Tag Archives: joselyn mcdonald

Midterm Proposal – Fashionable E-Armor

Fashion E-Armor: Cape with Embedded LEDs and Hard Origami Folded Edges 

1) Paper Prototype – Will upload images soon.

2) Concept and design goal (What does your design seek to accomplish? Who are you designing for?

With this project, I seek to design a wearable cape with embedded technology and hard folded pleating that would intimidate a potential aggressor. The interior of the piece would be lined with velvet to provide a comforting material touching the wearer. Hard on the outside and soft and reassuring on the inside.

3) Materials list (What do you need to build your design)

  • A thrifted dress/cape that I’ll repurpose
  • LED light strips
  • Power source – 9 volt batteries
  • copper tape or copper thread
  • simple switch
  • scored paper & paper folding techniques

4) Prior art and precedents that inspired your design and direction.

The following images are art and fashion precedents that reflect the aesthetic and structural qualities I will be trying to achieve.

0c5583e425ddef8b4adc761ecd821b03 3eef601a6bd19761d089dabd137770b4 6cd9b11a8539a35f1118ddb4dc5aee57 © photo Peter Stigter IRIS VAN HERPEN HAUTE COUTURE Paris fall 2012 c2e96ace7c4633d626b2f799ce441c5d

Nature Precedents:

The following animals/crustaceans defend themselves in fantastic ways.

The porcupine is of course an easy analogy to the Fashionable E-Armor:

Porcupine-Walking-credit-iStock-177703348-630x416

And also the Dresser Crab…

dressercrab

by Joselyn McDonald

Sensor Tests

Here is a sensor test that I conducted. I sewed paths of conductive thread down muslin. The conductive thread is only on one side of the muslin. I used a multimeter to test how conductive the thread is. Perfect conductivity, like that of a steel wire, is at 0.0 resistance.

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Below: Here is a test of conductive thread of wide-stitched thread. The result is 3.3 ohms resistance.

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Below: Here is a test of conductive thread of tight-stitched thread. The result is 3.3 ohms resistance.

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Below: Here is a test of conductive thread of medium-stitched thread. The resistance is 2.8 ohms.

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Below: Here is a test of conductive thread that was run backwards and forwards multiple times. The resistance is 0.4 ohms.

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Below: Here is a test of conductive thread that was run backwards and forwards multiple times at the ends to allow for alligator clamping. The resistance is 2.8 ohms.

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by Joselyn McDonald