Design management for the direct digital textile print industry: the development of a framework for measuring the conditions in managing change

摘要

Currently the textile industry is experiencing a phase of digital change. This changeimpacts upon the production of printed textiles with greater scope for applyingimages onto fabric, also prompting the question; what is the role of DesignManagement in this changing environment?The Design Management framework required to assess these changes needs toaddress the dynamic areas of identity, communication, evolution and creativity.Direct digital print technology can readily be dovetailed with body scanning, lasercutting, on-demand production etc. all of which impact upon the managementframework required to address these conditions. Designing “for” the customer,evolving to designing “with” the customer is now within the scope of Direct DigitalTextile Printing. As technology leads to integrated design approaches to end productthe changing identity of textile design to a more encompassing design practiceensues.This investigation is approached from an experienced professional DesignManagement perspective; the focus is the development of a Design Managementframework that is applicable to the breadth of business operations and theenvironmental influences that this digital textile situation encompasses. The personalproblematic that stimulated this study - Is the Direct Digital Textile Print industryalive or not? - requires, in its basic form, an understanding of the definingcharacteristics of ‘life’. Dealing with this personal research question requires anunderstanding of this biologically located question.This research is conceptually based on “autopoiesis” (self-organization) presented byMaturana and Varela (1980): Formerly contained to biology but more recentlydeveloped to embrace a world view. The theory of metaphor is examined andconflated with the conceptual frame work, particularly in regards to the learningorganisation. Eight case study participants: designer, management and client,addressed a series of questions leading to the generation of a dynamic framework forDesign Management. A selection of congruent methodologies including thegeneration of a series of hypothesis was designed through a qualitative approach tocreate the proposed dynamic Design Management framework.A reflective section concludes this study that indicates applications of this research inthe emerging field of Design Management practice which in turn lead to a teachingand learning proposal.