Please review our current list of FAQs. If you have a new questions you need answered, please email info[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: FAQ
What is the Design Democracy website and who and what is it used for?
DD08 is available to any individual, professional or consumer, and it is available to any enterprise or organization. The user-ship, however, is a singular experience. The website will attempt to promote mass customization concepts as they relate to furniture and product design. In the future we hope the website will become a resource for product design and a manufacturing/fabricating community.
What happens after 08’?
DD08 will continue beyond the calendar year. This is a continuing effort to positively affect the manufacturing model as it exists today. We appreciate your support and participation in this endeavor.
Is it really this simple?
Yes. It really is. If you'd like a lengthier answer with a photo please read our Aboutpage.
How do I participate?
Participation is easy, just create a user account, submit a design and start sharing your ideas. If you would like to understand the technical specs for submission please visit the Example page.
What if I no longer want to participate?
Well, you have a couple of choices. You can discontinue use of the website or you can have the content you uploaded removed and have your account permanently deleted. Contact us at admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: REMOVE USER. For security and privacy purposes you will be asked to verify information that confirms your user identity before removal.
OK, how do I submit my designs?
It’s easy, you submit one design at a time. However, you may submit as many design as often as you choose to.
Simply go to “Submit Design” on the main page and follow the instructions. You must be a “DD08 citizen” which means you need to have a user account and login to create content.
All right, I followed the instructions. Why do you accept some file types and not others?
You can submit your viewable design in just about every file format we could think of. If we missed some file types please email, info [at] dd08.com.
In regards to the supporting files that you can choose to upload here is the rundown:
We have chosen files that in one-way or another support manufacturing software and or equipment.
We cannot interpret every file type but we have attempted to allow for as many extensions as we can manage, not all of them are our personal favorites either.
We have attempted to allow users who do not have access or choose not to use digital programs for designing an acceptable way to participate;
these users can upload a text file to describe in accurate detail the sizes, dimensions, etc within their designs.
Eventually the supporting file will be an enabling file for manufacturing allowing us to capture data from the design accurately and thus provide information like costing, and engineering and assembly parameters.
Can I really get my ideas produced just from a drawing or picture? If my design is not chosen to be prototyped can I still get it made?
Yes, you really can - that’s how many objects get started. Start is the operative word. DDO8 is only the beginning of the making process, depending upon the level and amount of information you provide, production may take longer and require more engineering. Right now we are attempting to prove that there is a demand for Mass Customization. There is currently not a feature that allows for a user to get a quote and initiate production. As we move forward the goal is to incorporate features such as cost analysis and quoting, as well as production times for those parties interested in the realization of their products. This is why we have created an area for you to upload a supporting file, which can be used in the future to facilitate manufacturing.
Why don’t you allow all users to view the supporting files?
We do not allow users to view or capture the data because the supporting files will often contain proprietary information in regards to proportion, size, and the unique characteristics that would be regarded to as intellectual. We want to protect not only your privacy but your ideas as well.
I’m worried someone is going to steal my next BIG IDEA and copy my design what should I do?
The idea of sharing your ideas and enterprising yourself will always have an associated risk. The model of the website is to promote the sharing of ideas and individualism. It would be very unlikely that a third party would attempt to capture your information and then profit from it; this is because of an inherent associated cost. If someone wants to have your table made because he/she really enjoys the look and design of the object they will have to pay the cost associated with manufacturing a given design. The details, such as the supporting file for your design do not need to be included in your submission. Your support files will NEVER be available to another user. We along with all users have a vested interest in protecting one another. For instance; if your design becomes a favorite and a third party attempts to monopolize on your design they are not only affecting you but everyone who’s efforts have been involved. That’s a lot of people who are interested in protecting the intellectual property of each other. If you do discover a fraudulent misrepresentation you may provide a detailed description and contact us at badcitizen[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: BAD CITIZEN. You must include your full name, valid email address, telephone contact information, and user name in the email. You must identify only one representation per email. Any abuse or misrepresentations regarding false claims will result in termination of a users account. After an investigation the issue will be resolved.
Is this a competition, I mean the whole idea of making pieces of furniture for the ICFF? It sounds like there is going to be winners announced?
No, this is not a competition; this is a symposium and a yearlong event to promote a better, healthier, more sustainable way to make products. The products that will be chosen for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair will be based upon a wide variety of criteria. Context Furniture and industry experts along with the dd08 user-ship will attempt to identify designs that demonstrate not only good design sensibility but also design that illustrate mass customization and sustainable forward thinking within product design. We are also looking for designs that challenge our assumptions and require our own critical thinking. Yes, we will be giving the pieces to the individuals who designed the pieces as a thank you for their efforts and participation. We want the world to change and providing a free service to someone for his or her idea seems like the right thing to do. (No we will not continue to do it for free, we just cannot do it.) We are also committed to representing all of the DD08 users that is why we continue to use language that everyone will be represented at the ICFF, but we just have not decided how we are going to do this exactly : )
Would you ever sell my design?
We will absolutely not sell your design to a third party, because it and its copyright belong to you. However, there is the future possibility of licensing your design for sale, if mutually desirable. That process would involve setting the terms of an arrangement with royalties and fees payable to you, the owner. You can sell your design, manufacture on your own, etc. at any time you choose with whomever you choose however you choose. For more information on the licensing agreements and royalty fees check back here as new features become available.
Will you sell any of my personal information?
No. Your privacy is very important to us. As new features are added to the content of the website transactions are entirely possible, you the user will ultimately have control over how you, your information and your content are handled. It is important to note that we are creating a symposium and a public venue for individuals to share and exchange ideas. How information migrates through different channels of communication can only be know as time moves forward. You can view the Design Democracy ‘08 privacy below.
Is this really a democracy?
We believe in democracy. In a Design Democracy each individual has the right to access the marketplace with their own design concepts.
Can I vote for myself?
You sure can, but only once a day from the same IP address. The same applies when voting for other designs as well. You can vote early and often but the results are averaged. The best way to increase your ranking is to encourage others to vote for you. You can add your entry to your favorite social networking sites with the button links provided below the submission image.
This is the web site of www.designdemocray08.com & www.dd08.com
Our postal address is:
Design Democracy 08 c/o Context Furniture
104 W 4th Street
Royal Oak MI, 48067
We can be reached via e-mail at info[at]designdemocracy08.com
or you can reach us by telephone at 248-200-0724
For each visitor to our Web page, our Web server automatically recognizes the consumer's domain name and e-mail address (where possible). We collect the domain name and e-mail address (where possible) of visitors to our Web page, the e-mail addresses of those who communicate with us via e-mail, the e-mail addresses of those who make postings to our chat areas, aggregate information on what pages consumers access or visit, user-specific information on what pages consumers access or visit, information volunteered by the consumer, such as survey information and/or site registrations.
The information we collect is used to improve the content of our Web page, used to customize the content and/or layout of our page for each individual visitor, used to notify consumers about updates to our Web site, shared with other reputable organizations to help them contact consumers for marketing purposes.
With respect to cookies: We may use cookies to store visitors preferences, record session information, such as items that consumers add to their shopping cart, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, alert visitors to new areas that we think might be of interest to them when they return to our site, record past activity at a site in order to provide better service when visitors return to our site, ensure that visitors are not repeatedly sent the same banner ads, customize Web page content based on visitors' browser type or other information that the visitor sends. We store information that we collect through cookies, log files, clear gifs, and/or third party sources to create a “profile” of your preferences. We may tie your personally identifiable information to information in the profile, in order to provide tailored promotions and marketing offers and to improve the content of the site for you. We would only share your profile in aggregate form only.
If you do not want to receive e-mail from us in the future, please let us know by writing to us at the above address or emailing admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: REMOVE EMAIL
From time to time, we may make the e-mail addresses of those who access our site available to other reputable organizations whose products or services we think you might find interesting. If you do not want us to share your e-mail address with other companies or organizations, please let us know by writing to us at the above address or emailing, admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: DO NOT SHARE
If you supply us with your postal address on-line you may receive periodic mailings from us with information on new products and services or upcoming events. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please let us know by writing to us at the above address or emailing, admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: REMOVE POSTAL. Please provide us with your exact name and address.
Persons who supply us with their telephone numbers on-line may receive telephone contact from us with information regarding new products and services or upcoming events. It is highly unlikely that we will use a telephone call to contact any user for any marketing purposes. If we collect your telephone number it would most likely be used to contact you personally in regards to questions pertain to your submissions. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please let us know by writing to us at the above address or emailing, admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: REMOVE PHONE. Please provide us with your exact name and phone number.
With respect to Ad Servers: To try and bring you offers that are of interest to you, we may develop relationships with other companies that we allow to place ads on our Web pages. As a result of your visit to our site, ad server companies may collect information such as your domain type, your IP address and clickstream information. For further information, consult the privacy policies of: Anyone that we use for add banners
If you wish to subscribe to our newsletter(s), we will use your name and email address to send the newsletter to you. Out of respect for your privacy, we provide you a way to unsubscribe. Please see the “Choice and Opt-out” section.
We will send you strictly service-related announcements on rare occasions when it is necessary to do so. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance, we might send you an email.
Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive them, you have the option to deactivate your account. You may opt-out of these communications. Please see “Choice and Opt-out.”
Upon request we provide site visitors with access to contact information (e.g., name, address, phone number) that we maintain about them, a description of information that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging into your valid user account and selecting the edit feature. Please be sure to include your user name as it relates to your email address.
Upon request we offer visitors the ability to have inaccuracies corrected in contact information, transaction information only if acceptable. Consumers can have this information corrected by revising your user info through your valid user account or emailing, admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: UPDATE ACCOUNT INFO.
With respect to security: We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical, virtual, and off-site facilities to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we have collected from you at our site. If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may write to us at the above postal address.
On occasion we may provide you the opportunity to participate in contests or surveys on our site. If you participate, we will request certain personally identifiable information from you. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you therefore have a choice whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information would typically include contact information such as name and shipping address, and demographic information. We may use a third party service provider to conduct these surveys or contests; that company will be prohibited from using our users’ personally identifiable information for any other purpose. We will not share the personally identifiable information you provide through a contest or survey with other third parties unless we give you prior notice and choice.
If you choose to use our referral service to tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for your friend’s name and email address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time email inviting him or her to visit the site. Your friend may contact us by writing to us at the above address or emailing admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: REMOVE MY EMAIL
From time to time, we may use customer information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future we will post the policy changes to our Web site to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our Web site periodically, we will post the policy changes to our Web site to notify you of these changes and we will use for these new purposes only data collected from the time of the policy change forward. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our Web site periodically.
Customers may prevent their information from being used for purposes other than those for which it was originally collected by e-mailing us at the above address, contacting us at admin[at]designdemocracy08.com, subject line: DO NOT SHARE