Call for Design Exhibition

ISWC 2013, the seventeenth annual International Symposium on Wearable Computers, is the premier forum for wearable computing and issues related to on-body and worn mobile technologies. ISWC 2013 will bring together researchers, product vendors, fashion designers, textile manufacturers, users, and related professionals to share information and advances in wearable computing. ISWC 2013 will be held September 9-12 in Zurich, Switzerland collocated with Ubicomp 2013.

Juried Exhibition

ISWC 2013's Juried Design Exhibition invites submissions of original works of wearable technology and/or novel applications for new audiences using existing technologies.

Submissions may comprise any type of wearable technology (electronic, mechanical, textile and garment-based, etc). This year, designers are encouraged to submit works in one of two categories: designs that are functionally-focused, and designs that are aesthetically-focused.

Flutter by Halley Profita, Nicholas Farrow, and Nikolaus Correll Best in Show and Most Inclusive and Usable Design ISWC 2012

Scooterglove by Anthony Carton Most Innovative Design Concept ISWC 2012

Submission Guidelines: Aesthetic and Functional Categories

Submission Deadline: June 30th, 2013, 11:59pm PDT.

Designers are asked to submit an illustrated design statement detailing the work's concept, motivation, intended audience and end-use, technological functionality, and execution. Detailed images must illustrate the text.

All submissions will be evaluated by the jury panel for their following design elements: concept, use of technology, execution, and visual/written communication. Aesthetically-focused designs will also be evaluated with respect to their aesthetic novelty and appropriateness for the intended purpose, and functionally-focused designs will also be evaluated with respect to the usability of the technology for the specified audience.

Accepted works will be exhibited at the conference venue, and accepted exhibitors may be asked to supply additional visual materials to accompany the exhibition. Designers will assume the cost of transporting their work to Zurich, to arrive before September 9th, 2013.

Design statements from all accepted designs will be included in the ISWC Adjunct Proceedings. Prizes will be awarded at the conference for both the Aesthetic and Functional categories. Prizewinners will receive a prize package supplied by Sparkfun.com. Selected designers will be invited to submit their work for publication in Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process, and the Fashion Industry (published by Bloomsbury Publishers).

Submission Deadline: June 30, 2013 at 23:59 PDT

Format

Please submit your document as one compiled PDF file, formatted according to the ACM two-column format ( latex template (zipped) or doc template ). The body of the submission should not exceed 4 pages, including embedded images. All figures should be included in the document body and referenced in the text. Please cite all references used in the text according to the ACM formatting instructions. Your submitted PDF should not exceed 4 pages or 5MB. Please do not include any names or institution affiliations within your submitted PDF.

Email your submission to design@iswc.net. In the subject line of your email entry please start with: ENTRY – CATEGORY (aesthetic or functional) – Your Project Title. In the body of the email please include your contact information, a list of the authors of the submission and their institutional affiliations (in the intended order), and the PDF submission.

Evaluation Criteria

Concept: How novel is the concept or application? Has it been done before? Is the approach novel? The work should exhibit depth of understanding and insight.

Technology: How innovative is the use of technology: have advances been made in the use of standard tools for a new purpose? Have new technologies been developed? What does the technology bring to the wearer or the viewer in the wearable environment?

Execution: How professional and polished is the finished product? Have appropriate or novel construction techniques been implemented? How have standard hardware components been adapted for the wearable environment?

Communication: How well have the concept, novelty, and use of technology been communicated? Is the idea and process evident in written and visual materials?

Audience/Usability: How appropriate is the design for the intended audience/purpose? (Aesthetic only.) How well have the designers addressed the usability of their interface/interaction? (Functional only.)

Meet the Jurors

	Hannah Perner-Wilson combines conductive materials and craft techniques, developing new styles of building electronics that emphasize materiality and process. She received a B.Sc. in Industrial Design from the University for Art and Industrial Design Linz and an M.Sc. in Media Arts and Sciences from the MIT Media Lab, where she was a student in the High-Low Tech research group.
	Mika Satomi is a designer and an artist exploring the field of eTextiles, Interaction Design and Physical Computing in her artistic practices. She has worked as a researcher at the Swedish School of Textiles, Sweden and at the Distance Lab, Scotland. She holds BA in graphic design from Tokyo Zokei University, and MA in media creation from IAMAS, Japan. Since 2006 Mika has collaborated with Hannah Perner-Wilson, forming the collective KOBAKANT creating artistic projects in the field of eTextiles and Wearable Technology Art.
	Dia Campbell is a maker, muse, and educator in the Sparkfun Electronics engineering department. She is an experienced costumer and fiber artist, and deeply committed to sharing e-textiles techniques and tools with the world.
	Troy Natchtigall has designed for giants of the fashion world like Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Jean Paul Gaultier and Emilio Cavallini, and currently devotes his time to shaping young minds at IED Institute of European Design, and ISIA in Florence in subjects like Wearable Technology, 3D Modeling/Printing, Interaction Design, and New Media Graphic Design. Troy is a member of the Wearables for Italy Team (www.wearabletechnology.it ) that explores Wearable Applications in Florence and a founding member of the Florence Fab Lab.

Contact

for questions regarding the ISWC 2013 Design Exhibition, please mail the Design Chair.