The Journal was created as part of the module “Embodied Interaction” in the Interaction Design program at the ZHdK, HS 2021.
Students: Alessia Wiss Daniela Spühler Mai Watanabe Ramona Rüttimann
Mentored by: Dr. Joëlle Bitton Verena Ziegler Aurelian Ammon
<aside> <img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/0d866289-efae-472c-9c6c-3e18ced79738/icons-05.jpg" alt="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/0d866289-efae-472c-9c6c-3e18ced79738/icons-05.jpg" width="40px" /> Papilionidea is an embodied interactive wearable and showcases the transition into a new mindset. It is about letting go of old patterns and negative memories, as well as the feeling of unfolding your own potential and beauty.
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AW_DS_MW_RR_Papilionidea_Video.mp4
Do you know the feeling of being restrained and trapped in life? How does the freeing release afterward feel like? These were the main questions we asked ourselves again and again during our project. For this, we have thought a lot about how it feels for us to develop and work on ourselves. Hereby we would also like to emphasize that everyone feels differently and perceives things differently, and we have tried to take this into account.
In our project Papilionidea, the volume of the environment is measured. The loudspeakers emit a nerve-racking noise if the volume jumps above a certain level. This is highly unpleasant to the person wearing the wearable, and they are trapped in their own personality. This symbolizes that our society often prevents the full unfolding of our own potential. We too often do and listen to what society tells us, instead of learning to love and accept ourselves and thus develop ourselves further.
The main part of the wearable consists of various aluminum pieces, which can be assembled individually. We can add and take away parts, and thus anyone can wear it. It does not depend on a person's sex, height, or width. It was important that we exclude no one and that everyone could unfold and develop their potential and beauty.
Some different parts of the construction can be pulled up or taken off while wearing. Firstly, we have built a beautiful puff sleeve for the shoulders, which are covered by a black jacket. You can take the jacket off, and the neon-colored construction will come to light. In addition, we have a hip fan, which can be pulled up at the end of the spine and thus conjure up beautiful curves. In addition, we have two small metal rings on the hip part that hold two pieces of fabric together. If you pull on these, the black fabric falls off, and a neon-colored light fabric falls at the hips. The end product of this is a beautifully luminous wearable that is meant to give the wearer a sense of relief, beauty, and unfolding. The UV light we installed for the performance underlines these feelings and emphasizes the inner beauty and elegance of the person who wears it. Additionally, you even get new feelings of safety and security and courage to unfold further to show the world who you really are.
During the six weeks of the Embodied Interaction module, we focused on the topic of "Embodied Fabrication" in teams of four. We had the opportunity to investigate ways that we can transform our physical selves and environments with flexible and accessible modes of fabrication.
During the module we uncovered some possibilities by designing and informing our bodily environment with personal data. Furthermore we tried to include different design factors like material intimacy, different processes of fabrication, physical interaction that impact the digital fabrication, data tracking, data mapping, wearability and performative aspects.
Or wearable should not only look aesthetic but should also function during different performances and show how we implemented data.
