Designers are a unique breed: we take pride in our flexible attitude and ability to be disciplinary ambassadors, but we are often so easily seduced by process that we can get set in our ways. Though having a strong sense of what “designerly” means is an important aspect of creating professional results, focusing too closely on this definition may prevent us from embracing work that doesn’t quite appeal to our sensibilities. The current hacker-inspired DIY movement is an example of this, and this groundswell of activity has become too important to be ignored.

As disciplinary boundaries blur and we approach what the forecaster Paul Saffo describes as a “creator’s economy” we as designers face an interesting situation where there may actually be more creativity happening around us than there is inside our own offices and studios. This peripheral activity may not be design in a traditional sense (or in a billable sense), but in some ways actually embodies the exploratory spirit of design better than our own professional practice. Are these emerging hacker-explorers starting to out-create the creatives?