Techstyle Magazine: Design Fiction project merges Nanotechnology, Science Fiction, and Fashion

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Explanation and Documentation of the Creative Process

by Lauren Langley

This Design Fiction project provided a valuable opportunity for me to work on a digital media and scientific research and design project in a collaborative group setting. The Digital Media design team consisted of myself, Don Fernandez, and Laurie Marion.

Concept:

As a design team, we decided to draw from nanotechnology research to create a science fiction concept product. We thought that creating an interactive, online magazine would be a unique way to incorporate several products into one comprehensive digital artifact. The team collectively thought that the magazine should  be set thirty years into the future. Doing this allowed us to develop nanotechnology products that are based on current research but might be conceivable by 2040.  This also allowed us to incorporate current concept fashion trends, which might be conceivable consumer products in thirty years and which also acted as a springboard for creative uses of nanotechnology in fashion. Keeping true to magazine content conventions, we aspired to create apparel spreads, articles, and advertisements. Regarding the display of the content, I discovered software that delivers PDF content as a Flash-based interface. This interface suggestion was adopted by the team and the software was implemented to deliver Techstyle Magazine.

Research:

The research for this project was intensive, as we wanted the science fiction products to be based on exact science and accurate fashion trends. Research was conducted in the nanotechnology research and development realm, as well as in the fabric, couture, and fashion magazine arenas. In addition to reading relevant publications, such as “Modern Applications of Nanotechnology in Textiles”, the team met with several academic researchers. The first researcher we met with was Clint Zeagler, a fashion technology designer and lecturer working in Georgia Tech’s Industrial Design program. Clint and his team provided valuable insight into predicting future fashion trends, as well as demonstrated apparel they developed which integrates conductive thread into its fabric. He also suggested researching several fashion designers, like Hussein Chalayan, that would provide inspiration for future fashion. We were able to envision several products as a result of this meeting, like Techstyle’s Quantum Spectrum swimwuit, eTextile gown, amnio concept suit, and more.

Fig 1. Clint Zeagler’s research lab at Georgia Tech.

The second expert we met with was Dr. James Meindl, Director of the Georgia Tech Microelectronics Center and Founding Director of the Marcus Nanotechnology Building. Dr. Meindl graciously met with us to discuss the products being developed in the Marcus Nanotechnology center, the potential applications of graphene, and the plausibility of our concept products developed for Techstyle magazine. Dr. Meindl inspired many of Techstyle’s products, but also provided the scientific foundation and accuracy behind products like the eTextile suit, Electro Thermo swimsuit, and Mainframe Gown.

Fig 2. Dr. James Meindl (left) and Don Fernandez (right).

Lastly, we met with Emory University School of Medicine’s Dr. Ioanna Skountzou. Dr. Skountzou is an immunologist who works on a research team, which includes Georgia Tech scientists, that is developing an influenza vaccine distributed by microneedles. We visited her lab, where she spoke to our team in detail about the process of delivering drugs via microneedles. We received helpful knowledge that was translated directly to the development of Techstyle’s Transdermal Distribution bracelet and Techstyle Matters article.

Fig 3. Laboratory of Dr. Ioanna Skountzou, Emory University.

Design and Development:

The team met at various times and locations to develop content for the magazine. Although the team collaborated on all concepts and products, we found that each member contributed a different strength to the project. Don fashioned entertaining and witty articles and advertisements, Laurie focused on research, and I produced the graphics and design of the magazine. The team began to create content that paired future nanotechnology applications with compelling and believable images. In the first class critique, we proposed a 10-page magazine. By the end of the project, we delivered 20 pages of content. The expansion of the page count can be attributed not only to our excitement to create these conceptual products, but also to additional advertisements featuring products created by fellow Digital Media students. These products are NanoPerfect (by Ben Chapman), Link (by Jing Li, Christine Wu, and Shannon Yao), and Vanguard Smart Armor (by Hank Whitson). During the process of creating the Techstyle project, we also collaborated with Georgia Tech undergrad students, Angela and Amira, from professor Lisa Yaszek’s Science Fiction class. They provided critical analysis of the science fiction element of our project. Our iterative process benefited from their critiques, as they provided a science fiction framework for our magazine to follow. In addition, after asking the students to suggest a title for the magazine, Angela produced the final title Techstyle. Other design and scientific concept iterations were produced by considering suggestion made during class critiques. One suggestion was to create a perfume advertisement. We then developed the Hexology ad, which I believe was one of our most successful pieces. Another example of iteration is the development of the drug delivery product. The concept began as a “Zoloft blouse” that would administer the drug through microneedles in the fabric. We received a lot of helpful feedback about this concept, and the resulting final product is a more conceivable bracelet that distributes the drug to the skin’s epidermis and dermis through disposable microneedle patches.

Fig 4. “Zoloft blouse”, image used in draft of the microneedle drug delivery concept.

Fig 5. Designer bracelet, image used in final microneedle drug delivery concept.

Production and Presentation:

After the content was designed, it passed by each team member for the edit and approval processes. We collectively determined the order of the content pages, in order to keep the audience engaged while maintaining conventions of a fashion magazine.

Fig 6. Photo of me working to determine the final page order of the magazine.

I hope that you enjoy Techstyle, a collaborative work fusing together nanotechnology, science fiction, and fashion.

To view the final project in a new window, visit:
processpointstudios.com/nano/techstyle.htm

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