Designing for the Prosumer

 The gradual distillation of historical aesthetic influencers have arrived to their 21st century iteration, the Prosumer. The concept of the prosumer is a hybrid of the two terms consumer and producer but the term maintains a rich cultural history that led to the modern day reemergence. 

Concept

The prosumer looks to archival tastemakers and wishes not to repeat the discourse of others but rather to continue the dialogue. Standing on the shoulder of the giants before them, Prosumers found a field of significance within contemporary society.

Abstract

In this thesis, I draw connections to form a cultural taxonomy that displays how many generations of creators have been fruitfully producing + consuming simultaneously. By which in effect, have cross-pollinated to produce many overlapping ideologies in lifestyle and design. The new characterization of this phenomena that I am observing is an endlessly emergent personal ethos that is still nebulous, quietly forming in the shadows; a meta-theory. By examining the prosumer’s ethics, lifestyle, community and influence I propose they are informing the professional designers who construct the visual realties of today and the near future. To inform this research I reference historical French aesthetics, personal grooming theories and the methodologies of human centered design to further validate my observational research. Moreover, I am theorizing a possible new and nuanced definition of the prosumer to show how they influence culture and design.

Intent

My goal in drawing these connections is to illuminate their connection to near future and innovative designs. I will be discussing how designers, and myself, take inspiration from the prosumers’ creative energy and lifetstyle ethos. Further more I will elaborate upon how this reciprocal exchange of inspiration allows designers to design and deliver better products and services to prosumers, by creating a more experiential lifestyle.