Entwined approaches: integrating design, art and science in design research-by-practice

Drawing on experience gained through a recently completed practice-led PhD project in textiles this paper considers the importance of evolving design research methodologies that integrate the intuitive, creative and poetic approaches prevalent in professional design practice with more quantifiable academic research methods. The paper explores the relationship between scientific and artistic approaches in practice-led design research and possible means by which they can be balanced in order to accurately reflect both the technological and poetic aspects of such research. This paper surveys existing discourse originating from studies of design practice, particularly regarding ‘thinking-in-action’ (Harrison, 1978; Schön, 1995; Cross, 2007; Pallasmaa, 2009), ‘productive science’ (Buchanan, 2007; Tooming Buchanan, 2010) and active documentation of studio practice (de Freitas, 2002). However, influential debate on the subject is not limited to the discipline of design. The paper also discusses how a multi-perspectival approach and the use of multi-strand methodologies originating from the social sciences (Richardson, 2000; Denzin & Lincoln, 2008) have been applied in a specifically textile design research context. This paper, illustrated by examples drawn from the project, explores the potential of an integrated approach using a ‘bricolage’ of methods (Kincheloe, 2001) to produce original research outputs that address both theoretical and practical questions, allowing for investigation of the metaphysical, the emotional and the imaginative alongside the technical

Engineering opportunities for originality and invention: the importance of playful making as developmental method in practice-led design research

Donald Schön (1995) describes the development of design through making as a reflective ‘conversation with the materials of the situation’. In design practice and research this dynamic dialogue often originates from playful making processes built on intuition and embodied knowledge. Using ludic research methods in practice-led research allows one to work spontaneously and without pre-meditated purpose. It offers opportunities to break out of linear patterns of thought and established ways of working ingrained by institutional education and years of professional practice. But how is it possible to preserve this precious playfulness within institutional constraints that often prioritise intellectualised, rationalised and well-documented methodologies? To achieve balance and rigor it is necessary to devise systems to record and reflect upon both the pragmatic and the phenomenological aspects of the research without losing the spontaneity of embodied, playful and intuitive design practices. This paper investigates the use of methods such as ‘reflection-in-action’ and ‘active documentation’ that allows the later evaluation and analysis of playful research activities whilst maintaining the ability to play authentically at the point of making. It explores how such methods might best support the development of original practice-led design research that retains playful practices of making at its core

Crafting innovation: the intersection of craft and technology in the production of contemporary textiles

This article has grown from a programme of practice-led research entitled ‘Structural Textiles: Adaptable Form and Surface in Three-Dimensions’. In this research traditional textile craft practices centred on hand making have provided an essential foundation from which to develop deployable textile structures that have customizable behavioural properties. The article investigates the importance of touch in acquiring under- standing of textile artefacts and the significance of this tactile acquisition of knowledge in the process of textile production. In such practice, innovation is generated through the maker’s creative responses to unforeseen behaviours of both process and material. However, the research also has also drawn on CAD/CAM technologies that enable the creation of designs and products with increased accuracy and complexity but reduce or remove instances of handcrafting in the making process. The article considers how sensory information gained through touch and the embodied knowledge that this generates can be preserved as part of contemporary textile practice whilst exploiting the potential of CAD/CAM and other automated processes to create complex and innovative outcomes

Ways of knowing and making: searching for an optimal integration of hand and machine in the textile design process

Textile design methodologies are evolving to embrace opportunities for innovation given by technological developments in both process and materials. Transfer of CAD/ CAM technologies from disciplines such as architecture and engineering is contributing to the dissolution of boundaries between textile and non-textile, leading to the design of exciting new products. In this changing landscape the textile designer becomes more than creator of functional, commercial products; the application of art & design perspectives and methods to technological development can expand the discourse beyond purely functional parameters, suggesting alternative futures where beauty, utility and intuition all play a role. Our knowledge of textiles is largely mediated by touch. Much textile design practice is still carried out intuitively, informed by tacit knowledge gained through tactile, sensual exploration of materials. This paper investigates ways in which the benefits of CAD/CAM technologies can be realised whilst retaining playful, intuitive exploration that can humanize disembodied digital processes and outcomes. A case study illustrates how hand and machine processes were interwoven to create textiles with inherent structural properties. Aesthetic, yet not purely decorative, predetermined folds transform 2-D surface into 3-D form, creating adaptable structures with potential application across various disciplines in wide-ranging scales and materials

Textile thinking for sustainable materials

A textile can be defined as a flexible material consisting of networks of interlacing natural or synthetic fibres. These networks are formed using various processes including weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting or bonding. The applications of textiles are endless and as such their pervasive nature places them as a key component of material culture. Textiles encompass aspects of design, art, craft and technology indicating that textile practitioners, in this context those who design and make textiles, possess ‘both a personal and collective tacit understanding of a specific blend of knowledge’ (Igoe 2010). Until recently this knowledge or way of thinking - ‘textile thinking’ - has remained largely unarticulated. However such thinking has the capacity to originate new materials and material systems, as well as to express and enhance the potential sensory pleasure of existing materials (Igoe 2012; Spuybroek 2005). The unique intelligence of textile thinking and the material culture it informs is often overlooked due to the tacit nature of the knowledge involved, which is often stored in the hands of the practitioner or embodied in the resulting textile artifacts. In this paper we explore the nature of ‘textile thinking’, its origins in traditional craft approaches, the knowledge it generates and its potential for application within the context of sustainable materials design through presenting the development of a project called ‘Textile Thinking for Sustainable Materials’ (TTSM). The project brings together textile designers, product designers, materials scientists, chemists and engineers to establish creative dialogues, with particular focus on an interactive networking event that was held at Loughborough University in May 2012. The project aims to: establish a number of creative dialogues which explore the development of new sustainable materials for design-led functions, alternative use of materials technologies towards design, and new applications of existing sustainable materials within design contexts; to capture and present emerging dialogues and concepts to create platforms for new research pathways; and to assess the application of ‘textile thinking’ within sustainable materials design as a means of advancing knowledge within this field. By working with textile practitioners the project draws on the pervasive nature of textiles to consider the possibilities of materials from: process perspectives, drawing on traditional textile production methods including weaving, knitting, printing and embroidery; aesthetic perspectives, drawing on decorative traditions; and functional perspectives, drawing on perceptions of use

Fabric based frequency selective surfaces using weaving and screen printing

Two examples of fabric based frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) are presented. The FSSs are produced by using screen printing and weaving. Both measured and simulated data are presented showing excellent agreement and performance for the FSSs when compared with the simulated data. The performance of these samples points towards a useful screening technique using fabric hangings and wall coverings in a range of applications where temporary electromagnetic wave ingress or egress needs to be controlled

Fictional folds 1: circular format

Fictional folds 1: circular forma

Textile origami folding

Textile origami foldin

Deployable textile structure 1: fireproof polyester

A novel, textile-type material, capable of sustaining three-dimensional, adaptable form with little or no supporting substructure. The textile has functionality relevant to a range of applications. The potential for transferable application of the physical outputs of this research has been recognised by people in areas including sportswear, solar harvesting and electronic engineering when the work has been shown at venues in the UK and abroad

Deployable textile structure 4: large foiled polyester

A novel, textile-type material, capable of sustaining three-dimensional, adaptable form with little or no supporting substructure. The textile has functionality relevant to a range of applications. The potential for transferable application of the physical outputs of this research has been recognised by people in areas including sportswear, solar harvesting and electronic engineering when the work has been shown at venues in the UK and abroad