Independent design and DIY products have been growing rapidly in recent years. There is a increasing interest in buying products that are created in limited numbers, or in a local store or shop. These producers are starting to make an impact in traditional industries and large businesses. My thesis examines the Indie creators and the values around which they build their business. I have attempted to use these values to establish a set of new design processes.

This project has followed a path of living as an Indie creator while studying others involved in the movement. Then I used my experience to extract insights about the motivations and values of Indie. Through these insights I then moved into the area of urban cycling. I then attempted to use the extracted values to design a set of products and services for the modern urban cycling community.

The research methods used included a great deal of ethnographic research methods. These methods include formal and informal interviews, self documentation, and secondary research. Primary research focused on understanding the values and motivations of the Indie creator in a variety of fields outside of design, including art and music.

This project explored a wide scope of Projects and design within the Indie movement. Ultimately the final direction of the thesis focused on showing how industrial design can benefit from the values of Indie creators and utilize the set of new processes I have formalized.

AD 521 - Adv Industrial Design, Prof. Bruce Tharp