Category: Projects

Project 02 (Final)

Project 02: Critical Wearable -25%

Design and make a wearable that critically engages with one of the topics below. If you would like to expand on an idea you have begun in an earlier portion of the class, such as in an assignment or project, you are welcome to do so, but Version 2 should show significant growth from the first iteration. Your final design should be tested, (ideally with your target population/site but you can also use yourself as a stand-in) and documented through images and/or video. Documentation should be uploaded to Discord in advance of presentation. Documentation quality will be a key part of assessment. Real time demos are also appreciated. Be prepared to explain your concept and process (with images) in your presentation.

Recommended Concepts (I am happy to discuss additions to this list):  

  • Wearables for non-humans 
  • Wearable for near or distant future 
  • HCI, gaming
  • Novel interfaces for musical expression and performance 
  • Inclusive Design
  • Sustainability, E-Waste, wearable lifecycle  
  • Wearable history 
  • Privacy, Surveillance
  • Gender, Sexuality
  • Critical Race Studies

Sketch due to Discord: 11/16

Final due: 12/07

Project 1

Project 01: Creative Data Tracking – 25% (Midterm) 

One of the most common features of commercial wearable design is biometric data tracking, often for the purposes of improving or correcting human behavior. But what are the limits of biometric data, particularly when considering the diversity of factors that might impact a given body and their position in time and space? What else can data do, aside from seek to correct? Can data reveal, be ambiguous, contradict itself, explore, or be expressive in how it is represented? Using “data tracking,” as a departure point, design a wearable that reveals or visualizes something about the world around you; that interrogates data tracking as a practice; that builds context around seemingly neutral data points; or that that measures and visualizes data in an unconventional way.

Due Week 07, 10/19

Grading Rubric:

Process/ Iteration /5 Strength of concept /5 Technical Execution /5 Aesthetic Execution /5 Documentation /5 Total /25