Two images side by side. The image on the left is a photograph of a young textile artist stood behind a table covered in material samples and cut out images, they are wearing a white t-shirt, dark framed glasses and have blonde and pink hair. The artist is looking down and smiling while they arrange the materials on the desk in front of them. On the right is a horizontal silver pole suspended above a pink background, from the pole there are many ribbons and nylon ropes suspended with wooden beads threaded through them, like several bracelets.

[TEXTILES] Sensory Landscapes: Exploring Comfort Through the Senses

Sunday 16 July 13:00 ( GMT + 0.0 )

  • School of Design
  • Textiles (MA)
Use the Eventbrite link above to register

As designers, we are always crafting sensations, but we rarely consider how these sensations affect the users’ well-being. Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; and there is no one "right" way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and comfort means something else to everyone. Therefore, how can we inspire a more inclusive and empathic approach to material design?

During the Sensory Landscapes drop-in workshop, attendees will be invited to take the time to explore and reflect upon their sensorium by engaging in a wide selection of worksheets, material library, mind-mapping, swatch matching, collaging, and drawing.

Through a series of exercises and reflective discussion, participants will be prompted to critically analyse their sensory preferences and investigate what causes a sense of comfort or irritation in objects, spaces, colours, and materials. The workshop aims to help imagine one’s sense of comfort in different sensory scenarios and identify the complexity of sensory experiences by considering senses of touch, vision, smell, sound and kinaesthetic.