Warn Me Puffy!

Future Travel project sponsored by Samsonite 2008

Project Description

My design scenario is intended for the here and now!

As our weather becomes more unpredictable wouldn't it be great if we had a bag to warn us of changing weather conditions. A bag that would puff out and contract to tell us that rain was coming! I have been inspired by the puffer fish and the way in which it inflates itself to warn off predators. I want to imitate the puffer fish texture in textiles. It is the imitation of nature's designs that hold the key to our everyday problems. I want to translate the idea of an alert into a sensory experience through textiles. It will be extremely tactile as well as visual. We don't always need digital readouts to get across a simple message that rain is coming so why not develop textiles that can make the warning a sensory experience.

The idea is that the textiles become a reactive platform that are able to respond to their surroundings, in this case mimicking the puffer fish when it senses rain.

The images below show the beginning of my design using photography and exploring the puffer fish texture. I created sculptures and then photographed them, which i then used towards my design direction. I also made visualisations to show what the bag would do when it sensed rain, in this case puffing out to warn the user. The last set of images show some of my final pieces.

Intended Outcome

• To experiment with unusual materials to create the puffer fish texture, for example with food, plasticine and pins etc.
• Creating a collection of textiles that explore creating puffer fish like textures for a sensory experience.
• Investigate how shape memory polymers would be able to react to its surroundings and moving and contracting the textile to warn the user.
• Be fun and playful with materials and print techniques to reach true puffiness!

Images

Links

Here are some links that show my inspiration for warn me puffy! http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/pufferfish.html Puffer fish info! http://www.ambientdevices.com/products/umbrella.html Umbrella that warns you that it is going to rain http://www.xslabs.net/skorpions/ Dresses that uses shape memory wire http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1542 Shape memory polymers http://www.dynamictextures.com/Thesis/Welcome.html Warning rubber sleeves for hot liquids http://www.inflate.co.uk/i-design-main.swf Unusual inflatables

Contact

email: ca7585@googlemail.com