DMY International Design Festival Berlin, June 9-13

The 8th edition of DMY International Design Festival 2010 will kick off with a grand opening ceremony in the evening of June 9 and it's looking promising. Over 10.000 square meters filled with inspirational prototypes and new product evolutions by over 400 designers invite you to explore the latest developments in the fields of contemporary product design. Continue reading the event description here. According to V2_labs: Participants of the V2_ E-Textile Workspace will be submerged in the world of wearable technology for a day. Experienced workshop leaders will explain the aims and key concepts of the field, and assist participants to build a simple soft interface into one of their own existing garments. The workshop will be beginner level. Continue reading on V2_labs.

Visit electricfoxy's events page for more conference goodness.

A video in progress for Ping

[gallery] Due to popular demand, I'm currently working on a video that demonstrates Ping: A Social Networking Garment. There was a lot of planning, storyboarding, and shot list design to prep for the shoot. Here are some stills of 3 of the scenes. There will be 4 scenes that demonstrate how the garment works. Post-production takes a while so hang tight for the final video.

For more information on Ping, go to the project site or the project's blog post.

Is Wearable Technology Hype or Hope?

[gallery]Syuzi Pakhchyan, media designer, author and editor of Fashioning Technology wrote a great article that's published on Ecouterre. She talks about the hype and hope of wearable technology. "I have very few illusions that the survival of our planet depends entirely on the clever technologies that we, out of dire necessity, will invent. Technology alone is not going to save our planet—but we certainly are. The onus is on us: It is our choices, our demands from the market, that will bring about the necessary actions and changes in the fashion industry. Smart fabrics and wearable technology offer us an opportunity for a more sustainable future, but the promise will be bittersweet if the entire product lifecycle isn’t taken into consideration." Pakhchyan says.

She discusses ideas around nanotechnology, clothing that is infused with story, and hopeful solutions such as power-generating clothing. I love one of the quotes she referenced by educator and philosopher Marshall McLuhan:

"The book is an extension of the eye... Clothing, an extension of the skin... Electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system. Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act -- the way we perceive the world. When these ratios change, men change."

Read her full article on ecouterre.com. Images from ecouterre.com.

Experimental fashion using origami and geometric patterning

[gallery] Artist Mauricio Velasquez Posada has created some gorgeous experimental fashion garments titled Geomorfos. The delicate and intricate pieces of work use complex folding techniques and patterning to create unique structures and forms. I can't imagine realistically wearing these, but as experimental structures they are quite visually irresistible. Imagine if the folds and patterning can move and bend in unique ways and intelligently like the kenetic dress. Watch some of the videos for more visual tastiness:

More on geometric patterning. Images from body pixel and Craftzine. Videos via body pixel.

A wearable soundscape that provides bio feedback

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Emily Carr University Industrial Design student Dana Ramler and MAA student Holly Schmidt created Bio Circuit, which is a wearable soundscape that provides bio feedback based on the physiolgical state of the wearer. The subtlety of the interaction is nice and I like how she used the circuitry as part of the aesthetic patterning on the front of the garment. The soundscape "is provided in the form of recorded sounds the wearer hears through a speaker embedded in the collar of the vest. If the wearer's heart rate is low, the soundscape will reflect a quiet, natural area with sounds such as water, birds, and insects. If the wearer has a high heart rate, they will hear a cacophony of urban sounds such as people talking and traffic." Continue reading on danaramler.com.

More info on the project can be found on Vimeo. Images from Emily Carr University.

A new communication layer promotes emotional awareness

[gallery] Media artists Anja Hertenberger, Barbara Pais, and Danielle Roberts designed and developed this conceptual piece called e-Pressed. Inspired by acupressure therapy, it senses and visualizes our emotional states in ourselves and the people around us. Here's how they describe the project: "These days people feel vulnerable when showing so called negative emotions, such as grief, sadness, pain, fear, anger. We want to make space for these emotions and to communicate them in a new way. Our shirt, e-Pressed is a new communication layer for handling the vulnerability caused by these negative emotions.

By sensing and visualizing inner states, e-Pressed creates awareness in the wearer and in others. Awareness is followed by possible interaction, which is stimulated by light visuals. Areas originating from acupressure therapy will light up and invite the wearer and others to press on them, relieving tension and stimulating well-being." Continue reading on e-Pressed.

Images from e-Pressed.