Hybrid Products

Steve Benford

University of Nottingham

The

Carolan

Guitar

Headstock Top Soundhole Fret-marker

Soundboard Back Heel

Carolan as a physical-digital hybrid

Carolan as a technology probe

In the luthier’s workshop

Visiting homes

Writing & recording

Performing & learning

On the road

How a rich digital footprint adds value to a product

From owners to custodians

Multiple, personalised and contextual mappings

Fixed versus fluid links

Mementoes and proxies

Reflections

Mappings, customisation and appropriation

Original artefact

Immutable links

propagate content

Mutable links allow appropriation

Acknowledgement gives credit

Harvested data adds value Appropriated

artefactRecursively

appropriated

Another view of hybridity

Goods Services

ExperiencesThings you

remember

Things

you

own

Things

you

have

done

for you

Personal data

blends goods,

services and

experiences into

smart products

Another view of hybridity

Goods Services

Experiences

Christmas with Artcodes

96

6

78

5

1

2

Scan own calendar

Total: 196

Share

calendar

Total: 51

Scan shared

calendar

Total: 42

Customise

digital

Total: 86

Scan custom

physical Artcode

Total: 24

14

28

5

14

14

14

5

What our consumers did

Physical possibilitiesDigital possibilities

shallowdeep deep

Program

Tailor Digitally wrap Craft

Map content Physically wrap

Assemble

Decorate

Broad customisation

Consumption chainSupply chain

Manufacturers Retailers Prosumers Consumers

End-to-end customisation

Map content

Program

Tailor

Assemble

Decorate

Craft

Physical affordancesDigital affordances

Wrap (digitally) Wrap (physically)

Stakeholders

Digital customization Physical customization

= emerged

??

?

? = questioned

Retailer

Prosumer

Consumer

Manufacturer

= imagined= designed

A customisation map

Map content

Program

Tailor software

Assemble

Decorate

Craft

Physical affordancesDigital affordances

Wrap (digitally) Wrap (physically)

Stakeholders

Digital customization Physical customization

= designed = emerged = imagined ? = questioned

Retailer

Prosumer

Consumer

Manufacturer

Family and friends sharing

Map content

Program

Tailor software

Assemble

Decorate

Craft

Physical affordancesDigital affordances

Wrap (digitally) Wrap (physically)

Stakeholders

Digital customization Physical customization

= designed = emerged = imagined ? = questioned

Prosumer

Consumer

Manufacturer

Craft kit

Map content

Program

Tailor software

Assemble

Decorate

Craft

Physical affordancesDigital affordances

Wrap (digitally) Wrap (physically)

Stakeholders

Digital customization Physical customization

= designed = emerged = imagined ? = questioned

Retailer

Prosumer

Consumer

Manufacturer

?

?

?

Media channel

Producers ConsumersCo-creating

Value

Personal data powers

smarter, differentiated, adaptive

and intelligent products

Personal data captured from use

in the wild drives agile

design and production

Hybrid products as co-created

Celebrity endorsed signature editions Reliced models

Hybrid products as socially connected products

Identifying brands and instances

From guitars on Facebook to the Facebook of guitars?

The question of

fair and

transparent use

of personal data

Especially across

multiple

custodians and

other

stakeholders

Perspectives on hybrid products

… as physical-digital systems

… as blending goods, services and experiences

… as templates for co-creation

… as being socially connected