Makers, Hackers, and Really Building Stuff – The Maker Movement

Many of us have either seen or heard of the Maker Movement. But, who exactly are Makers? Makers are a group of engineers, designers, and creatively oriented product people who roll up their sleeves and tackle new hardware development projects. Many Makers come to the field from non-traditional career paths.

They rely on ingenuity, inventiveness, cleverness and, with limited resources, hack new hardware solutions. Makers have their own incubators, magazines, conferences and websites. Low cost 3D printers are one example of a new hardware development projects that’s enabled them to bypass traditional manufacturing systems and move quickly forward.

The Maker culture is an outgrowth of the DIY movement, and we think it’s great. Doing something on your own on a shoestring, thinking outside of the box and breaking a few rules along the way is a trend that should be promoted and celebrated. It’s a downright exhilarating opportunity for people who like to build things.

The Maker Movement has peaked the interests of many throughout the years and is now celebrated with the Maker Faire. Basically a “show and tell” in counties throughout the world, the Faire is a place where other like-minded individuals, who share a passion for invention, making, and learning, gather to share their ideas. Creativity and innovation are what drive their motivation for hardware development projects.

We think that Makers provide a first step that not only complements traditional product design and testing, but is a phenomenon on its own. Traditional meeting non-traditional in the invention world is a recipe for positive change that will fundamentally impact the way product design is thought of. It’s that very way of thinking that proven to be a success thus far. After all, creativity and thinking outside of the box go hand in hand right?