Reading about crafts!
Before I set this blog up on my new laptop, I did some readings that I’d like to go over.
In the first, I read about a health wearable that tracks the amount of sun exposure a user gets over the course of a day, and displays it using a cherry blossom visualization. The user was asked, in testing, to create their own look with the wearable–the men in the study created unassuming keychains to hang off of their schoolbags, while the one female participant created a fox themed headband. The designers simply wanted the users to be able to express themselves using crafting, and to make the device “their own.” I really like the idea of having the user be involved so much in the design and the look of the final product. I think putting that step in the user’s hands gives them autonomy and choice over the way they look and makes them feel more important, as they should. I also like the idea of having tech products that are meant to be used, be beautiful as well!
Another reading, this one on crafting technology, has an important quote I’d like to share: “The experience of making things by hand is an important part of being human.” -Buechley and Perner-Wilson. I agree with this quote wholeheartedly; part of being human is making lives for ourselves, and that includes making things with our hands. In a survey conducted by the researchers, they found five recurring themes in people’s thoughts about crafting: sharing, aesthetics, peacefulness, ideas, and personal use. These were the things that people wanted out of crafting and felt like they could achieve by crafting. Another part of the paper talked about electronics makers, another type of craftsman, and how they do not focus too much on the aesthetics of the things they make. I want to challenge that idea in my work with electronics, and make things that are beautiful, just as I said in the first paragraph here. What if electronics were both beautiful and useful? It is definitely possible, and I find it important to think about the aesthetics of my creations. To conclude, these researchers ran a workshop that led users to learn more about electronics as a craft and how parts of different arts and crafts can be combined with electronics work to create new and improved outcomes. The workshop also helped the crafters learn about making with electronics, showing that after the workshop, 77% of students felt capable of working with electronics, compared to 44% before the workshop. This shows how important it is to expose people to work with electronics and show them how intuitive it can be. Accessibility to technology is definitely another field that needs work.
The last things I read showed me real world examples of how to use textile crafts alongside electronics to combine the two into a new field of HCI designs. Monarch, a mode of self expression made to look like wings on the wearer’s shoulders, used muscle tension in the arms to move “wings” with respect to the wearer to depict emotions using natural body language. And finally, a workshop led by Buechley and Perner-Wilson taught students to use soft circuitry and e-textiles to DIY things like crochet tilt potentiometers and knit stretch sensors. All of these readings taught me how important crafting is to humanity, and made me very excited to show people how exciting and fulfilling crafting can be!