3D Printed Shoes: The Instant Shoe Concept Proposes Perfectly Tailored Footwear

Technology is progressing such that we are suddenly able to 3D print personal products from vending machines adapted to each individual’s particular genetic make-up.

3D Printed Casts are Changing the Way Bones are Healed

Simplified, user friendly and opensource software is available that increasingly allows consumers to either design their own products or alter an existing design to order highly customized products. As desktop 3D printers become cheaper and more prevalent, a growing consumer base will demand virtual products they can print out themselves without having to interact with a physical store.

Cubify Desktop 3D Printer

This type of practice is already commonplace design world as it allows the exploration of a wider range of possibilities as in futuristic home-printed apparel.

The Freedom of Creation Textiles Shown Permanently at MoMA

Dita Von Teese fully articulated 3D Dress was Created Specially for the Model

In this emerging market, segmentation becomes more extreme and more critical. Competitive advantage can be achieved by moving from targeting broad demographics to targeting specific individuals and focusing intently on maximizing and expanding their identity. Global, virtual shopping behaviours lower the barriers to matching niche companies with highly specified consumers. This is especially true in light of mass data and machine learning capabilities which can be harnessed to target behavioural habits.This type of differentiated strategy enables the company to position itself so that it uniquely solves the problems of its targeted consumer set and avoids the need to engage in competitive price wars with other firms.

Lego has created a campaign which segments the market based on gender. The process of segmentation inevitably has far reaching societal impact because of the pervasiveness of commercial products. The degree of influence over targeted children is far more critical than it would be in adults as they are in the process of developing patterns of thought that will stay with them the rest of their lives.

Essentially any segmentation of the population results in the creation of cultural stereotypes which inform our perceptions of each other. The process is inherently distancing; it threatens to lessen our connections to each other. It erodes our awareness of the fundamental truth of our shared humanity. The danger arises when people fail to put in the effort to truly get to the individual and revert to accepted norms. When we are trained to identify with our own “in” group then we perceive outsiders as lesser.

A little girl who is conditioned to choose the pink product to reinforce her gender identity will have greater difficulties down the road if this identity is threatened in some way through encounters with non-traditional behaviours, or desires that are not heteronormal. It also causes her to shy away from products targeted at boys which can be crucial in developing the hands-on skills and spatial problem solving abilities needed later on for careers in lucrative male-dominate industries.. While the product seems to satisfy an existing demand niche for “girly” toys, these practices feed established oppressive patterns of patriarchy. The marketers have the power to influence the next generation and create a more equitable society, so perhaps they also have the responsibility to do so. Of course, consumers also have a responsibility to careful scrutinize, educate their children and vote with their purchasing power