Endogenous design and alternative sites for manufacturing digital artifacts

Abstract

As is becoming increasingly apparent, society faces the need to dramatically transition the ways in which we provision both our goods and our social needs. Headlines are filled with articles listing the debilitating societal effects of aspects of social media and the environmental costs of resourcing our consumerist lifestyles. Many proposals exist regarding the local commissioning, production, and consumption of objects in order to address these issues. However, there are limited examples of how this might be implemented regarding goods of a digital nature and the application of endogenous motivation on behalf of the consumer to encourage stronger forms of sustainability to emerge. To investigate this premise further, this paper proposes an opportunity that allows exploration of endogenous design in a protected niche environment, reviews alternate, emergent design approaches, and ideas of endogenous or intrinsic motivations and social practice. Finally, it outlines the potential of conducting this research.