Posts Tagged ‘design’
Bio Circuit at IF'09: Stereo
Bio Circuit will be a part of the Stereo Exhibit in the Concourse gallery of Emily Carr University this week.
Stereo Interactive Futures ‘09: Stereo (IF’09: Stereo) will be hosted by the Intersections Digital Studios at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver. IF’09: Stereo offers a broad thematic reading of “stereo” to include research and art works that use techniques and devices to lure the body into ephemeral spaces. Examples include stereographic films and animations, linked interactive performance spaces, simulated touch interfaces, binaural sound works, and mixed-reality art works. IF’09: Stereo has invited practitioners who are working with subtle uses of immersive techniques, illusionary space and objects, and telepresence that evoke unexpected responses and challenge the modes of creation used by popular entertainment media and technologies…>
IF’09: Stereo has invited media artists, designers, researchers and filmmakers experimenting with: stereographic projection; illusionary sound and vision; methods of co-location (ways of simultaneously mapping and representing more than one location).
If you’re interested in seeing Bio Circuit for yourself, you can visit Emily Carr University (1399 Johnston Street) on Granville Island in Vancouver. Stereo will be in the Concourse Gallery from Nov. 18-22nd. IF’09 is on from Nov. 19-21.
Tags: Bio Circuit, clothing, design, electronics, exhibit, hearbeat, heart rate, hrmi, sound, technology, textiles, wearable
Posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 in dana's portfolio work | No Comments »
I am fascinated by projects using ’soft technology.’ The term relates to wearable technology of course, but it also encompasses really interesting projects that use technology and materials in unusual ways.
Swedish designer Hedvig af Ekenstam has completed a number of product designs that do just this. Her ‘knitted radiator the ‘knitted radiator’ is designed using heating cables coiled to create a new type of radiator. The design is a flexible and lightweight screen that can be shaped to fit the user’s needs. I love it!
Her project ‘Heating Curtain’ is another radiator design. The curtain is made from fabric and has a heating coil woven into it to provide heat.
This light, visually attractive mobile heating unit is a beautiful and innovative alternative to the typical electric heater found in the market today.
Tags: design, fabric, heat, soft technology, textiles
Posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 in stuff i like | 1 Comment »
Ok, so by the end of the day, I was jumping around the WIP lab with joy!
That’s right, you guessed it: success. The changeover to the lilypad arduino went smoothly, and when we hooked it up to the battery power source everything worked!So now the technology pieces must be integrated into the garment. This will involve some temporary tacking and pockets, because we’re not sure exactly how it will work/feel once it is part of the vest. So before permanently altering the garment I’ve worked so hard on, we’ll try some arrangements and continue to develop that aspect later. But for now, we are both very happy with what we have. 
Although it’s not done yet, I’ve posted some photos of the vest (a work in progress).So everyone will just have to wait and see how the whole thing looks together tomorrow morning.
Good luck everyone!
Tags: clothing, design, fabric, heart rate, hrmi, interactive, lilypad arduino, programming, prototype, sewing, sketch, sound, technology, wearable
Posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 in dana's portfolio work, design, wearables | 2 Comments »
As the long weekend rolls along, I’ve been madly trying to complete my project. Holly is working on the sound files, and I have been busy programming and sewing. We have established the heart rate ranges we would like to work with, and Holly is busy editing the “sounds” that go with each of those ranges.
The next step was to create a logic-flow chart, which would form the foundation for writing our program. I had some help here, along with the programming, from the lovely Bryan (thank you Bryan!). Once the logic was written, the rest was easy for Bryan, and started to make some sense for me.
The ’sketch’ for now works as follows:
- we can now give the sketch a random heart rate, and it will calculate which track the MP3 player should play, and successfully move to that track. Believe me, it sounds much easier than it actually is! The last step now is to successfully get the heart rate monitor interface (HRMI) to talk to the arduino, which is what we are having problems with now.
I’m quite well versed in sewing, so this project has been fairly straightforward in terms of creating the wearable portion. The trickiest part is always creating the pattern. Holly and I want to create a high-collared garment, so that the speaker can be embedded within the collar next to the wearer’s ear. The collar is going to be higher on the speaker side, and then scrunch down on the other side, so the wearer can hear the environmental sounds as well. The photos I’ve posted show the beginnings of patterning, with a paper and mannequin mock-up, and then me wearing the very crude garment that I’ve thrown together, before the tailoring and adjustments I’ve made now.
Tags: arduino, clothing, design, fabric, fashion, heart rate, hrmi, interactive, lilypad arduino, pattern, programming, sewing, sketch, technology, wearable
Posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 in dana's portfolio work, design, wearables | 6 Comments »
In addition to images of the 3D printed versions of my fragile jewelry, I also have some softimage renderings of the rings as well. The idea is to play with material and meaning. If the rings were made of gold and silver, what would the message be about icebergs as precious and rare? If they were bronzed, what would that say about preserving something in time? If they were glass and really did break when you wore them, what would that mean? And if they were made out of a totally unexpected material, such as pink plastic, what would that say about souvenirs, commodifaction and exploiting the beauty of nature?
There are so many options already, and I’ve really only just begun!
Tags: accessories, design, fragile, iceberg, jewelry, material, meaning, wearable
Posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 in dana's portfolio work, design, wearables | 1 Comment »
In addition to the electronic aspect to the project, there is also the textile/wearable component. Holly and I went to check out fabric and notions, and gathered a lot of inspiration for the form of the garment. We looked at fasteners, buttons, tubing and a bunch of stuff we don’t even know the names of, and came up with some great ideas for detailing.
A sketch has been settled on, and I’m in the process of making a pattern for the garment. The collar of the vest will be high enough to cover one of the wearer’s ears, while the other side can be scrunched down so that the ambient sounds of the environment can be heard as well.
After I make a pattern, I’ll sew together a quick muslin and work out the details. Simultaneously, we will be working out the details of our electronic components as well! So much to do, so little time. But at least its fun!
Tags: Bio Circuit, clothing, creativity, design, fabric, fashion, inspiration, material, pattern, textiles, wearable
Posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 in dana's portfolio work, design, wearables | No Comments »
I finally have images of my iceberg rings to show everyone! By now everyone must know of my fascination with icebergs, and if you don’t know already you will eventually realize I adore jewelry… so I combined my two favourite things!
I designed the five rings that fit together to form a miniature iceberg landscape in a three dimensional rendering program, and then had the rings 3D printed. The next step is to cast them, make molds, and experiement with materials. Icebergs are fragile and disappearing, so I was thinking of using a fragile material like porcelain. Or maybe, since one day they might be compeletly gone, perhaps I should immortalize them in something like gold or silver. The idea of bronzing something to freeze it in time, and remember it forever (like a baby’s shoes I guess) also seems interesting. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Tags: accessories, climate change, design, fashion, fragile, iceberg, jewelry, material, rings
Posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 in dana's portfolio work, design, wearables | 3 Comments »
Thinking about the upcoming project using thermachromic ink, I have been looking to icebergs for inspiration. I plan to print images of icebergs onto t-shirts using the ink, which will then disappear once the shirts heats up to the wearer’s body temperature. I was thinking about how to use the ink in a meaningful way, and how to connect the idea of human body temperature to an image of something that disappears. I have already been working with icebergs for a side project involving jewelry, so the inspiration was already at the front of my mind. My hope is that the shirt could serve as a daily reminder as it is pulled from the cold drawer or shelf and the user’s own body temperature causes the image to disappear.
I found some interesting work from other artists and designers also hoping to instill reminders in others:
This eraser called Meltaine by Skeet Wang via Yanko Design gets smaller and dirtier, diminishing with use to remind us that dirty snow is a contributer to global warming. I’m not sure the user would actually connect the idea while using the eraser, but I am intrigued by the concept all the same.
The Global Warming rug contrasts the comfort and softness of a rug with a thorny problem that is specific to our time. Following the age-old tradition of using rugs as a means for communication and a cultural record, NEL is portraying global warming in a scene that invites us to reflect on our impact on today’s world.
At least that’s the intent.
This hot tub from the Pancea Project also addresses icebergs and global warming through design.
Pancea is an expandable and travelling artwork currently being developed by Michael Pinsky, Zoë Walker & Neil Bromwich to function as a universal formula to cure social, economical and political problems. Pinsky, Walker & Bromwich search for artistic ‘solutions’ that simultaneously offer viewers/participants an aesthetic experience and a practical tool to improve life. Panacea strikes a fine balance between naive optimism and an ironic critique on society’s increasingly untenable expectations of artists as: maker of beautiful objects, social reformers, economic revitalisers and catalysts for all things good.
Artists Walker and Bromwich have projects which include inflatable landscapes that speak to our current environmental situation as well as our predicted future. The inflatable Iceberg (below), however, seems to be a project of a different mindset. Instead of mourning the loss of glaciers and icebergs, you can purchase this inflatable toy (for a small fortune) and play with your own!
Tags: climate change, design, iceberg, material, social
Posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 in design | 3 Comments »
After thinking extensively about the history of a thing and how garments could tell a story by their wear and tear, I wondered how our skin might tell similar stories about the things we put on it. Our skin could tell a story about the objects or materials it enounters throughout the day. Perhaps it could change colour or be embossed. Granted, it may only be temporary, but that’s kind of the beauty of it. Ninette van Kamp has done some interesting work with the idea of embossing the body with garments. She explores the possibility for mark making with seams, beading and embroidery. Emily Jane Atkinson has also explored this notion with her Tattoo-me boots.
The tattoo-me boots have changeable linings each of the linings have a different pattern on, when worn they will eventually leave an imprint on the legs, thus creating a temporary tattoo. Fellow classmate and blogger Sheila was also looking at something similar.
I’m not saying that I find either of these examples practical in any way (in fact, the idea of sitting on beaded underwear all day just so I can have an embossed backside that no one might even see sounds painful and pointless). But I do find the idea of our garments making a mark upon us extremely interesting. In fact, I started to wonder who else was exploring the idea of designed objects making temporary marks on our bodies. I stumbled upon the Sun-Tattoo blanket by Yu-Chiao Wang which I think is both amazing and ridiculous at the same time: amazing because of the concept, ridiculous due to the impracticality of it.
And in keeping with suntanning, for those of you who have left a poolside lounge chair with unsightly marks all over your body after a day of baking in the sun, Jenny Pokryvailo has designed a more aesthetically pleasing solution. Her chaise lounge leaves a beautiful flower temporarily embossed in your skin, instead of the usual loung chair pattern. Again, I’m not as interested in the actual products as I am in the idea of leaving temporary marks on the body with objects or garmets that touch our skin for a period of time. I wonder if there is a way to apply this same idea to communicate a bigger idea, rather than solely for decoration.
Tags: accessories, design, emboss, fashion, furniture, material, pattern, shoes, skin, surface, tattoo, temporary, wearable
Posted on Sunday, January 25th, 2009 in design, wearables | 1 Comment »
Even though I am fascinated by wearable technology, I think it is also important to look at good design that does not heavily rely on computational devices or smart textiles: low-tech or no-tech. I am extremely interested in work that promotes social interaction, especially since much of the work out there encourages independence and self-sufficiency.
Designed by Aamu Song and Johan Olin, Takkiainen is a jacket for lonely people. It is designed to help the wearer to get in contact with others. Since we brush each other by with our clothes everyday while moving around in the city, clothing can be used as a medium for meeting people.
What if the other objects we brushed past each day also had surfaces that engaged us in a similar way? I wonder if there is a way to incorporate the same idea into a garment using some form of technology. Maybe its technology that is making us so isolated, but maybe, just maybe, we can use its power for good instead of evil. Who knows?
Tags: clothing, design, fashion, interactive, material, social, surface, wearable
Posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 in design, wearables | 1 Comment »
