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Leather as a material for crafting interactive and physical artifacts
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Leather is a material used for the making of artifacts ever since early human history, and which can be used also in contemporary design for various types of interactive and electronic products. In this paper, we present a series of small scale explorations of leather, first as skin close interfaces for physical engagement, and secondly in terms of crafting using hand tools and a laser cutter. We reflect on our experiences along these two strands and discuss future possibilities of leather as a rich material for providing new types of interactive experiences. By discussing emerging topics related to traditional crafting processes and contemporary rapid fabrication with this material, we find a great potential of merging such processes and tools for future interaction design settings.
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... This informed new attempts on tangible interaction design that emphasize material entanglements [17,60] as the field of hybrid craft emerged under various names within this space [6,33,45]. Hybrid craft projects cover materials, practices, and digital interventions across many domains including pottery [3,50,63], textiles [41,43], paper [29,51], or leather [58], among many others. These invoke very different material encounters [45] that can be captured differently. ...
... Mycelium skin and SCOBY leather have been used as scaffolding for embedding electronics, offering unique interactivity by changing texture and appearance over time [3,21,22]. Material traces resulting from these changes can enhance traditional forms of interactivity [17,19], while the biodegradable nature of these materials allows for the reharvesting of electronic components at the end of the wearables' life [2,10]. Besides sustainability benefits, bio-based materials also possess other less explored qualities such as their ability to dissolve in water or be shaped in ways apart from molding and layering [2,10]. ...
... These materials provide additional interactivity by changing texture and appearance over time, beyond electronic circuitry. Material traces created by the changes in the materials can further serve as inputs and enhancements to other, more traditional, forms of interactivity [16,18]. Due to their properties of biodegradability, such materials can also allow the reuse or reharvesting of electronic components at the end of the life of such wearables or electronic devices. ...
Motivated by the growing use and incorporation of bio-based materials in textiles and wearables, we explore one of these materials' quality, dissolving, as an intentional affordance to design ephemeral wearables for fashion. We developed techniques to make biofoam strings, resembling yarns, and used them to weave, crochet, or knit three wearables: seasonal footwear, a revealing bralette, and an unfolding lace top. While being comfortable to wear and providing a unique tactile experience, the wearables dissolve in water, thus adapting to the user’s needs. The three wearables were designed with short-term use in mind from a seasonal look to a one-time reveal. These three use cases enable a new design space where revealing and ephemeral fashion can be intentional affordances when designing dissolving wearables.
... Buechley and Perner-Wilson, 2012;Zoran, 2015;Tsaknaki, 2017;Nitsche and Weisling, 2019). Thus creative processes that are based on craft and craftsmanship include, for example, HCI work around weaving, silversmithing practice, bookbinding, knitting, leather craft and timber framing, among others Maestri and Wakkary, 2011;Rosner and Ryokai, 2008;Rosner and Taylor, 2011;Tsaknaki et al., 2014Tsaknaki et al., , 2017Dew and Rosner, 2018). Here, scholars are exploring craft practices and craft history to map out experiences from within and expand design research by drawing on the rich legacy of craft work, thereby resulting in reflections on how these in return can inform and contribute to HCI, as well as by combining craft and computational materials in co-creation. ...
This doctoral thesis explores interaction between humans, materials, and machines, in the context of makerspaces. The concept of making describes a practice that deals with new technologies in combination with craft to create artifacts in physical, digital and hybrid forms. Despite substantial research, there is still a need to examine what practices of making have to offer to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research. This particularly concerns investigations of the close relations between the multitudes of different activities, materials, machines and things in such shared spaces.
Making is discussed as a practice of importance for interaction design and conceptualised as involving a particular mindset when engaging with materials and machines. Based on this, my work argues that the phenomenon calls for a deeper reflection on recent movements on material interaction and materiality on the one hand, and perspectives on machine interactions on the other. I explore how situated and embodied practices can be revealed in investigations of makerspace activities. Further, my work describes how makers experience and make sense of the materials and machines that populate makerspaces. Finally, I map out how insights on experience and practice with machines and materials can be conceptualised in a way that become useful for contemporary interaction design practices.
The presented research builds on four qualitative studies, in which I draw on investigations in the makerspace and combine an ethnographic approach with participant observation, design methods and contextual inquiry. The resulting five collaboratively written papers frame making as an experience in itself and discover particular ways of making sense of materials. Further, we study embodied and situated dimensions of 3D printing, as well as practices concerning modding and the maintenance of machines and explore how practitioners may develop a maker mindset. The papers contribute with a set of conceptualisations such as “material literacy” when taking artifacts apart, “machine sensibility”, which practitioners show in their interaction with 3D printing, and the “pliable machine” that emerged from studying modding of a laser cutter. These conceptualizations highlight new aspects and perspectives of maker activities and interactions previously less accounted for.
Tanneries and textile industries significantly impact aquatic ecosystems through the discharge of effluents containing heavy metals, dyes, and metal-resistant bacterial pathogens. This review examines the potential of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) for addressing these environmental challenges. It offers a comprehensive analysis of LDH morphology, synthesis techniques, and performance in wastewater remediation. LDHs are ionic lamellar hydroxides, containing two different metal cations in the main layers and anionic species in the interlayer, have attracted substantial research interest due to their ease of synthesis and unique properties. This review distinguishes itself by correlating various synthesis methods for LDHs directly with their efficacy in wastewater remediation, offering insights not typically covered in other reviews. Furthermore, the review explores the critical role of interlayer anions, such as carbonate and sulfate, in determining its influence in the structural, chemical, and physical properties of LDHs. It also addresses how modifications with graphitic carbon nitride (gC3N4) and graphene-based materials enhance LDH’s performance by increasing surface area, delaying charge recombination, and improving adsorption and photocatalytic activity. he review evaluates the impact of these factors on the removal of pollutants from wastewater and provides an in-depth discussion of the mechanisms involved in pollutant removal, including adsorption, ion exchange, and photocatalysis. It also highlights the antibacterial properties of LDHs, particularly when combined with advanced materials, demonstrating their potential antimicrobial efficacy. In addition to presenting a fresh perspective on the correlation between synthesis methods and performance outcomes, this review offers a comprehensive overview of the limitations and challenges associated with LDH technologies. It provides valuable insights into the optimization process and practical considerations, making it an essential resource for advancing LDH technologies in real-world wastewater treatment applications.
Although physical artifacts that represent data have been used for centuries, the research field –known as data physicalization– has only recently gained traction. Compared to data visualization, there is no established vocabulary for analysing and discussing the properties of physicalizations. Through a grounded analysis of examples and literature, we propose a comprehensive design vocabulary, which consist of three separate, but connected parts: ‘explicit variables’ , ‘implicit properties’ , and ‘consequential aspects’ . Explicit variables build on visual variables known from visualization and extend it to account for physicalization’s multi-modal nature. Implicit properties concern elements which are central to the design intention and user experience of physicalizations, yet are not a result of ‘explicit’ encoding strategies. Finally, consequential aspects refer to unintentional effects of design decisions, that influence how a physicalization is experienced. Our work illustrates how physicalizations incorporate opportunities and challenges that are not afforded in other data representations, such as embodiment and ‘imagined touch’ . With this, we contribute to generating theory on physicalization. Our design vocabulary can support (1) creators through informing their design processes and highlighting design strategies, (2) educators, and (3) academics and practitioners to analyse existing physicalizations, and reflect on the impact of design decisions on interpretation and experience.
As extended reality (XR) systems become increasingly available, XR-based remote instruction is being adopted for diverse purposes in professional settings such as surgery and field servicing. Hobbyists have been well-studied in HCI and may similarly benefit from remote skill-sharing. However, little is known about how XR technologies might support expert-novice collaboration for skilled hobby activities. This paper examines the potential and limitations of XR to connect experts and novices for one such activity: gardening. Through two studies involving 27 expert and novice gardeners, we designed prototypes to understand 1) practitioner perceptions of XR and remote skill-sharing in the garden and 2) what kinds of interactions can be supported in XR for expert-novice groups. We discuss design opportunities and challenges for XR systems in supporting informal connecting interactions and meaningful sensory interactions with a remote environment during skill-sharing.
Over the last two decades, craft practice has played a considerable role in practice-led design research, especially as the subject and the vehicle for theoretical inquiry. This article aims to reveal how craft as a way of thinking through material can be incorporated into practice-led design research. The author’s completed dissertation exploring the expressivity of materials in textiles is used to demonstrate how craft can drive a practice-led research process and how research can enhance craft practice. The dissertation exemplifies how the author employed her own craft practice as the main method for design research. The method was utilized in relation to Merleau-Ponty’s and Heidegger’s phenomenology and the method of questioning viewers during two exhibitions featuring artifacts resulting from the author’s craft practice. Positioning craft practice in a research context can facilitate the reflection and articulation of knowledge generated from within the researcher-practitioner’s artistic experience, so that the knowledge becomes explicit as a written text or as a means of visual representation. Research can not only transform ways of designing or making artifacts, but also theoretically inform practice so that the practice can develop the practitioner’s aesthetic intelligence, the results of which are craft objects that can be understood more easily by viewers.
We present LaserOrigami, a rapid prototyping system that produces 3D objects using a laser cutter. LaserOrigami is substantially faster than traditional 3D fabrication techniques such as 3D printing and unlike traditional laser cutting the resulting 3D objects require no manual assembly. The key idea behind LaserOrigami is that it achieves three-dimensionality by folding and stretching the workpiece, rather than by placing joints, thereby eliminating the need for manual assembly. LaserOrigami achieves this by heating up selected regions of the workpiece until they become compliant and bend down under the force of gravity. LaserOrigami administers the heat by defocusing the laser, which distributes the laser's power across a larger surface. LaserOrigami implements cutting and bending in a single integrated process by automatically moving the cutting table up and down-when users take out the workpiece, it is already fully assembled. We present the three main design elements of LaserOrigami: the bend, the suspender, and the stretch, and demonstrate how to use them to fabricate a range of physical objects. Finally, we demonstrate an interactive fabrication version of LaserOrigami, a process in which user interaction and fabrication alternate step-by-step.
AutoGami is a toolkit for designing automated movable paper craft using the technology of selective inductive power transmission. AutoGami has hardware and software components that allow users to design and implement automated movable paper craft without any prerequisite knowledge of electronics; it also supports rapid prototyping. Apart from developing the toolkit, we have analyzed the design space of movable paper craft and developed a taxonomy to facilitate the design of automated paper craft. AutoGami made consistently strong showings in design workshops, confirming its viability in supporting engagement and creativity as well as its usability in storytelling through paper craft. Additional highlights include rapid prototyping of product design as well as interaction design such as human-robot interactions.
Tangible user interfaces utilize our ability to interact with everyday objects in order to manipulate virtual data. Designers and engineers usually follow the rule "form follows function", they support an existing interaction with a purpose-built interface. Still, we do not fully exploit the expressiveness of forms, materials and shapes of the nondigital objects we interact with. Therefore, we propose to invert the design process: we empower materiality to inspire the implementation of tangible interactions. Glass objects were chosen as an example of culturally and structurally rich objects: in a three-month workshop, these glass objects were transformed into interactive artefacts. In the paper, we present three resulting contributions: First, we describe our inverted design process as a tool for the stimulation of multidisciplinary development. Second, we derive a list of material-induced interactions. Third, we suggest form-related interactions as a means of designing future tangible interfaces.
Embedded programming is typically made accessible through modular electronics toolkits. In this paper, we explore an alternative approach, combining microcontrollers with craft materials and processes as a means of bringing new groups of people and skills to technology production. We have developed simple and robust techniques for drawing circuits with conductive ink on paper, enabling off-the-shelf electronic components to be embedded directly into interactive artifacts. We have also developed an set of hardware and software tools -- an instance of what we call an "untoolkit" -- to provide an accessible toolchain for the programming of microcontrollers. We evaluated our techniques in a number of workshops, one of which is detailed in the paper. Four broader themes emerge: accessibility and appeal, the integration of craft and technology, microcontrollers vs. electronic toolkits, and the relationship between programming and physical artifacts. We also expand more generally on the idea of an untoolkit, offering a definition and some design principles, as well as suggest potential areas of future research.
This paper discusses the design process of VR/Urban's public tangible interface SMSlingshot, a real-time system for urban interventions on Media Façades, which we have exhibited in the last few years around the world. In this case study we investigate how the design collaboration between technologists and industrial designers contributed to the success of the urban intervention. The design process of this 'product' has many DIY aspects, with professional industrial designers and technologists becoming expert amateurs, often dealing with problems that pushed them outside of their professional comfort zone. Don't be afraid of being an amateur!
Though information is popularly, and often academically, understood to be immaterial, nonetheless, we only encounter it in material forms, in books, on laptops, in our brains, in spoken language, and so forth. In the past decade, HCI has increasingly focused on the material dimensions of interacting with computational devices and information. This paper explores three major strands of this research—tangible user interfaces, theories of computational materiality, and craft-oriented approaches to HCI. We argue that each of these offers a formulation of the materiality of interaction: as physical, as metaphysical, or as tradition communicating. We situate these three formulations in relation to debates on the nature of media, from philosophical aesthetics (the ontology of art, in particular), media studies, and visual cultural studies. We argue that the formulations of materiality, information, and meaning from HCI and those from the humanities have deeper underlying similarities than may be expected and that exploring these similarities have two significant benefits. Such an analysis can benefit these differing threads in different ways, taking their current theories and adding to them. It also serves as a basis to import philosophical art concepts in a robust way into HCI, that is, not simply as prepackaged ideas to be applied to HCI, but rather as ideas always already enmeshed in productive and living debates that HCI is now poised to enter—to the benefit of both HCI and the humanities.