Project Definition
Objects created by designers refer to fashion and style in order to be
desirable (i.e., compatible with human physical and emotional desire).
Design is a coordinated process mediating the material world with contemporary
culture. Interaction Design determines how people communicate. The extension
of interaction design in the field of fashion design can happen through
designing the media devices, information and communication content in
dynamic and digital forms, and the creation of culture and the services
to implement it.
The wearables project is a flexible framework for developing concepts
for objects, garments, and visual communication design. The results of
the wearables project could be a small physical device, a garment with
embedded circuitry, a connection between a wearable computer and virtual
space, etc. The projects may focus on specific communication and/or expression
and may contain graphic elements as well as physical form.
Criteria for success
Students will be evaluated on their process, the conceptual excellence
and aesthetic qualities of interaction embodied in the final work (do
I desire this interaction?), and the documentation of their prototype
and the supporting ideas.
Activities
Over the five week period students will be introduced to the topic of
wearables, develop concepts for a wearable, and produce a working prototype.
Discussions will survey the history and current context of wearables,
provide insight into the fashion industry, and discuss technology required
for the production of these artefacts. Individual critiques and weekly
class critiques will assist the students informing and implementing their
concepts. Each student (working in groups or by themselves) will complete
a rough working prototype to demonstrate their ideas. At the end of the
course, some projects will be developed into finished model. Throughout
the workshop, each student will maintain a web diary to document their
process. Each group will make a web presentation of their final project
in the week following the final critique.
Skills
Students will learn the skills necessary to build a prototype of their
ideas. These include idea generation, concept development, and practical
prototyping skills. Prototyping skills many include (but are not limited
to) enhancing their knowledge of basic stamp interfacing and programming,
connecting physical devices to graphic spaces, and the design of physical
devices.
Schedule
01/22 _Project introduction
01/29 _Class critique
01/31 _Individual group discussions
02/05 _Small group critique, Rough prototype
02/07 _Individual group discussions
02/12 _Small group critique, working prototype Consumer
electronics
discussion Guest Matthias Richter
02/14 _Individual group discussions
02/18 _Final critique
Associate Professor
Casey Reas
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