In only a year Bhold, founded and lead by former Google staff member Susan Taing, has rapidly progressed from Susan’s first commercially available 3D printable design the Bsnug to become a widely recognised company that has received accolades, including no less than an Editor’s Choice award from MAKE, residence at the NYC Museum of Arts and Design, a video appearance on the New York Times, and a personal showcase at the Whitehouse Maker Faire in June. Bhold’s innovative business model includes Bhold Labs, which takes a collaborative approach to community-based design. Now, Bhold and Ultimaker are teaming up to take this concept to the next level.
MIT & Stanford graduate Susan Taing has continued to create ripples with her functional household and lifestyle objects with her innovative business model over the brief, but notable, course of her time in the world of three dimensional printing. Susan “loves exploring the interaction between art and science, of aesthetics and practicality, of relevance in our daily lives and timelessness.” Ms. Taing shared with Ideamensch that her aspirational design work has been inspired by her favourite designers John Maeda and Stefan Sagmeister and brands Muji and Alessi. The shear inventiveness of the company’s online catalogue speaks volumes for the genuine design talent behind Bhold’s business. That in-house talent is further augmented by a design-community driven model named bhold Labs.
Bhold Labs provides participants with the opportunity to 3D print prototypes to beta test in person, to give feedback that will help direct the course of the final product design. This collaborative approach to design has many benefits to offer, honing the design by group-think, communally brainstorming the features and functionality of the various printables to create a product that fulfills the needs and desires of the end user. The community approach isn’t limited to owners of prosumer printers either: even if you don’t own your own machine, contact Bhold and they will add you to a shortlist of beta testers, and, if you are selected, you will receive prototypes by mail for your feedback.
As Ms. Taing shared at the launch of Bhold Labs at Sculpteo, the 3D printing service that provides Bhold’s professional grade prints: “At bhold, we believe in responsive product design, a design approach that takes into account real user feedback during the design process. Unlike ordinary design processes, which can take months if not years to put out new designs, Bhold labs uses the speed and flexibility of 3D printing to innovate on how products are created today. We value real usability testing and would like to invite you to participate in this exciting new industry!”
Now, Bhold has announced a partnership oriented around the popular printer manufacturer Ultimaker to provide a platform for anyone around the globe with a printer to output prototypes and give their Labs’ feedback. Prototypes will begin to be uploaded to YouMagine.com, Ultimaker’s community, having just started by the time you read this article, with the final launched in December.
Ultimaker’s Matthijs de Deugd says, “3D printer owners, whether they’re a professional, a hobbyist or a first-timer, are always looking for new, inventive ways to use their 3D printer. We think this is an excellent way for them to interact with the latest 3D printing technology and our machines, to see a new crowd-sourced product come to life through their feedback.”
Ms. Taing explained: “I admire Ultimaker’s advanced hardware and open source philosophy which has led them to have one of the strongest, most supportive communities in the maker movement to date. I’m excited to take Bhold’s product design to the next level through thoughtful feedback from their community.”
If this sounds like your cup of tea, a good opportunity to participate in some excellent design work in a group setting, you can apply to be a Labs prototype tester at bhold.co/labs.
