Despite the prevalence of affordable “maker” tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters, actually creating digital models remains out of the reach of most everyday users. Even when users are able to design or fabricate items, some everyday users may be more interested in modifying or replacing objects that they already own rather than inventing new items. Addressing the needs of these users requires taking a different approach than that taken by most computer-aided design tools. To address this need, we introduce the notion of design from imperfect examples, in which existing objects are scanned and modified to create new objects. We present examples of this design approach and describe the development and formative evaluation of the Easy Make Oven, a prototyping tool that enables novice users to create simple 3D designs based on their existing possessions.ye
