Interactive Media Arts @ NYUSH
Sara’s medium post
https://medium.com/@sarabruszt/swapr-a19e362f87e
Dom’s medium post
https://medium.com/@dgn223/the-inception-of-swapr-93e481e396bf
Presentation
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1X9UXpuAGGOA0Yt2zTS71aDi4kyHvKd5BkmZlmEsRib8/edit?usp=sharing
InVision Prototype
https://invis.io/DNR3JY95JUW
Date: 03-11-2019
Partners: Gabriel Chi & Xiaoyan Kong
Analysis of Documentary: “The Next Black – A Film about the Future of Clothing“
The documentary is intended to inspire the audience in terms of the ways that the fashion industry could be improved during the design, production, and maintenance process. For each of the six chapters, a designer or an innovator is invited to talk about a specific topic. The six topics are: Merging Fashion & Tech, Smart Clothes, Brewing Sustainable Fabrics, Fast Fashion, Dyeing without Water, and Fixing Things. From six different perspectives, the chapters open my eyes to the possibilities of how future clothing could be more interesting, technological, and environmentally-friendly.
The first two chapters, which I specifically chose to present in class, were the ones that I was most interested in – especially the first one. Nancy Tilbury from Studio XO, a garment design studio that is dedicated to creating interactive and evolving clothing, said that they designed clothes for artists such as Arcade Fire, The Black Eyed Peas, and Lady Gaga. These artists happened to be some of my favorite ones, and they each had their time and made great impact on the popular music industry. Back in 2009, The Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga brought pop music into the era of EDM, aka electronic dance music, and that was the time that I started to learn about these things. This very much relates to what I think of fashion – a way of self-expression and display of identity. I was reminded of when I watched the video of “Poker Face” for the first time, how Gaga walked out of the swimming pool in her latex skintight dress, and how she wore a pair of glasses with a electric display saying “GAGA” in another scene. Some people didn’t understand her and called her a weirdo for her unorthodox sense of fashion. Indeed, she wanted attention, which was part of the reason why she dressed herself that way, but looking back, nobody could deny what she did was pioneering and trendsetting. She created her own language and narrative to have a say in the industry, by infecting the world with her fashion. The video for “Boom Boom Pow” by The Black Eyed Peas was iconic as well. No wonder these artists are the perfect collaborators for Studio XO. They are not afraid to shock the world with their fashion & tech, and that is essentially how popular culture and fashion industry are constantly influencing and boosting each other.
Teammates: Tiger and Gabriel
Topic: The Next Black
Watching this documentary is really an eye-opening experience for me. In the film, the designers and innovators from different companies and brands around the world gathering together discussing the future of clothing. Explores how clothes could be designed, produced and taken care of. It is a new exploration of how we should define the concept of clothing.
The chapters I am responsible for mainly talk about two things: DryDye Technology and fixing things by yourself. Every year, the process of water dyeing textiles disposes the equivalent of half a Mediterranean Sea into our rivers and streams. The 200,000 tons of toxic chemicals that escape wastewater treatment and end up pollute the water environment while huge comes solely from adding color to textiles. Drydye technology helps dye the textile without using any water which is fantastic. It saves a ton of water while producing colorful textiles.
When we talk about sustainability, many people place the blame on unethical brands and factories. However, it is also our responsibility to buy less and care more about our environment. When things break, we should try to fix them instead of throwing them. Make the most use of it will also get you more connected with your belongings.
Watching this video makes me realized there are so many so many ways to make life/fashion sustainable. And people are doing it. If we cannot be the creator of some kinda new tech or ways to keep things sustainable, at least we should learn this idea and learn from people who are making it possible now. The world needs each of us to take reaction to protect the planet.
Project: Swapr Clothing Exchange Application
Partner: Sara Bruszt
I created an online survey and we received 30 responses from people all around the world. They responded positively and gave us some great input. The main points they mentioned were issues they had with other clothing exchange applications (shipping and chatting system). A very interesting, and somewhat unexpected response, was that some individuals said that they would not mind involving money if either person thought the trade would be unequal. Another interesting outcome of the survey is that a lot of people were excited to meet people in there area with similar style/taste in clothing as them for future trading.
Sara created a paper prototype and started designing the interface. I created the logo. We are working on a pitch presentation for the final as well. On top of interface streamlining, we have also been thinking of how to make the interactions with the app simple, and enjoyable (gratification responses from matching being met with firework animation or confetti).
Moving forward, we are going to continue creating the paper prototype for user testing on Wednesday as well as the presentation.
Considering we are also applying for the NYUAD startup program with this assignment, we are also looking into financing methods.
For my final project, I was thinking of looking into the dyeing process of fabrics between two regions – China and the US/Europe. The textile industry uses trillions of liters of freshwater every year. But these resources become polluted and return to the ecosystem, causing hazardous effects on people and the environment. Carcinogenic chemicals from the waste are directly released into our waterways, posing serious health risks. But recent developments in dyeing processes – especially dry dying and dyes from natural plants – are seeking to eliminate water and energy waste. The US/Europe region has been implementing these methods with some success despite the burden of manufacturing costs and limitations in addressing a range of fabrics. China on the other hand, has been under tight scrutiny due to its ‘Green Agenda,’ that seeks to crackdown on pollution in the 2018-2020 period. I believe that increased government regulation in this area is an incentive for industries to implement sustainable methods of dyeing fabrics. I will attempt to create an interactive video that will be an educational overview of these current trends in dyeing fabrics, and come to a conclusion on effective methods of sustainability in China, including any limitations and roadblocks.
