Final Project: Adapt to Application

Taking what you have learned from your midterm and the weeklies to adapt your midterm swatch into a finished prototype. What separates this from the swatch your presented in the midterm is that it should be integrated into a form (with all necessary components) and exist as part of an interactive narrative. The objects do not need to be user interfaces, but they should somehow respond to the body and/or environment.

Requirements:

• You must replicate your swatch and fully integrate it into the textile of your final prototype.
• Your application MUST include the use of at least one of the following: plying, braiding, knitting, weaving, felting.
• Your final prototype must take a soft form: wearable, interior object, soft architecture, soft sculpture, art object, robotic object, etc.
• You must include as many soft components as possible.
• Be thoughtful in your execution and design - form and function are both important here.

Deliverables

Deliverable 1: One on One Planning Meeting with Professors

We will hold 10 minute meetings with each student during class on 11/2 and 11/9 to discuss their final concept and provide any additional direction and resources. These meetings will take place during class and we will distribute a sign up form via Canvas.

Deliverable 2: Concept Presentation

Create a 3 minute presentation about your final concept emphasizing the look and feel, the functionality, and the techniques you will be employing. You will be presenting these concepts for feedback from guests with expertise in smart textiles across engineering and art. The goal of the presentation is to learn how to refine your idea and/or avenues for the concept beyond the class. The guest experts are: Anette Millington, Katya Arquilla, Alex Olwal*

Deliverable 3: Final Prototype Documentation

Documentation of your final prototype will be due by the end of day on 12/11 and will be submitted via Canvas.

Your documentation should take the form of a document or webpage that includes the following:

(1) A title

(2) a "hero" image that captures the essence of your project and that you would use if it was included in a print publication. This should be a high quality image that is formatted for print media, particularly at 300 dpi.

(3) a short (no more than 5 minute) video that depicts your prototype in action and clearly demonstrates each of its features in action. If you are going to use any "wizard of oz" or after-effects techniques to demonstrate a functionality that is not yet implemented, please add text describing what is being simulated so we know what you have, indeed, implemented and what you are simulating for the purposes of visualizing the application. Please do your best to show the application working exactly as it has been implemented.

(4) "instructable"-like text describing the materials used in the project as well as a written/pictorial description of how you developed the project. This is like a long weekly devoted to your project and you may re-use text and photos from your previous weeklies in its construction. You may also reference other students' weeklies with their permission. Consider this as instructions for someone else to learn how to replicate or modify your project. Examples that would get an A+ would include:

-- https://www.kobakant.at/KOBA/storytelling-vest/

-- http://lara-grant.com/portfolio/heirloom-electronic-jacket/

Grading Rubric:

Deliverable 4: Final Project Presentation and Critique

Due 12/11 (before class)
*If you submit by 12/8 I will distribute your presentations to our guests for them to take an early review.

Create a 5-minute presentation that describes your concept, the techniques employed, and the way in which the object functions (e.g. as an art object, wearable, robotic thing, etc.). Guest experts will be critiquing your project.

We will devote a class to collectively determining the flow and content of these presentations like we did for the final concept pitches.

The guest experts are: Annet Couwenberg, Madison Maxey, Alex Olwal*

Inspiration

Link to the class compiled and annotated list of portfolios:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ru3J1zBApZlmG0iO9v2i3RQWZZWTH9XOJJGIe-aAs_g/edit

Collections of Techniques and Examples

Kobakant: How to Get What you Want

a collection of how to's, resources, and inspirations for all kinds of soft making. Compiled from examples created by Hannah Perner Wilson and Mika Satomi.
https://www.kobakant.at/DIY/

Stitching Worlds

Stitching Worlds "connects the shared artistic research territory between arts, design, open culture, digital fabrication, information technology and electronics to the engineering and scientific methodologies of textile technology." Their website contains a series of publications and well documented examples of techniques.
https://www.stitchingworlds.net/category/experimentation/

Chimera Wearables Database

a collection of research articles and industry wearables projects organized by metrics such as patents and/or application areas.
https://chimerawearables.com/

e-textile swatch exchange

a digital/physical collection of inspirations and techniques created at e-textiles summer camp.
http://etextile-summercamp.org/swatch-exchange/

e-Textile Lounge

a collection of techniques and material reviews with a focus on sewing. https://lbruning.com/etextilelounge/

Design Research Lab Database

A knit sensor & actuator database created by folks at the Design Research Lab
interactex.de/

WEAR Sustain Knowledge Platform

To quote their about page, this resource "provides guidelines and best practices for design, materials circularity, and product life-cycle development"
https://wearsustain.eu/dashboards/home

Textiel Lab Sample Studio

A collection of new fabrication techniques and outcomes for woven and knitted textiles.
https://samplestudio.textiellab.nl/