BeastiesLAB: A Case Study on the Co-Creation of Digitally Printed Textile Products

Abstract

The ongoing financial crisis has not only revealed the weaknesses of the banking system but also undermined public confidence in the capitalist ideology. At the same time, public awareness of climate change is exposing the damage caused by the cycle of mass production and mass consumption that fuels free market capitalism. Disillusioned with appropriation of material culture by celebrity endorsed brands, people are striving for greater authenticity in their lives (Boyle 2004; Gilmore & Pine 2007). This combination of economic and environmental factors presents craft with a tremendous opportunity to lead society towards a more sustainable future however, in order to embrace this future, the craft movement must resolve to engage with technology - the computer cannot be viewed as a threat to creativity in the same way the machine was (Sennett 2008).

This paper presents a case study of the BeastiesLAB project - a collaboration between Timorous Beasties [TB] (a surface design partnership creating high-end printed products for the interiors market) and the Centre for Advanced Textiles [CAT] at the Glasgow School of Art (a research centre specialising in digital textile printing). The project was funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board through the 'Creative Industries: Exploiting Digital Technology' scheme. As an experiment in co-creation, the purpose of this feasibility study was to investigate the commercial implications and creative opportunities enabled by digital technologies through the development of a dynamic and flexible production model based on the principles of craft rather than those of fashion. Using innovative production methods being pioneered at CAT, the project involved the development of an interactive retail environment that engages customers with the design process through the use of rich interface / interaction technologies - we termed this 'the kinetic design experience'.