Here is an example of a different take on the idea of “interactive” using textiles:This is the anonymous hugging wall from Keetra Dean Dixon. There are two arms sewn in into the wall, so that you can either be the hugger, or the hug-ee, depending on what side you stand, or what mood you’re in.

I like the annonymous way of connecting with people, and I love the spin on “interaction” and the use of textiles. If walls can “come alive” and give out hugs, in what other ways can we engage with our environment? And what if all normally hard, rigid surfaces (like walls) were suddenly made of fabric and textiles? Wouldn’t that be interesting….

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!

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?

I am extremely interested in design work that makes the invisible visible. The Fashion Victims project from Agnelli Davide, Buzzini Dario, and Drori Tal from the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea does just that. They have designed a collection of garments that react (respond and change) according to the surrounding mobile phone calls. The act of making a phone call has become and invisible part of our lives. Where the physical consequences are less visible, the social consequences are becoming more and more apparent.

I love this project because it is visual feedback for something we might not otherwise keep track of. On average, we connect more with people electronically in a day that we do in person. Wouldn’t it be nice to be reminded to get off our phone and interact with someone in person every now and then?

“By producing a physical result with every call, the mobile phone is revealed in all of its pervasiveness and intrusiveness: its tendency to violate the private space we potentially have within the public context. Will your behaviors change once you’ll carry this bag around? And what about the people surrounding you? How many conversations will you be engaged into?” (excerpt from cite).

The bag serves in both a functional and fashionable way. The user can turn the interactive component on or off. Once the bag has reached a point where the user does not want it to be stained anymore, the mechanism can be pulled out, and the bag can function as just a bag once more (And the user can return to using there cell phone for obscene amounts of time, as per usual).

Click here to view the embedded video.

While it is nice to discuss wearable technology and the interesting work inspiring my design, I also thought it might be nice to share a little video I made. I’m no expert with this kind of thing, but I think the message is more important than a flashy vid.

When discussing design its easy to get carried away with objects that are state-of-the-art, aesthetically pleasing, ‘cool,’ beautiful, trendy, elite, fashionable, and exclusive. But it’s also important to think critically about design, and to evaluate what makes ‘good’ design, and what makes valuable design. Designed obsolescence plays a big role in some of the problems on our planet right now. Next time you see a flashy new design, try to think about whether it provides any benefit to us in some way.

Thanks for checking it out!!!