Participatory Design
African Pattern and Identity in Contemporary Textile and Fashion Design: Exploratory Study of Trending African Sources and Technology in Fashion, Art, and Textiles View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Leslie Nobler
African fabrics based specifically on the Dutch Wax Print, or Ankara, popularized during Africa's colonial era, have recently made an enormous impact on Western Fashion (especially the US and UK), The trend is impactful in the art world as well, which circuitously, affects fashion design. In fashion, notably celebrity wardrobes, this is partly due to identity/pride in African roots; in the visual arts, artists Yinka Shonibare and Njideka Akunyili Crosby make statements about identity politics, racism, and colonialism. The internet fuels this proliferation, as have improvements in printing technology, combining resist with roller printing. Patterns now authentically designed in African are uploaded for printing in Europe. Ankara's rage finds several paths. First is its ubiquity in fashion, from authentic textile shops in African American neighborhoods, to low-end reproductions in discount chains. Secondly, increased usage of these patterns appears in important artworks from Philadelphia venues to the Mass MOCA, all the way to the Israel Museum. Lastly, significantly, Ankara trends throughout social media thanks to Instagram, Pinterest and paparazzi. It adapts to the times, staying relevant with motifs which are based on everyday contemporary objects and scenes. In my studio and university design classes, this idea is first and foremost, from spiritual eye motifs to drawings of our art supplies to "politically-loaded" chain patterns. This first-hand creativity experience becomes part of the research of this paper, along with historic and contemporary sources of inquiry, both through a literature/image search and anecdotal experience, into what is behind this exciting and surprising trend.
Thinking Hands: Craft Practices as Research Through Design View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Adi Hamer Yacobi
One way to map the area of design-related research is to adopt Christopher Frayling’s distinction between “research into design,” “research through design,” and “research for design.” My paper presents the work of Israeli industrial designer Yaacov Kaufman as a form of research through design, which produces a valuable and extensive body of knowledge. Kaufman is one of Israel’s most prominent industrial designers and a skilled craftsman. He systematically deconstructs the definitions of everyday objects, creating “research groups” composed of hundreds of prototypes that offer different interpretations of the same object. As I argue, Kaufman’s methodology gives rise to a dialogue between the designer’s preliminary knowledge and the users’ perceptions of the objects. By adding new signs to the conventional inventory of signs associated with an object, he enlarges the scope of its definition. Design scholarship, however, seldom defines such processes as “research through design.” The lecture will demonstrate how the rich body of works created by Kaufman contributes to definitions of both design and research, and attend to two types of research through design: the first type, which is more frequently addressed in the literature, is performed by designers who are themselves scholars, and who consciously combine their skills as designers with their research skills. The second type, which includes Kaufman’s work, is intuitive and associative, and is based on an exploration of matter and form, in the absence of professional, academic research skills.
Towards a Photonic Textile Integrated System to Improve Operator Productivity and Comfort: Interdisciplinary Textile Design Knowledge in the Development of Smart Textiles View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Claire Felicity Miller
This work presents early stage textile prototyping towards an integrated system based on wearable technology that will significantly improve the productivity and comfort of nuclear decommissioning operators. An innovative approach utilising optical fibre sensors integrated within textiles to monitor both the health of the operator and the suit environment is presented. The 'smart basics' aim to provide greater comfort for the operator via the use of natural yarns in the textiles (thermoregulating, antimicrobial, excellent wicking properties) and the feedback will help to provide better air conditioning in the suit environment. This will identify the early onset of heat stress and improve efficiency through removal from the decommissioning area at the appropriate time. This work specifically explored the most appropriate methods of integrating optical fibre sensors within knitted textiles to maximise sensitivity of the proposed sensor system, maintain robust measurements and operator comfort. Prototyping explored, for example, the use of specific technical knit structures, processes, machinery and yarn combinations (natural and polymer) such as heat-shrinkable polymer yarns to secure the OFS in key on body positions. Connections/channels out of the textile structure and coupling mechanisms of the optical fibres to the light source were considered within the design. Research and investigation of appropriate yarns for wearability, consideration of garment construction methods for comfortable, textile sensor system were also considered. Literature and practical testing of textile structures and yarn combinations supported better understanding of feasibility of methods and materials going forward in this space.
