Paste your essay in here..Introduction
Material innovation has elevated the textile industry from being subject to age old stereotypes considering it a handicraft into a highly sophisticated and crucial factor in an abundance of industries ranging from healthcare to fitness. However, due to the ever-growing demand on the industry it is with high importance that research is undertaken to reduce the impacts upon the environment. Designers and scientists are working in conjunction to establish a solution to the damaging effects of the industry, concepts such as Biodesign are a huge factor in this. Biodesign is “an emerging design movement which incorporates the use of living materials, or ‘moist media’ such as fungi, algae, yeast, bacteria and cultured tissue” , this heavily researched subject is crucial in moving towards a more sustainable future. The three research articles that will be discussed within the realms of this essay all utilise Biodesign as a focal point for their study and are as follows; “co- designing with plants. Degrading as an overlooked potential for interior aesthetics based on textile structures” (Source 1) written by Svenja Keune, “Fungal Inspired Textile Design (FITeD) for Sustainability – Cyclable – Biomimicry: a case study of Synthetic Fiber Reuse and Application” by Atule Margaret Akpa (source 2), and finally “New approach to wearable systems: Biodesign beyond the boundaries” written by Venere Ferraro and Marita Canina (source 3)
Source Selection
Two of the sources have been selected via the university online library, ensuring validity whilst the third was found via google scholar. The quality of the sources selected is evident due to the authors background, for example, Venere Ferraro one of the authors of source 3 has an eclectic range of experience within the industry, she is currently the Assistant Professor of the Design Department as well as teaching at the School of Design of Politecnico di Milanno. Not only this but Ferraro is also a “Member of the Experience and Interaction Design Research Lab and of the Biodesign Lab” , her array of knowledge however does not stop here, Ferraro “participated at several International and National researches and she is currently Principal Investigator of the research project POD: Plurisensorial Device to prevent occupational disease, which has recently received funding from the European Union. She's author of several international publications, and she holds National Patents and models” this demonstrates she held a vast amount of tacit knowledge prior to conducting the research, proving the legitimacy of source 3. Furthermore, Atule Margaret Akpa the author of source 2 and Svenja Keune author of Source 1, both achieved Masters of Arts from top universities. While Keune portrays her passion for textiles through her website and workshops, Akpa is a sustainable Textile designer. This is evidential of an extensive range of knowledge upon the given field discussed within the sources. In addition to this Akpa’s research was supported (funded) by Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London as this is where her yearlong practice based study was conducted, further supporting the reliability of the source. Not only this but her post-graduate work granted her the Vice Chancellors International Award.
Aside from the assured validity of the three papers, the source selection is also down to the common theme of Biodesign, while source two delves into this in greater deal than source one, the running theme and how each author conducts their research differs immensely. Research methods discussed vary from heavily practice based to statistics. Additionally, the way in which the authors have all relayed their findings are mostly dissimilar, Akpa, Ferraro and Canina go into great detail providing a variety of tables and images while in contrast Keune’s report is much more short and concise.
Another way of validating the quality of the chosen research papers is by investigating their choice of references, these reveal the depth of reading each writer has done surrounding the subject. This will be discussed further within the ‘methodologies’ section however upon researching the citations that source two and three have utalised it is clear that they have found the most legitimate websites and books to implement their tacit knowledge. In terms of source selection, the quality of the references further enhances the reliability of the chosen papers and sets the standard from the introduction for the entirety of the research paper to remain consistent.
Synopsis and Analysis of the findings
Each source discusses their research involving Biodesign and how they have applied this into practice, this section of the essay will discuss the findings and success of each authors research. Starting with source one, Keune “explores the dynamic qualities of plant degradation in textile structures for interior and aims to develop alternative aesthetics, interactions, life cycles and applications for living plants “ rather than looking at the process of degradation, keune’s interest lies with the aesthetic and material qualities honing in mainly on the “texture, structure, form and colour” of the process. While exploring the relationship between landscape and interior, keune’s research within this paper takes the “potential of corn seeds in textile indoor applications”. Keune’s innovative approach to research relates to David Pye’s theory of workmanship, he believes if boundaries are not pushed this falls into the workmanship of certainty category, following a set of instructions as appose to creating new, innovative designs – workmanship of risk “all the works of men which have been most admired since the beginning of history have been made by the workmanship of risk” . Keune undergoes research into the “dynamic qualities of corn seeds in textile structures’’ , her explanation of her findings is concise and straightforward, splitting her report into 6 subheadings; introduction, method, activation and transformation, afterlife, result and conclusion. The results of her research are clear as she briefly describes how the poster she created and included “demonstrates the conceptual framework for manufacturing an alternative textile plant container” resultantly while doing this she has explored the “aesthetic potential of seeds as dynamic material in textile structures” . Keune further explains her findings within her conclusion and alike source 2 she has remained very focused on the plant life cycle, specifically the dynamic decaying process. A key point that Keune picks up on is the biological process of the plants ability of “growth and degradation alternately recurring” opening up opportunities to relay this into designing for interior scenarios, creating adaptive and responsive surfaces via seeds “as a transforming material for textile design”
In contrast, source 2 written by Atule Margaret Akpa goes into far greater detail and provides a lot more context to Biodesign as a whole before delving into her research. Her introduction explains the need for sustainable process production and the material outcomes to work in conjunction as designers are yet to overcome this. In attempt to bridge this gap, Akpa hones in specifically on the holistic qualities of selected fungi species, after investigating the. mycelia and fruiting body, Akpa, similarly to Keune, was captivated by the decomposing abilities of the fungi which “led to the development of an approach to optimizing textile wastes” . Utilising synthetic fibres at their end use to create new fabrics therefore providing a short fibre to fabric production chain. Her concept is packed with innovation as she explores the potential 2D/3D design prospects based on the “intricate structural characteristics of the fruiting body of the mushroom” whilst also focusing on her aim to reduce the environmental impacts. Resultantly the outcome of her research was positive due to her thorough investigation. Akpa created small textile samples which hold potentials in markets including interiors and garment production. Finally, Akpa’s initial aim was to draw attention to the current inability within the textile industry to come up with a material outcome that is created sustainably and vice versa as well as encouraging the concept of Biodesign/biomimicry to move forward for a more sustainable textile future. By writing this paper and conducting her vast array of research Akpa proves the diversity of using decomposable materials/ living things such as fungi leaving no waste to pollute the environment. Not only this but she also provided the possibility of reusing waste material that if not utilised would be thrown away, contributing to fast fashion.
Finally, Source 3 reveals within the introductions its aims to “identify solutions which satisfy requirements of wearability and to find solutions that meet user desires” . The term wearable refers to a type of device in which is integrated into the daily life of the user therefore must be ‘worn’ rather than carried/held. The focus of the research being conducted is to create a method “usable for the design of a wearable device” the method must better the value of “devices studied and developed just by professionals linked to medicine or engineering” This paper takes a far more scientific approach to research than the other two papers, Ferraro and Canina investigate thoroughly the human body to articulate the exact approach that will gain them the best outcome. Ferraro and Canina identified early on the surgical theory, Langer’s Lines, that they will be basing their paper on. The image below is the same figure included within the research paper, providing a visual aid for the reader to understand the concept of Langer’s lines is very valuable within a research paper, ensuring the reader is engaged throughout. Her overall results were accumulated via an abundance of methods from experimental to focus group style in which will be discussed in detail within the next section. However, the success of her findings could be measured by the fact a concept of “a top for the women and a t-shirt for the men with the sensors embedded and a box containing the electronics and the battery” was underpinned by gathering all the analysed data. Source 3 provides an excellent example of a paper that achieves the outcome in which they set out to do, due to taking a methodical approach ensuring all the data is collected before conducting experimental research.
Methodologies
All three research papers utilise differing methodologies, varying from heavily practice based to statistics, tables and illustrations. While the three sources each conclude their papers with successful research results there is most definitely a variety of alternative methods that could implement their results. Source one in contrast to the other two sources is a lot less descriptive and uses only one main research method to reach a conclusion. Keune’s decision in source 1 to focus on primarily experimental based research is interesting in comparison with source 2 due to the fact their research is both based solely around every day degradable textiles, yet source 2 takes a very different approach, Akpa’s eclectic array of research includes not only the experimental aspect but she has evidently read around the topic widely before conducting the research as shown within her introduction. Akpa’s references include United Nations Departments of Economic and Social Affairs and Janine Benyus- author of the book “Biomimicry: innovation Inspired By Nature” which drew the popularity to Biodesign in 1997. The quality of her references are reflective of her level of reading prior to conducting her experiment. Keune does also briefly provide evidence of her reading into Biodesign however the two only references made prove difficult to depict the reliability. Additionally, source 3 provides up to twelve references throughout the report, this level of knowledge and statistics embedded into the paper makes for a much more informative and contextual read.
Keune’s lack of statistical information, while her report is a lot more direct to the point, does have its disadvantages as the reader is not provided with any context into the given topic. It is notable the advantages that providing quantitative data portrays as source 2 ensures all necessary information is included “Global population is increasing at the rate of 1.1% with about 7.5 billion people currently in the world and an estimated 9.7 billion come 2050” moreover as Berman Brown and Saunders reiterate in their book entitled “dealing with statistics”, “statistics is a scientific approach to analysing numerical data in order to enable us to maximise our interpretation, understanding and use” the key message that Berman Brown and Saunders communicates within his book is that the use of statistics is for the benefit of the reader to gain an understanding, without the facts it makes comprehending a research paper a lot more challenging.
Source three is definitely packed with the most diverse range of research methods, firstly the use of quality references proves their reading, including books such as “creativity in the design process” by Kees Dorst and Nigel Cross and “smart clothes and wearable technology” by McCann and Bryson. Additionally, Source three uses a method that neither of the other sources undertake, the use of a focus group to underpin the desires of the consumer is a major contributing factor to the success of their report “thirty people were asked to wear polar belt and the mock-up during running thinking about the factors set for comfort dimension” . Lisa Litosseliti comments on the advantages of using focus groups in her book entitled “Using Focus Groups in Research” as she suggests the methodology is a “synergistic approach that produces a range of opinions, ideas and experiences, and thus generates insightful information” consequently the findings from this were utilised in conjunction with the Langer’s Lines theory as discussed within the subheading previously. From this they were able to envision the top and t-shirt in which they provide their sketches for within a figure which is included below. Again, a method only used by Ferraro and Canina is the visual methodology of drawing out a plan rather than articulating a method through a set of instructions.
Furthermore, alike source two, Ferraro and Canina implement their paper heavily with tables and images such as “the steps for wearable systems” and Dorst and cross’s “co- evaluation of problem – solution” embedding these figures within the research aids not only the writer but also enhances the readability by breaking up a long report, this is something that source one definitely could have included within the report to implement the rapidity in which the conclusion was met. Source two however, has used tables including a “Summary of core aspects of Biomimicry” – Benyus, 2002 as well as the table for “principles for best practice in sustainable textile production” created by Fletcher and Grose, 2012. This table shows the goals and what action should be/is taken to achieve these for example, reducing risk of pollution can be reduced when minimizing the ‘number and toxicity of chemicals used and eliminate harmful processes” , these are easily readable off the table and provide short, concise solutions in a table format to what is being discussed within the report. Not only does source two provide tables but alike how source three provides images of their sketches, source three captures photographic evidence of their experimentation and embeds it into their report. This visual research as shown below portrays not only the validity of the research but is also useful as a reflective source to refer back to when recounting the experiment.
Figure 5- “production process showing use of recycled polyester threads on reclaimed polyester threads deconstructed from worn out garments”. 2017. Akpa
From the inclusion of photographs in source 3, Akpa is then able to refer back to these when explaining her experimental methodology of stitching, these photos are her main direction when relaying the process as they provide visual evidence of what has been achieved. Furthermore, at the end of the paper, Akpa provides photos of her final samples which Keune definitely would have benefitted from providing in source one to keep the reader engaged and interested in the research.
Finally, it is clear the experimental method is popular with all three sources as it is the only methodology that all the papers utilise. This particular method however definitely has equal advantages and disadvantages. The “Center For Innovation In Research And Teaching” explains that the experimental method is useful as the “researcher can tailor the experiment whilst still maintaining the validity of the design” whilst Michael Hammond in his book entitled “Research Methods: The Key Concepts” argues that the experimental method is more limiting than advancing “experimental studies often concentrate on what works rather than how it works” . While the method holds advantages and disadvantages, it is clearly a popular methodology among these papers and resultantly enabled the researchers of these sources to conclude their research.
Conclusion
Each source provides differing methods of research that in the context to their paper work well yet when looking further there are yet still an abundance of methods that could alternatively be utilised. Each source had a direction to follow and the methods they used enabled them to conclude their research “Research is a very general term for an activity that involves finding out, in a more or less systematic way, things you did not know” as Walliman reviews in his book entitled “Research Methods: the basics” the method of research undertaken is just a way of reaching a conclusion and advancing knowledge.
Whilst Keune might have benefitted by undertaking more research into Biodesign as a whole by reading books and including quantitative data like Sources two and three did, her paper however is undeniably more direct than the others and subsequently her research is resolved a lot sooner via experimental methods. Akpa’s paper (source 2) is very similar to both sources yet in differing ways, her likeness to source 1 is down the focus on Biodesign and specifically on the plant life in textiles structures yet the writers present and go about their research in very separate methods. However, while source 3 written by Ferraro and Canina address a more science based topic of research, their methodologies are most similar. The contextual and experimental research along with the use of quantitative date underlines the main methods utilised by these authors, not only this but also the way in which both sources two and three relay their research contrasts majorly with source one due to the more descriptive approach they take.
Overall, all three papers were able to reach a conclusion whether it be by methods of tables, images, data analysis, focus groups or experimental data. To conclude Walliman suggests that research should be what the researchers make of it rather than what they believe is the correct way in which to carry it out based on age old methodologies “the practice of research is closely bound up with the theoretical developments that were promoted by philosophers, key thinkers and practitioners in the sciences, right back to the ancient Greeks”.
References
• Akpa, A M. 2017. “Fungal Inspired Textile Design (FITeD) for Sustainably – Cyclable – Biomimicry: A Case Study of Synthetic Fiber Reuse and Application”. Journal of Textile Design Research. 5:1, 50-72.
• Bishop, M. “What is Biodesign”. [online]. [Accessed:29th November 2018]. Available from: https://www.mediamatic.net/en/page/240473/what-is-bio-design
• Berman Brown, R. Saunders, M. 2007. “Dealing with statistics: What You Need To Know”. McGraw- Hill Education.
• Center for innovation in research and teaching. “Benefits and limitations of experimental research”. [Online]. [Accessed:1st December 2018]. Available from: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/experimental/benefits_limits
• Ferraro, v. Canina, M. 2011. “A new approach to wearable systems: Biodesign beyond the boundaries”. [online] [Accessed 22nd November]. Available from: https://www.designsociety.org/download-publication/32365/a_new_approach_to_wearable_systems_biodesign_beyond_the_boundaries
• Fletcher. Grose. 2012. “principles for best practice in sustainable textile production”. Journal of Textile Design Research.
• Hammond, M. Wellington, J. 2013. “Research Methods: The Key Concepts”. London: Routledge.
• Interaction and Experience Design. “Venere Ferraro, PHD / Assistant Professor” [online]. [Accessed: 1st December 2018]. Available from: http://www.interactionlab.polimi.it/people/venere-ferraro/
• Litosseliti, L. 2003. “Using Focus Groups In Research”. Bloomsbury.
• Keuene, S. 2017. “Co-designing with plants. Degrading as an overlooked potential for interior aesthetics based on textile structures” The Design Journal. 20:sup1, S4742-S4744.
• Pye, D. 1955. “The Nature of Art and Workmanship”. London: Herbert.
• Walliman, N. 2011. “Research Methods: the basics”. London: Routledge.
Figures
• Figure 1- “Ri-elaboration of unobtrusivity by Gemperle et al.(left) Langer’s lines (right)”
• Figure 2- “sketches of first concept. Front on the left and back on the right”. 2011. Ferraro, v. Canina, M.
• Figure 3- “production process showing use of recycled polyester threads alone”. 2017. Akpa.
• Figure 4- “Production process showing use of recycled polyester threads on recycled polyester threads”. 2017. Akpa.
• Figure 5- “production process showing use of recycled polyester threads on reclaimed polyester threads deconstructed from worn out garments”. 2017. Akpa