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Dr Lionel Dean

Job: Senior Lecturer

Faculty: Arts, Design and Humanities

School/department: School of Design

Research group(s): Design and New Product Development/ Creative use of Digital Design and Manufacturing Technologies

Address: De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, UK, LE1 9BH

T: Ext 7406

E: ldean@dmu.ac.uk

W: http://www.futurefactories.com

 

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Personal profile

Lionel T Dean has been exploring the creative potential of digital design and manufacturing technology for almost ten years and is at the forefront of digital making.  His work spans Art Craft and Design disciplines and questions traditional definitions of practice. In 2003 he founded FutureFactories, a studio focused exclusively on 3D printing technologies and developing computational design methodologies which combine Computer Aided Design (CAD) with computer programming. Such systems allow the creation of virtual meta-designs with the ability to evolve and mutate over time offering a potentially infinite stream of one-off solutions. 

Publications and outputs

  • Titanium Clutch
    dc.title: Titanium Clutch dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: 3D printing is revolutionising design and manufacturing and re-shaping our world; not only can we make what we could never have done before but using computational design tools we are creating what we couldn’t have even imagined. The design is a spherical titanium clutch bag, 3D printed in two halves via direct metal laser melting. It is carried via an integral wrist loop and opens with a kiss-latch. The geometry of the structure is an example of computational and generative design where computer aided design, CAD, is combined with computer programming. Computer scripts facilitate the division of the sphere into a complex irregular polygon, the faces of which ‘bloom’ into a network of interlinked abstract flower forms generating a complex lightweight structure. The form was specifically designed for 3D printing in direct metal titanium ti64, and was developed in partnership with Renishaw plc, a UK world leader in metals additive manufacturing.
  • Preliminary color characterization of HP Multi Jet Fusion additive manufacturing with different orientations and surface finish
    dc.title: Preliminary color characterization of HP Multi Jet Fusion additive manufacturing with different orientations and surface finish dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T.; Badar, Faizan; Loy, Jennifer; Novak, James; Redmond, Michael; Vandi, Luigi-Jules dc.description.abstract: Purpose This study aims to evaluate the color accuracy of HP Jet Fusion 580 3D printing, comparing 3D-printed outcomes against original digital input colors. Design/methodology/approach A custom cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) and red, green, blue (RGB) color chart was applied to the top, bottom and side surfaces of a 3D model. Four of each model were 3D-printed on a HP Jet Fusion 580, and half the samples were finished with a cyanoacrylate gloss surface finish, while half were left in raw form. A spectrophotometer was used to document CIELAB (L*a*b*) data, and comparisons made to the original input colors, including calculation of ΔE. Findings The CMYK samples were significantly more accurate than RGB samples, and grayscale samples in both color spaces were the most accurate of all. Typically, CMYK swatches were darker than the input values, and gloss samples were consistently darker than raw samples. The chromaticity (a*b*) range was found to be significantly smaller than what can be achieved digitally, with highly saturated colors unable to be produced by the printer. Originality/value This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to characterize the full color spectrum possible with the HP Jet Fusion 580, recommending that designers use the CMYK color space when applying colors and textures to 3D models. A quick-reference color chart has been provided; however, it is recommended that future research focus on developing a color management profile to better map digital colors to the capabilities of the printer.
  • Venus and David
    dc.title: Venus and David dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: In Venus and David, Dean takes the quintessential representation of heroic masculinity, Michelangelo’s renaissance David, and combines this digitally with the Venus de Milo, often regarded as the epitome of female beauty in Western Art. The result is reinterpretation and re-creation of masculinity and gender; one that is fluid, subtle and ambiguous.
  • Trooping the Corgis: Purple Reign
    dc.title: Trooping the Corgis: Purple Reign dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: Purple Reign was one of 50 life size corgi sculptures commissioned to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022. It was created using digital sculpting and was 3D printed.
  • Design Research for Change 2019
    dc.title: Design Research for Change 2019 dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: Contribution to publication and exhibition “Design Research for Change 2019” This was an AHRC funded project curated by Professor Paul A. Rodgers, Lancaster University. The contribution was a custom 3D printed prosthesis for a below the knee amputee in South Africa “Digital design and manufacturing technologies such as scanning and 3D printing (additive manufacturing) are starting to impact the design of products for health and wellbeing as they allow for the customisation of medical products. The implications of these technologies go far beyond fit and function. Rather, they have the potential to redesign the relationship between the person and the object. Out on a Limb explores this potential through a practical example of design-led research, where the designer deliberately challenges the conventional approach to designing lower-limb prosthetics for women. Conventional prosthetic limbs are essentially kits of standard engineering components produced irrespective of gender let alone personal taste and sensibility. Recent years have seen move away from the disguise of the false limb to almost a celebration of the prosthetic. Here digital technologies have allowed the designer to work with the user and to create the prosthesis as a fashion accessory. 3D printed in titanium, ti64”
  • From Vernacular to Personalised and Sustainable
    dc.title: From Vernacular to Personalised and Sustainable dc.contributor.author: Almerbati, Nehal; Ford, Peter B.; Taki, A. H.; Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: The social and environmental role of closed oriental balco-nies (Mashrabiyas) remains a significant vernacular aspect of Middle Eastern architecture. However, changes in architectural style, social needs, and the high manufacturing cost of Mashrabiya materials and techniques, Bahraini houses lost their very distinctive window veils. The research aims to validate a new Mashrabiya product for 21st cen-tury Bahraini houses using new manufacturing technologies. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is now at the heart of evolutionary technologies. Contextual information drawn from relevant theory, ethnography and practice is used to form a methodological framework for the new AM Mashrabiya. Additionally, interviews with architects, manufacturers and residents are the methods used to define a new AM Mashrabiya prototype that is then functionally and economically compared to oth-er manufacturing techniques. Prototypes of new AM screens are de-veloped. The main results set boundaries for the viability of AM to produce Mashrabiya and promote a sustainable way of reviving their use within Middle Eastern dwellings. dc.description: open access article
  • Precious:another layer of luxury
    dc.title: Precious:another layer of luxury dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: Precious is a two year UK government supported initiative which aims to demonstrate the viability of precious metal additive manufacturing within the Jewellery industry from design and manufacturing through to finishing, polishing and retail. One of the areas being explored by a consortium of commercial and academic partners is the creation of new online business models that exploit the freedoms of Additive Manufacture and make the consumer an active participant in the design of their piece. Differing levels of consumer engagement have been identified and explored. These range from mere re-configuration through to so-called co-creation and are illustrated in a series of ten demonstrator design families created for the project. This paper will discuss the technical and creative issues that arise as elements of creative control are ceded to the customer. Can the user be offered a captivating experience and a sense of ownership without jeopardising brand and design intent?
  • The Factory of the Future, Group Exhibition
    dc.title: The Factory of the Future, Group Exhibition dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: 3D Printing, The factory of the future, Lieu du Design (centre for Design), Paris This exhibition dedicated entirely to 3D printing technology was billed as “the first in France wholly devoted to exploring the interdisciplinary and multifaceted topic of 3D printing technology and its undeniable influence on everything from industry, to economics, to creative and social issues, demonstrated to the public through achievements in the fields of 3D design, 3D printed architecture, 3D printed fashion, health, research and 3D printed food. The “3D Printing, the Factory of the Future” exhibition was created as a partnership between the Center for Design and the renowned Centre Pompidou. The Center for Design is located in the 19th district of Paris and promotes industrial and design and eco-design within France's economic sector, the 3D Printing exhibit was intended “to show both the general public, and private and public sector decision-makers how 3D printing technology, alongside digital design tools, will definitively change how we live, design, create and consume.” A second goal of the three-month-long 3D printing exhibition in Paris was “to raise awareness about the need to develop a wide-reaching national strategy to make up for France’s perceived ‘falling behind’ in the global digital manufacturing field” The 3D printing exhibition included a range of 3D printing projects by various international 3D designers and artists. “These included Ron Arad’s 3D printed D-Frames eyewear collection; Lilian van Daal’s ‘soft’ 3D printed biomimicry chair; the Armure 3D printed clutch by Maison 203; and 3D printed gold jewelry by Lionel T Dean, to name just a few.” (Lieu du Design 2016). Dean contributed seven jewellery projects in direct metal gold and titanium to the exhibition.
  • New models for Design and Consumerism in the Postindustrial Era
    dc.title: New models for Design and Consumerism in the Postindustrial Era dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: Inside 3D printing Conference, Seoul, Korea 22/06/2016 – 23/06/2016 Presentation entitled:- New models for Design and Consumerism in the Postindustrial Era Through a series of case studies this presentation will illustrate new approaches to design, manufacturing, and consumerism enabled by digital design and manufacturing technologies. It will focus not on the production technologies themselves but on the creative opportunities they afford. The freedom and flexibility of Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers not only complex geometries; it allows a reassessment and reinvention of relationships between designer, manufacturer and consumer. The designer can explore new ways of working, the manufacturer can respond to niche markets, and the consumer can become engaged in the creative process. Digital manufacturing is a revolution that is blurring traditional boundaries between art, design and craft. The freedoms of this technology demand not only intriguing designs but creative approaches to business in general.
  • Living Designs: navigating solution space with digital design and manufacturing technologies
    dc.title: Living Designs: navigating solution space with digital design and manufacturing technologies dc.contributor.author: Dean, Lionel T. dc.description.abstract: Opening keynote address DesTech 2016, The International Conference on Design & Technology, 05/12/2016 – 07/12/2016. Hosted by the School of Engineering & School of Communication and Creative Arts Deakin University, Australia Keynote entitled “Living Designs: navigating solution space with digital design and manufacturing technologies”

View a full listing of Lionel Dean's publications and outputs.

Research interests/expertise

  • Additive Manufacture
  • Co Creation
  • Computational Design
  • Digital Craft
  • Direct Digital Manufacturing
  • Digital Making
  • Generative Design
  • Rapid Prototyping
  • Rapid Manufacture

Areas of teaching

  • Digital design and manufacturing
  • Aesthetics and visual language
  • Generative design and co-creation

Honours and awards

PhD, University of Huddersfield, June 2010

Forthcoming events

Group exhibitions

  • Nesta Gallery, London until June
  • In 3 dimensions – printing objects. Museum fur Gestaltung, Zurich until 5th May 2013
  • Ornamental Status, 5th Base Gallery, London 7 – 13th March

Conference presentations

  • Crafting the Future 17-19th April, Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Digital Fashion, London College of Fashion 16-17th May 2013 co-author Michele Danjoux to present
  • Santa Fe Symposium – conference for jewellery manufacturing technology 19-22nd May 2013 
  • E&PDE2013 Dublin 5-6th September 2013

Conference attendance

Atkinson P. & Dean L: Future Factories: Teaching Techné. 5th European Academy of Design Conference, Barcelona, April 2003

Unver E., Dean L., & Atkinson P: Future Factories: Developing Individualised Production Methods. International conference on Advanced Engineering Design, Prague, May 2003

Atkinson P., Dean L., Unver E: Future Factories: Supportive Technologies As Creative Processes. 9th International Design Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia, May 2004

Dean L., Atkinson P., Unver E: Evolving Individualized Consumer Products. 6th European Academy of Design Conference, Bremen, Germany, March 2005

Dean L: Designing for Rapid Manufacture: “Entropia” A Case Study. Time Compression Technologies Conference, UK, September 2006

Atkinson P., Unver E., Marshall J., Dean L: Post Industrial Manufacturing Systems: The Undisciplined Nature Of Generative Design. Design Research Society Conference, March 2008

Dean L: Titanium jewellery: High-End Decorative Design Straight From The Machine. Time Compression Technologies Conference, UK, October 2008

 Atkinson P., Marshall J., Unver E., Dean L: I Did it My Way: User Engagement In Post Industrial Manufacturing. 1st International Conference on Sustainable Intelligent Manufacturing, June 2011

Dean L., Pei E: Matching Design Investment With High Value Materials. 13th Conference on Rapid Design, Prototyping & Manufacturing, Lancaster, June 2012

Dean L., Pei E: Experimental 3D Digital Techniques in Design Practice. 2nd International Conference on Design Creativity, Glasgow, September 2012

Dean, L: Additive Manufacture: Added Design Value. iCAT 2012, 4th International Conference on Additive Technologies, Slovenia. Sept 2012

De Beer, D., Becker, L., Van der Walt, P., Mauchline, D., Campbell, I., Dean, L: Additive Manufacturing of Alumide Jewellery. RAPDASA Additive Manufacturing in Industry Conference, South Africa. Nov 2012

Dean L: Who’s afraid of co-creation? Crafting the Future. 10th European Academy of Design Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden 2013 (full paper accepted)

Other conference papers:-

Dean, L., Unver, E.,  Campbell, I., De Beer, D: Making it real: Virtual Tools in Creative Practice. Making International Conference on Materiality and Knowledge, Norway. Sept 2012 

Dean L: FutureFactories: Rapid Manufacturing At Work. Euromold Conference, Frankfurt, Germany, December 2008

Other forms of public presentation

Solo exhibitions:-

FutureFactories touring exhibition:

  •   Barnsley Design Centre:  27/10/03 – 24/11/03
  •   Dean Clough, Halifax:  29/11/03 – 04/01/04
  •   Media Centre, Huddersfield:  05/01/04 – 31/01/04
  •   designerblock04, Milan, Italy:  14/04/04 - 19/04/04
  •   designersblock04, London:  22/10/04  - 26/10/04

Automake and FutureFactories

  • Hub: National Centre for Craft and Design    03/05/08 - 08/06/08
  • FutureFactories, EuroMold Frankfurt  01/12/10 – 04/12/10
  • State of the Art, EuroMold Frankfurt  29/11/11 - 02/12/11
  • FutureFactories, Art-Metz, Metz France  23/03/12 - 26/03/12

Curated Group Exhibitions:-

  • A Few Domestic Objects Interrogate a Few Works of Art
  • Mary Boone Gallery, New York: 2005
  • Permanent Design Collection, MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art, New York: from 2005 
  • Generator.X, National Museum of Art, Oslo: 2005
  • Perimeters, Boundaries, and Borders, Lancaster, UK: 2006
  • Swell, future friendly design, Vancouver: 2007
  • Digitability, DesignMai, Berlin: May 2007
  • Funky, Helsinki, Finland: September 2007
  • The Art of Research, Helsinki: October 2007
  • Colour Days: Warsaw, Poland: October 2007

Consultancy work

  • Generative Design
  • Design for additive manufacture
  • Design for additive manufacture in metals
  • Showcase designs produced for Cookson Precious Metals, EOS GmbH, Renishaw plc, and 3T RPD ltd

Currently Available

Current research students

  • Nehal Almerbati (PhD)- 2nd supervisor
  • Michaela Hawes (MA), School of Design – 1st supervisor

Case studies

Speaker by invitation

  • One day digital manufacturing symposium, Barcelona, Spain, June 2008
  • New Materials and Processes in Jewellery, one day seminar, Inst. of Materials,     London, June 08
  • Rapid Manufacturing Conference, Loughborough, UK, July 2008
  • Time Compression Technologies Conference, UK, October 2008
  • Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing in the Creative Industries, RPMA one-day seminar, JIIC, Birmingham, November 2008
  • Co-chair one-day symposium “Digital Art & Design”, De Montfort, November 2009.
  • Wohlers Conference 2011, EuroMold, Frankfurt, Germany, November 2011

Keynote speaker

  • Rapdasa, Johannesburg, South Africa 2011
  • International design competition jury member
  • iCAT Freeform Challenge 2012, iCAT Slovenia
  • Purmundus Challenge 2012, EuroMold, Frankfurt Germany

Work featured in publications:-

  • FutureFactories: design work by Lionel T Dean Ed. Paul Atkinson, 2003, ISBN 1862180474
  • 1000 New Designs, Laurence King, 2006. p284, ISBN 1-85669-466-6
  • Twenty-First Century Design, Carlton Bks 2007. pp234-235, ISBN1-84442-269-0
  • All light! All right?, Hangaram Design Museum, Korea: 2007. PP51-52
  • Simply Material, Viction:ary, 2007. pp72-73, 78-82, ISBN 978-988-98228-7-3
  • Process, Lawrence King, 2008, Entropia, pp70-73 ISBN 978-1-85669-541-1
  • Nature, Inspiration for Art & Design, Monsa: 20808 pp128-129
  • ISBN 978-84-96823-35-8
  • Perimeters, Boundaries and Borders, Fast-UK, 08 pp42-43, ISBN 978-0-6152-1355-2
  • Automake and FutureFactories, Hub: 2008, ISBN 978-0-9548015-7-1
  • British Design, MoMA, New York: 2010, p134, ISBN 978-0-87070-781-0
  • State Of The Art, FutureFactories: 2012, ISBN 978-0-9571025-0-7