Relive the history of leather. A haptic feedback device to emerge an immersive experience between material and user.
Living leather is an exploration of how a material’s origin and socio-cultural significance can influence both the perception of an artifact as well as the design of the interaction. Using the history of the material and the origin of leather (skin), we created an undulating leather-bound artifact that sweats when interacted with. Giving life back to the material and adding onto the experience of the design.
01
Leather has a strong history, going back thousands of years ago. Showing it's organic features.
02
To understand the story, you have to experience it. With haptics and hydro-devices we created an immersive experience.
03
New technologies opened up the possibilities for this prototype, using haptic motors to revive the organic qualities.
We tested several leathers based on the perspiration level, overall-quality, overall-feeling and thickness. Based on user-testing and prototyping validation we chose the best leather for our use-case. Perfecting every detail of the experience.
Ian is an interaction designer by all means. Knowing the history of design, following design trends and stepping up his designs every time. Some of his roles included conceptualization, ideation, graphic design, socio-cultural design and positioning within the history of materials and design.
Miguel is an associate professor at the Industrial Design department at Eindhoven University of Technology. He is an expert on aesthetics, emotional expressivity of interactive products with programmable material qualities (interactive materiality), haptics and shape change. Miguel supported our process with weekly coach meetings during this project, projecting his critical vision and expertise to our project.
Simone is Creative Director at Material Sense, director at Material Sense LAB and lecturer at Eindhoven University of Technology. Simone has a deep knowledge of material properties, interactive materiality and material design creating high-quality concepts for top-tier clients. Simone coached us during this project, helping us creating the right interactive qualities and material choices.
Anke is a full-time haptic feedback expert and founded the company FEELIX. This tool enhances the overall accessibility of haptic feedback design methods for industrial designers. During this project Anke helped us during this project by applying her FEELIX and haptic feedback knowledge to our concept. Next, we were also able to use one of her FEELIX products, which enhanced the overall haptic feedback.