Topics in Media Arts: Intro To Wearables: Adorning the Head and Face for Communication

This course is designed to provide an introduction to designing wearable for the head and face. It will also present an overview of interaction design for the body. The class will begin with an introduction to non-veral communication through upper body adornment as well as gesture. Next, the class will move into an E-textile 101 breakdown where we will create a simple circuit using soft materials and other sewable components (hand sewing only). After gaining an understanding of sewable electronics, the class will be introduced to working with Adafruit’s Gemma MO, a small sewable microcontroller. Over two weeks the class will explore the available example Arduino code in order to create interactions with LEDs and light/motion sensors. Throughout the course, the class will analyze everyday interactions and explore ways of creating wearables that interact with and communicate non-verbally to the world around us.