Building a soft machine: New modes of expressive surfaces

Abstract

This paper will investigate how the distinct role of the textile designer can enrich the design process in HCI. It will advocate embodiment as a design methodology by focusing on a subjective, visceral engagement with material and physical computing using tacit textiles expertise. This theoretical premise is explored drawing on the fields of soft robotics, organic user interfaces and transitive materials for the fabrication of a responsive textile composite. The research uses a range of theoretical references to support its concepts of design thinking and computational materiality and deploys the methodological process of autoethnography as a qualitative system for collecting and evaluating data on the significance of textile thinking. This research concludes that there are insights gained from the creative practice experimental methods of textile thinking in HCI that can contribute to the commercial research and development field in wearable technology.