Hybrid re Assembage : bridging traditional craft and digital design

Hybrid
 reAssemblage
 is
 a
 design
 gestalt
 that
 lies
 at
 the
 cross‐section
 of
 digital
 design
 practice
 and
 the
 tactile
 qualities
 of
 traditional
 craft.
 It
 spans
 a
 territory
 in
which
 the
 value
 of
 artifacts
 is
 produced
 through
 automated
 production
 as
 well
 as
 human
 subjectivity.
 This
 work
 is
 an
 exploration
 of
 two
 divergent
 realms:
 that
 of
 emerging
 computational
technologies,
and
traditional
hand‐hewn
practice.
Hybrid
reAssemblage
 proposes
 a
 new
 way
 of
 thinking
 about
 the
 machine,
 as
 generator
 of
 control
 and
 efficiency,
 and
 the
 unpredictable
 and
 singular
 nature
 of
 the
 raw
 and
 the
 manual.
 I
 illustrate
Hybrid
reAssemblage
through
three
diverse
projects:
 FreeD
 is
 a
 digital
 handheld
 milling
 device
 for
 carving,
 guided
 and
 monitored
 by
 a
 computer
 while
 preserving
 the
 maker’s
 freedom
 to
 manipulate
 the
 work
 in
 many
 creative
ways.
It
reintroduces
craft
techniques
to
digital
fabrication,
proposing
a
hybrid
 human‐computer
interaction
experience.
In
addition
to
the
technology,
I
present
a
user
 study,
demonstrating
how
FreeD
enables
personalization
and
expression
as
an
inherent
 part
of
the
fabrication
process.
 Chameleon
 Guitar
exploits
 a
 selection
 of
 acoustic
 properties
 via
 a
 set
 of
 replaceable
 resonators
 and
 by
 a
 simulated
 shape,
 merging
 real‐wood
 acoustic
 qualities
 with
 a
 simulated
 guitar
 body.
 It
 marries
 digital
 freedom
 with
 the
 uniqueness
 of
 acoustic
 instruments,
 and
 demonstrates
 a
 hybrid
 functionality
 platform.
 Focusing
 on
 the
 production
 of
 sonic
 qualities,
 this
 project
 is
 evaluated
 acoustically,
 pointing
 to
 the
 significance
of
attention
to
detail
such
as
craft
and
wood
qualities.