Category: Encoded Cloth from the Future

Octopus Close

Octopus Full

Octopus Close 2

Written Reflection

Your process for conceptualizing and making your object

Our process started with imagining the reality of the future and comparing how it may differ from the present. Our conclusion was that humanity’s longing for physical touch will continue or even intensify, as we imagine the world of the future to be filled with smooth, cold computer screens and digitized interactions. This initiated our exploration of a comfort object for people of all ages of the future, specifically exploring the different textures we could create and use that contrast with that of flat screens. Thinking about different toys and comfort objects we use today and how these date back to several years back, we decided to build a stuffed octopus, where each tentacle would have a different texture. 

What worked well and why you think it worked well

The sizing of the octopus was a concern at first, as we intended to make the octopus handheld for personal use. However during the critique, the octopus was able to be shared amongst multiple people, each experiencing a different tentacle and thereby a different textural experience. Another element that worked well was the plain color of the octopus, as it let the different textural aspects be further emphasized and removed distractions. The lack of color also implies that future life is overstimulating, and to relax people may turn to plainer-colored comfort objects made of natural fabrics rather than bright, artificially colored synthetic materials. Additionally, the varied combinations of fillings and outer textures resulted in a wider range of experiences without overcomplicating our fabrication process. 

What you would improve or change and why

The finishing of the edges could be improved. Though the raw edges give a more rough feeling that also provides another dimension to a textural experience, with more time and skill, the toy could be more securely fabricated. Also, the lack of variety in fabric allowed the experience to be solely about the fillings and the outer textures, though we would like to explore other natural materials to create even more combinations.

What you learned through this project and what you might take from this project with you into future projects

This project had a more intense brainstorming process, which allowed us to combine our ideas and talk about what we wanted to do for the project extensively. I think this extended brainstorm and discussion about the project further clarified our goals and what we wanted to create. Also, we learned a great deal about modifying initial project goals throughout the creation process. Being able to accomplish our intended goal while being flexible with specific design requirements will be a useful skill in future projects. 

I had very little experience with using the sewing machine and making plushies, so the entire fabrication process for this stuffed octopus was quite challenging for me. In terms of skills, I was able to further improve my ability to use a sewing machine and make 3D structures with it. Because of this, I feel much more confident in being able to incorporate this fabrication method into my future projects. 

Plant theme character from future 

Concept: 

In the future, climate change will have an increasing impact on the environment and in order to combat this we want to create a character that can survive in harsh environments (cold/hot weather, natural disasters). 

We want to make something that symbolizes nature and technology, and what better than having a character with a ‘cloth’ fitbit, glasses, green leaves around it, etc.

For the base, we want to have a felted ball, and then sew a covering on.

We also want to incorporate the pattern of green nature related symbols with our character (possibly as a handkerchief the character uses).

We want to create character that symbolize hope and survival in a harsh environment. In the future, we believe that many people would suffer from hunger and due to global warming, it would be very hard for people to survive. However, the character can symbolize survival in the environment. 

We can use red fabric as the hair, similar to wildfire, and the character sits on a sea of water (as though there are ice polars melting). 

They can have metallic wings (airplane – looking to symbolize future in technology like flying cars)

Materials 

1. Wool for felting
2. Foils 
3. Glitters 
4. Patterns we created 

Concept:

In 2070, we believe that there would be 3 things that people would fear (water, fire, and snow). These are influenced by the results of climate change. As a result, people would worship the Fire, Water, and Snow Gods.

We would be printing the designs that symbolize water, fire, and snow. We also plan to cut the fabric into many pieces and then dye each piece using a different color. We would then sew the different pieces together. This is a way to show the Gods coming together to protect the people. This idea/design might change based on the outcome of the prints.

Images:

Below are the water, fire, and snow symbols

Below are the images to symbolize the Fire, Water, and Snow Gods

Material List:

1. Cloth to print on
2. different dye colors (blue, yellow, red, black)
3. 5 buckets to dye in
4. rubber bands/marbles/floss to help create designs
5. sewing machine
6. threads
7. water
8. salt and other things needed to dye

We will make a teddy bear of the future.

Concept

In the future, despite advanced technologies and a changing world, there are certain aspects of the human condition that are consistent with what we experience today. Currently, children usually have comfort items like teddy bears and blankies to calm them.

In the future, these comfort items are increasingly used by adults. Because everything has become smooth (phone screens, glass buildings, computers), people need textured sensory stimulation. To have a break from scrolling and interacting with smooth, flat, cold glass, people have tactile toys to give them a break. These toys are therefore made with rough, angled, warmer fabrics and textiles. Rather than a smooth teddy bear being calming today, people find spikier and rougher objects comforting as a break from the smoother, flat objects they interact with all day.

Materials

The textiles of the future are largely synthetic, colder, and uninteresting to the touch. These are easier and cheaper to produce than the natural fabrics of today. Therefore, in the future, people long for rough cloths like linen, cotton-seed, denim, burlap, and wool. Therefore, we will be using these rougher natural fabrics in our project.

Idea Summary

We will be making a teddy bear out of these rougher materials to symbolize this shift. Teddy bears have been used for centuries and are associated with warmth, love, and childhood. It’ll be stuffed with synthetic cotton balls, but the exterior fiber will be all natural and rough to the touch.

Essentially, we are making an uncomfortable teddy bear by our modern standards.

1. Spaceship boarding
2. Colliding planets 
3. City in space – think Elysium 
4. Mars colony 
5. Looking down on earth 
6. Spaceship construction
7. Resource extraction in space with broken earth in background
8. Clear sky
9. Futuristic spacesuits
10. Plant in space 
11. Birds flying into space
12. Astronaut welcoming tourists
13. View from office building on Mars
14. Plans for toppling government – in patches
15. People hiding from guards
16. Vintage iPhone 20 for sale
17. Three little humans (three little pigs)
18. Peaceful ocean
19. Kids playing at the beach
20. Under the sea
21. Water getting darker 
22. Water floating
23. Raining
24. Rain and flooding
25. People walking in the rain
26. Trash in the ocean
27. “Fast food” in the future
28. Endless streams of data / records
29. Ice Age
30. City in Ice
31. Ice in space
32. Varied peoples in outer planets
33. Uniformed peoples in outer planets
34. Man looking at clock with master/boss/government behind
35. Rising sea levels 
36. Flooded towns
37. Water extraction in space
38. Touching light
39. Radiation
40. Different light colors
41. Stars in space
42. Imagery stars
43. Naval Maps
44. Schedules of work, routine
45. Crew hierarchy/roles
46. Journey from sea to space
47. Dreams of what land looks like
48. Oppressiveness of sea and space
49. Monsters/god personification of land, sea, space
50. Evolution of ships
51. A circular tent made out of cloth and sticks
52. A tent made out of multiple triangle shaped cloth
53. Wall hanging with LED lights in the back
54. Wall hanging with colorful LED lights in the back
55. Table cloth with patches sewn on it
56. Quilt made up of different patches
57. Strips of cloth tied to each other (like a loose rope)
58. Strips of cloth tied tightly with each other
59. Strips of cloth braided
60. Cube made out of 6 pieces of cloth
61. Raincoat made out of dye cloth
62. Raincoat made out of dye cloth of different materials
63. Cloth sew together to look like a plastic bag
64. Cloth sew together to look like an open chips bag
65. Wall hanging that looks like dead plants
66. Wall hanging of strips of paper cranes in different lengths
67. Raincoat wall hanging 
68. Different raincoats sewn together 
69. Wet + dry Felt on quilt
70. Wall hanging of cloth AND LED
71. Forms inspired by naval traditions – ships and crew
72. Waterproof
73. Vacuum proof (both?)
74. Umbrella/safety equipment in the future
75. Different mini umbrellas made out of different cloth materials
76. Umbrella with LED lights attached to it
77. Umbrella + raincoat combination
78. Wall hanging made out of cloth shaped leaves
79. Lunch container with foods of the future
80. Multi Purpose phone case
81. Computer from 2070
82. Ropes made out of dyed cloth pieces to hold snacks
83. Four seasons
84. Day/ night contrasts
85. Dictatorship
86. Wealthy suburban explorers
87. Environmental disaster
88. Large Waste
89. Dark gloomy sewers
90. Rainforest
91. Space colony
92. Memories from 2065
93. Restricted Freedoms 
94. Desperation of humanity
95. Time: running out 
96. Boundary between earth and space
97. Vision of 2100
98. Cherishing the present 
99. Anticipating the future
100. Exclusionary nature of privileges (only officials / rich get freedoms)
101. Need for equitable access
102. Vibrant city
103. Futuristic concentration camp
104. Duality of need – both sea and space
105. Time capsule going thru space

Below are our favorite ideas from the list:

11, 18, 37, 44, 49, 61, 71, 74, 87, 98

100 Ideas for Encoded Cloth

1. World Passport (symbolic of open borders)
2. Collage of people holding hands symbolizes cooperation
3. Half bright and half gloomy jacket (hopeful vs cynical)
4. Wired weaving on cloth (high tech clothing)
5. Assortment of plants cloth for quilt
6. Spacesuit for civilians to travel to different planets
7. A suit that allows civilians to fly 
8. Smart sweaters allow people to communicate with each other in any language
9. Collage of trash to show things that are in landfill
10. Plastic bottle windchime 
11. Book of languages saying welcome
12. Mural of the evolution of recycling
13. Mural of the evolution of humans – eventually technology embedded in humans
14. Mural of the evolution of technology
15. Map with cloth made from different regions of the world. 
16. String attaching all parts of the world showing how we are all connected
17. Blanket stuffed with trash/waste
18. Mural of people being happy and tearing apart a dollar bill
19. Map of the public transportation system on land
20. Map of the public transportation system in air (planes)
21. Paths merge together leading to a heart. 
22. Stuffed plushies of plates and plant-based food
23. Stuffed plushies of spaceships and spacesuits
24. Mural of plates of food from different culture 
25. Collage of countries flags = world flag
26. Jacket of binary code
27. Jacket showing the contrast of technology, but people are still unhappy due to long work hours
28. Pillow with stuffing bursting out with plastic 
29. Collage of different types of bread around the world 
30. Tree with leaves from different countries/origins 
31. Incubation device for growing fetus so that women don’t need to give birth 
32. Backpack with everything that a person can own (each person has limited capacity for ownership of items 
33. Hands all grabbing a slice of pie (with all equal sizes)
34. Popup Book with plants 
35. Circular collage with sectors showing class distinction and direction in clothing
36. Quilt of materials from the future (clothing, vehicles, furniture, etc)
37. Story cloth of cities and wastelands
38. Bird or animal plush that’s dead with trash spilling out/as stuffing
39. Hanging mobile of different class depictions, class also separated by height
40. Miniature cloth model of advanced pods that house humans and surrounding terrain 
41. Barcodes sewn or woven on fabric that scan to research documents or schedules
42. Cloth with neon/bright lights woven in for a futuristic feel
43. Wearable fabric mask depicting effects of pollution
44. Weaving with various irregular materials to simulate landfill 
45. “Wasteland” quilt with 3D objects sticking out/sewn in to represent civilization amidst ruin
46. Collage with textiles laid inconsistently to look like buildings 
47. Mask created from plants and flowers to symbolize the past
48. Cloth with wires and metal sewn in to represent the city
49. Mural of eye with embroidered flashing binary that fades out to scenes of ruin 
50. Tapestry that, from bottom up, shows people escaping from earth to space (gradient)
51. Open browser window created with fabric and embroidery
52. Mural of clock split into different stages of Earth over time (global warming, pollution, war)
53. Collage of scraps of brands and packaging pieced together to form an image
54. Box covered in fabric and print, advertising futuristic product
55. Overcoat modified to withstand harsh weather and gas, can carry weapons
56. Gas mask with browns and greys that turns to fresh water and plants 
57. Shoe created with woven textiles and metal, with plant sprouting out to symbolize hope
58. Glove that is bright and made of sequins, feathers, lights on one side and is dark and made of leather, wool, scraps on the other side
59. Model BMO (from Adventure Time) as example of robot helper 
60. Water bottle sculpture attached to scraps of fabric and garbage 
61. Fake flowers and wires sewn together to create garment, intersection of nature and tech
62. Model of hybrid hoverboard vehicle created with wooden rods, woven materials
63. Pouch that holds daily essentials 
64. Monochromatic, minimalistic dyed and styled textiles, meant to emulate cold upper class 
65. Sculpture of two people connected to a monitor/screen by string to show communication around the world
66. Collage of different parts of world with mirror in the center so the viewer can see themselves
67. Weaving using strips of plastic bags and dark/neutral yarn to depict pollution
68. Advertisement created using cardboard backing with fabric and wire laid over, supposed to be like neon cyberpunk advertisement sign found in the city
69. Construct clothing out of thrifted clothes hinting at futures limited resources
70. Using clothings from friends to construct a nostalgic piece for 2070
71. Quilt with painted patterns of climate change
72. Quilt with painted patterns of space travel
73. Quilt with painted patterns dystopian/controlling society
74. 3d textile of future cities with embroideries
75. Felting of future devices/gadgets
76. Felting of human colonized planets/solar system
77. Felting of spaceships
78. Felting of grass growing from trash (or some other symbol of hope)
79. Using trash and making a futuristic space suit
80. Trash couture
81. A sweater with messages to the future from 2021
82. A sweater with messages back to the past from 2070
83. Flag or quilt made from doomsday literature
84. Hologram screen made from mesh/thin textiles
85. Felting of engineering DNA
86. VR headset that is connected to multiple images of the future with strings/weavings
87. Embroidery of the creation of adam painting but with robots
88. Quilt that is overstimulating depicting how it would be like around tech all the time
89. Technology that has felted plants growing all over it
90. Mutated dolls that are a consequence of pollution
91. 3D textile of a globe that is missing a lot of land because of rising ocean levels
92. Quilt with animals that will be extinct by 2070
93. Halloween costumes people would wear to be like people in 2021
94. White/grey outfit and we project images of the future over it
95. Dress made only out of fairy lights to show light pollution
96. Solar energy suits
97. Mask that people would wear and it makes them look half robot
98. Jacket made out tweets from tech/science deniers
99. Dyed pattern of grids and circuits
100. Tapestry of future waste (robots, computers, flying cars etc.)