. With the support of the new technologies and the help of the designers, users are now able to conduct self-innovation design, hence, the role of users and designers are integrated and the wish for users to control the design power is achieved.