Agents of Change: From Collection to Connection

Abstract

ABSTRACTCraft has been accused of ‘discontinuity’ (Greer, 2006), simply producing objects to be looked at rather than used. This paper suggests that there is a role for craft practitioners and craft thinkers in the world of interactive technologies. By focusing on new roles for jewellery and through discussion surrounding issues related to this new role, the research proposes that a synthesis between interactive technologies and craft creates a new space for craft and a new method of research practice.Research into wearable computing in the 1990s led by design labs such as Philips and IBM, envisioned clothes and jewellery which would enable communication and entertainment systems to be integrated into clothing and jewellery. The mode and purpose of wearing jewellery make it an appropriate choice as a controlling device in physical computing (Wallace and Dearden, 2005). The challenge for the craftsperson is to demonstrate that craft thinking can add to the field of interaction design through the application of knowledge and understanding of the cultural and personal significance of the worn object and an understanding of materials and processes.The researchers have employed methods from their individual practices as a jeweller and multimedia artist to produce physical objects interfaced with digital media as a vehicle for exploring user response. A hybrid of user-centred design methods, interactive technology and craft thinking are fundamental to the research. In user-centred design the designers engage actively with end-users to gather insights that drive design from the earliest stages of product and service development, right through the design process (Black, 2004). The value of the jeweller and multimedia artist collaborating as researchers is in applying the specific skills, knowledge and sensibilities of craft and interactive media to conception and making. However, within craft and multimedia art, evaluation frameworks as understood within other disciplines such as human-computer interaction (HCI) and product design, simply do not exist: analysis of objects and their reception by wearers is based on implicit knowledge and subjective assumptions.The combination of methods from within and without craft has enabled the researchers to suggest new ways of synthesizing jewellery and technology and suggested new areas for further research in terms of engagement and functionality. The synthesis of methods from outside the traditional domain of craft, in particular from user-centred design, has resulted in a new methodology for craft practice, repositioning the craftsperson from a guardian of tradition to an agent of change.