Illiciting commissions from customers?

Even though we have not even found our shop space yet, we are talking through all the details of setting up shop and planning all our preparation work. This includes speculating how we will best attract potential customers to our shop and illicit from them these “novel ideas” we talked about in the last post. We defined a novel idea as something that comes foremost from a personal desire, not an adaptation of something existing. We’re expecting these to be hard to illicit, especially of first-time customers, and are now wondering if we should focus so much on this part of the story. Is it not just as fantastical to make a custom version of something existing? Yet another bike light jacket – but every time the experience of the customer is unique, they are unique individuals and so the same idea of a wearable bike light will be executed differently each time.

Basically we’re now thinking: the less possibilities we present the customer with, the easier it is for them to start thinking creatively about what it is that they want. We don’t want to overwhelm people with options, choices, possibilities. Rather confront them with concrete proposals (bike light jackets, nudgeables, HID devices….) and have the customization come from the unique people they are.

Concrete Examples – An Opening Collection
If we go down this path and prepare a selection of concrete examples that customers can “choose” from, what should these be. To refresh and update our memories of the E-Textile and Wearable Technology space we compiled a long list of all the projects we know and could find anew. Browsing publications, websites, blogs, our old presentations and our memories.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11vt9QUQi6SC2DmV8d-J6U-fqXFcQ6jvDn0skn1M4pHU/edit?usp=sharing

Given the variety of projects out in the world – focusing mostly on those that showcase an experimental and/or personal use of e-textile/wearable technologies (artworks, performance, student projects), and less so on commercial ideas (products), here are some of the “trends” we can discern:

LIGHT
– visual: performantive, decorative, communication
– functional: safety, communication
– interactive/reactive/ambient (sound, sensor data, direct control…)

examples:
water simulation LED beanie (playful)
trafopop (communication)
bike light jacket (safety)
dresscode (sound reactive)
Heidi Kumao
Electric Dress by Atsuko Tanaka
LED wearables by Mikaela Holmes
my segments display by hannah
Theia by Switch Embassy
Tron costume by Syuzi Pakhchyan

KINETIC/SCULPTURAL
– Visualization
– Performance
– Poetic

examples:
ying gao

NUDGEABLES – INTERCOM(MUNICATION) (inspired by Kate Hartman’s work)
– playful
– purposeful

examples:
Kate’s Nudgeables
Hug Shirt by Francesca Rosella, Ryan Genz (Cute Circuit)
HEART DONOR by Laura Beloff, Erich Berger and Elina Mitrunen.

CUSTOM INPUT –> STANDARD OUTPUT
Custom Interface to an Existing System
– HID (Human Interface Device): custom computer mouse/keyboard/game controller
– Interfaces to existing hardware/device/instrument (midi, synthesizer, software…)

examples:
mimu datagloves
The Peregrine Glove
joyslippers
Musical Jacket by E. Rehmi Post & Maggie Orth
Zip by electricfoxy
Ruffletron by lara grant
K.R.E.A.M. by EJtech
highheel guitar chicks on speed
massage me
drum pants
twitter shoes

CUSTOM INPUT –> CUSTOM OUTPUT
– Musical instrument
– Toy
– Game

examples:
LilyKorg by Afroditi Psarra
Aphrodite Project by Norene Leddy
Perfect Human by mika and hannah

DATA
– Quantified Self: self-monitoring, tracking
– Sharing data with others, comparing data
– Data storage
– Interpreting data and making it experiential
– Data Visualization

examples:
secret keeper gloves (storing audio data)
Embodisuit
Climate Dress by Diffus
“extimacy” – externalized intimacy by sensoree

PROSTHESIS
– To augment/extend your body
– To experience the world differently
– Costume, dress-up, make-believe, fantasy….

examples:
northbelt
wifi corset
upsidedown glasses
Inter Dis-Communication Machine
Cosmic Bitcasting by Afroditi Psarra
MONARCH V2 by Social Body Lab
Seven Mile Boots by Laura Beloff, Erich Berger, Martin Pichlmair.
Iso-phone by James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau, Stefan Agamanolis

ENERGY HARVESTING
– As means to charge/power a device
– As part of another concept category

examples:
Solar Vintage by Elena Corchero
muk.luk.flux by Amanda Parkes
Energy Regenerating Dress by Amanda Parks
Captain Electric and Battery Boy by XS-Labs , Concordia University, Hexagram
HipDisk Danielle Wilde