HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT

From Swatches to Pockets

16-20 November 2015 as part of the Interaction Design Masters at ECAL in Lausanne, Switzerland

This workshop is only open to Ecal students.

From Swatches to Pockets is an introductory electronic textile workshop that draws upon the E-Textile Swatch Exchange as a means of acquiring knowledge and skill, as well as a source of inspiration for imagining pocket technology of the future.

The E-Textile Swatch Exchange is a platform for sharing physical work samples in the field of electronic textiles (E-Textiles). Each year individuals from the field submit a design that demonstrates an E-Textile technique that they have developed and refined. They produce multiples of their design so that everybody taking part in the exchange receives a complete book of swatches. This workshop draws upon the 73 unique swatches that have been submitted to the exchange over the past 3 years. Workshop participants will study these swatches in depth by copying and modifying a selection of them. This process of replication is intended as a means of getting to know the materials and acquiring the knowledge and skill behind the techniques. The copied swatches will be collected and turned into a swatchbook of their own, wherein each swatch references it’s predecessor.

Besides functioning as an introduction to various e-textile sensors, actuators, connections and materials, the examples in the swatchbook will also be used as to inspire a series of projects which consider the application of e-textiles to pockets and pouches.

Digital technology has made its way onto our body by invading our pockets. Now that electronic textiles allow us to integrate electronic technology into the fabric of our clothing, what will happen? Will our pockets take on gadget functionality? Might they become obsolete? Or will we find new items that need a place on our bodies? What role will pockets play in a future where our technologies are textile? Let us look at the history of pockets, pouches and wearable technology, for hints at what might come next.

Flickr set >> https://www.flickr.com/photos/plusea/albums/72157660981143460

Schedule

Monday

Introductions (Plusea/How To Get What You Want/Kobakant, students, workshop topic and schedule)

Swatchbook Demo Session – SENSORS (detailed introduction to the sensor swatch examples from the E-Textile Swatch Exchange)

Materials & Tools & Techniques Introduction (show-and-tell introducing the various materials, tools and techniques available throughout the workshop)

Copy / Modify / Document a SENSOR Swatch (pick a sensor swatch to replicate. copy it as closely as possibly given the materials and tools available for the workshop. mount the swatch on a new page and document it with text and illustration. the documentation should reference the original swatch, describe it’s functionality in your own words and list any modifications that were made.)

Homework (read about the history of pockets, pouches and wearable technology – see links bellow)

Tuesday

Swatchbook Demo Session – ACTUATORS (detailed introduction to the actuator swatch examples from the E-Textile Swatch Exchange)

Materials & Tools & Techniques Introduction (show-and-tell introducing the various materials, tools and techniques available for actuators)

Copy / Modify / Document an ACTUATOR Swatch (students each pick one actuator swatch to replicate. copy it as closely as possibly given the materials and tools available for the workshop. mount the swatch on a new page and document it with text and illustration. the documentation should reference the original swatch, describe it’s functionality in your own words and list any modifications that were made.)

SENSOR + ACTUATOR (design a swatch that combines a sensor and an actuator and document it)

Wednesday

Present Project Ideas and Discuss (look at history of pockets and discuss what influence textile technology will have on the future of the pocket)

Project Development

Present (13:00, 30 minute presentation of Plusea/How To Get What You Want/A Kit-of-No-Parts/Kobakant)

First Prototype (possibly create a quick first prototype in order to be able to experience “wearing” it)

Thursday

Project Work (all day)

Friday

Final Presentation (13:00)

Links

Related work:

A Wearable Studio Practice >> http://www.plusea.at/?p=5385
Clothing that arranges the body- >> http://www.plusea.at/cab.php

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Content by Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson

E-Textile Tailor Shop by KOBAKANT

The following institutions have funded our research and supported our work:

From 2013-2015 Mika is a guest professor at the eLab at Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee

From July - December 2013 Hannah was a researcher at the UdK's Design Research Lab

From 2010-2012 Mika was a guest researcher in the Smart Textiles Design Lab at The Swedish School of Textiles

From 2009 - 2011 Hannah was a graduate student in the MIT Media Lab's High-Low Tech research group led by Leah Buechley

In 2009 Hannah and Mika were both research fellows at the Distance Lab

Between 2003 - 2009 Hannah and Mika were both students at Interface Cultures

We support the Open Source Hardware movement. All our own designs published on this website are released under the Free Cultural Works definition