Chapter 12: A Reconceived Digital Workflow: A Case Study
Today’s designers are inundated with a plethora of CAD/CAM software capable of meeting a variety of needs within the design process. In academia, it is commonplace for students to learn as many as 10 different software applications in order to develop their designs from conceptualization to digital model and, ultimately, to the production of a material output. With each shift from one application to another, the risk exists for valuable information to be lost in order to suit the limitations of the chosen software.
Emergent innovations in digital design tools are compressing the design workflow and allowing for greater flexibility and variability. Within the scope of these software options, parametric design tools have garnished increased validity and applicability across various disciplines of design: they afford the benefit of adaptability within the design process as well as highly customizable outcomes. Despite their recognized value, these tools remain secondary to their established counterparts. Designers are required to side-step through an inefficient series of procedures as they translate data between programs. In order to generate design outputs in a truly efficient manner, design practice (and, subsequently, design education) must capitalize on the potential of parametric software that supports a streamlined flow from design conception to production.
Through a case study, this chapter will explore how such a system was applied from design conceptualization to fabrication of a bespoke furniture object — the Earthquake Bench. The Earthquake Bench project utilizes a “simplified” digital workflow in which the entire process, from design to fabrication, was parametrically programmed and remained intact until the file was sent to the manufacturer, thus ensuring that all changes were consistently updated throughout the process. The case study identifies the shortcomings and benefits achieved from this process, as well as how this proposed system may begin to reshape design practice and education.