Barney Townsend
Senior Lecturer, London South Bank University
MPhil research student, Royal College of Art
Email: barney.townsend@gmail.com
Biographical Info: I studied BSc Engineering Product Design and MSc Enterprise at London South Bank University, where I still teach in the Department of Engineering and Design. I am now an MPhil student in the Innovation Design Engineering Department at the Royal College of Art, with Ranulph Glanville and Neil Barron as my Supervisors.
Am am researching the resurgence in user innovation that has been boosted by recent developments in affordable additive manufacturing systems and online innovation communities. The project will examine the blurring of definitions between the amateur and the professional designer, and the role of intellectual property paradigms in user-designed products.
The objective of my research is a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which the professional designer can facilitate the consumer in the creation of unique or innovative products, the development of tool kits to enhance the process, and the mapping of viable business models that can be employed to capitalise on the creative potential of the consumer.
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