A NEW range of interactive jewellery could be heading for the commercial market after a student at Napier University in Edinburgh designed it for her PhD studies. Katharina Vones has produced a range of pendants that alter in colour and appearance in response to certain changes in light, temperature and movement.
They are on show until tomorrow at the Research Through Design 2017 conference at the National Museum of Scotland in the capital. Hosted by Napier and the University of Edinburgh (Royal College of Art), the conference has brought together a number of the UK’s leading design academics, who will share their research and work in a unique curated exhibition.
Vones, who has just completed her PhD in the use of smart materials for interactive craft, has developed HyperHive, a series of pendants designed to appeal to both children and adults.
Taking inspiration from microcosmic images of natural items such as shells and moss, the casings for the pendants have been 3D-printed in PLA, a biodegradable and bioactive plastic.
The pendants are embellished with silicone shapes that change colour in relation to temperature. The range – which includes the HyperLight, the HyperTilt and the HyperTouch Pendants – incorporates technology such as light, touch and movement sensors that help the jewellery come alive when worn.
Vones said: “I have done work in the past with more traditional materials but I’ve always been fascinated with 3D design and the idea of adding a sense of playfulness to jewellery.
“My PhD looked at using smart materials such as silicone in interactive craft and it was during this time that my HyperHive series was born.
“The aim is to bring this type of jewellery to a commercial market and to eventually allow both children and adults to build their own using the technology that I’ve harnessed through my own work.”
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