Time
Friday, 10/09/20 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Central)
Title
Siloseam - Design and Fabrication of Inflatable Silicone Bladders
Abstract
Silicone is a transformative design material found within various emerging HCI practices, including shape-changing interfaces, soft robotics, and wearables. However, workflows for designing and fabricating silicone forms require a time-intensive mold-cast-cure pipeline that limits the experiential knowledge gained from working directly with silicone. In this talk, I conduct a material-centric exploration of silicone and develop designerly workflows for creating inflatable silicone bladders. I will describe Siloseam, a creative framework that streamlines a bladder design and fabrication process, collects tacit knowledge involved in recovering from errors and introduces new workflows that reuse existing molds. A set of exemplar artifacts demonstrates an expanded repertoire of silicone forms that leverage various airtight seams' configurations to create playful, haptic interactions. I will discuss the remaining challenges in integrating silicone with a broader range of materials and opportunities for developing designerly workflows for other mold-and-cast processes.
Bio
Hedieh Moradi is pursuing her Master's degree in Computer Science and Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington. She recently received her MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from the Art and Art History Department at UTA. During her MFA, her research was focused on how to use design to improve the quality of life for others. She received The McDowell travel award to go to Iran and work with one of the pioneer design institutions in Tehran to improve their design curriculum. Also, she conducted a workshop for the grant-funded “Green STEAM”. She received her bachelor's degree in the same field from the Azad University in Tehran her home town in 2014. Before her arrival in the United States, she worked at one of the high-rank publications in Iran.