Project: 
Arts & Crafts
Abstract: 
As interactive objects get embedded into different cultural contexts and take on more varied material forms, the relationship between interaction design and crafting practices in the physical domain is becoming increasingly interwoven. In this paper, we present an explorative project that involved intense collaborations between the areas of interaction design and silversmith practice. A main focus of the investigation concerned ways of surfacing conductive metals in interactive artefacts through the making of small, three-dimensional, and close-to-skin sensors. We reflect on insights made during this process, focusing on the challenges of combining the two knowledge areas on a level of materials, tools and techniques. In particular, we discuss qualities that silversmith crafting brings forth that can inform future directions of interaction design in terms of interaction gestalts, design values and hybrid crafting practices, more broadly.
Authors: 
Tsaknaki, V., Fernaeus, Y., Rapp, E., and Solsona, J.
Published in: 
In Proceedings of Designing Interactive Systems, DIS'17, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Date: 
Wednesday, June 14, 2017 - 10:15