I often get this question:
“By sharing your ideas openly aren’t you afraid they get copied?”

Well I’ve always been a big fan of publishing the ideas you create, sharing it online. I’ve started doing this at design-school. It always motivated me to gather feedback from the real world, not only people in the design-bubble.

Couple of years ago I made a short school project about water. I called it: Single Drop. The goal was to show people that a single drop of water can be valuable. Wooden objects with a nano-coating that makes the surface hydrophobic. –Which basically means: the water drop stays like..a water drop. Ok this might sound a bit weird, the above video should explain it better.

Anyway, I’ve made 3 different versions including a labyrinth to guide the drop. Naturally I put it online, gathered feedback. It also got published on several sites.

Recently I discovered Grimms, a toy company. They started selling the: Water Drop Labyrinth. A fun wooden toy, with a special coating to guide a water drop. Sounds familiar? –A bit. Copied? –Maybe. Sue them? –Give me one good reason.

To answer the question: NO, I’m not afraid my ideas get copied. In fact I love it if people can use them for their own project. I believe that should be the main goal of an idea: trying to get it made. –Whoever makes it. And sharing accelerates this whole process. Just like Phonebloks is shared to inspire the industry in developing modular electronics. And the blueprints of my plastic machines might help others to start working with recycled plastic. That is what excited me, generating ideas that hopefully inspire others. Economically the smartest thing to do? Probably not. But it gets things going..

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One minor note: I’m not a writer.  I’m just a guy with some stories I like to share. English is my second language and grammar is probably my least developed skill; hopefully it will improve over time. If you find a mistake, don’t be evil: just let me know and I will change it. If you wonder why I write these stories, click here

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