World of Makers
This project is supporting material for the IDEO Colab Makeathon application.
Duration: 2 days
World of Makers is an app for freelancers to live a better life in the nearest future.
The trend is here. In 2050, everyone will be a freelancer.
In 2050, barely any office located in skyscrapers is needed in the world. People all work remotely. They probably wear pajamas at home or sipping a cup of coffee in a coffee shop near their homes while working on projects. People can live at the North Pole if they want and still be able to participate in projects based in New York City.
/ PROBLEM
This work mode develops the feel of instability. Freelancers don’t have stable monthly salaries.
Freelancers also get isolated in society. They do not have a sense of belonging to a particular group. They need a new way to build social connections, rather than just be called to get on board for finishing a project.
They need ways to gain a sense of accomplishment while working on projects and a more efficient way to present their talents to potential clients, rather than waiting for being picked.
“World of Makers“ is an app that helps freelancers to build social connections with other freelancers, give credits to creative individuals for every attributes they made, and present talents potential clients.
/ SOLUTION
It is not fiction. According to Freelancers Union “53 million” report, the U.S. independent workforce increased dramatically in nearly a decade.
RESEARCH
Source: Upwork
“The majority of the U.S. workforce will soon freelance – At its current growth rate, we will reach this milestone by 2027.”
“While finances are a challenge for all, freelancers experience a unique concern — income predictability. The study found that, with the ebbs and flows of freelancing, full-time freelancers dip into savings more often (63 percent at least once per month versus 20 percent of full-time non-freelancers).”
As the term “company“ and “agency“ fade out, freelancers tend to ask for more credits for the projects as individuals. Inevitably, the feeling of anxiety builds up. Freelancers do not have promised stable income monthly, and have a hard time to advertise and expand their talents. They need a way to visualize the efforts they put into projects to get a sense of accomplishment and being proud of creating things for a living.
Freelancers are much isolated and specialized. Usually, freelancers are called to make a small part of a large project: a storyboard for a champaign, a 3D model for an installation, a photo refinement of an advertising poster, etc. What if the skills they have been replaced by other techniques someday? What then?
So …
Here is WORLD of MAKERS:
A mobile app, associated with the AR technique,
exaggerates the credits of individuals for projects,
enable potential clients to find talents whenever they see some good designs in their daily life,
help creative individuals to team up (get their own “realm”) make something cool!
Scan
Enable users to scan and check the credits of any project in the real world.
If you are a freelancer,
you can find your name and profile picture tagged to every project you participated in, even a piece of nail counts!
If you are a potential client,
you can find the right freelancer by taking a walk in the city.
Profile
1. Manage personal skill sets
2. Manage the creative communities(“the realms”)
The “realm”(yes, I borrow the term from Word of Warcraft) will get levels up by completing more projects (side projects counts!) This rank gives an idea of how creative and efficient this group of people is.
3. Showcase past projects so that potential clients will know what this individual’s expertise and experience are.
Home Page
a customized personal page for freelancers.
1. Track down to-do-list
2. Manage current projects