Sommersemester 2025, BA/MA Textil- und Material-Design Soft Rapid Prototyping Lab

Talking Textiles

Talking Textiles is an e-textile project that combines touch sensors, haptic surfaces and calm-inducing sounds, to create interactive interfaces that respond to touch with sound in real time. Traditionally valued for their tactile comfort and sound-absorbing qualities, textiles have an overlooked sonic dimension worth revealing, and are here examined as multisensory materials. The project is grounded in the principle of “deep listening”, a practice that turns passive hearing into deliberate, focused attention to sound stimuli. By amplifying ordinary acoustic textures—the friction of fibers, the rustle of folds, the soft manipulation of textiles—it brings awareness to material sounds usually dismissed as background noise. Drawing on ASMR research (a pleasant, calming sensation often described as a tingling feeling that starts on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck), the work investigates how these subtle sounds can support emotional regulation and offer an alternative sensory route in therapeutic contexts.Could textiles that “speak” through their inherent sounds open new ways to support individuals with anxiety? Might they serve as tools to induce calm? Especially amidst rising rates of anxiety and sensory overload, the project encourages users to listen with intent and to find moments of comfort embedded in everyday physical interactions.

 

The collection emerged from research into how different textures sound when handled, guiding the choice of materials and construction techniques that offer rich tactile and acoustic qualities. The final set includes three pieces for calm, domestic settings: a woven jacquard foot mat for tactile interaction underfoot, a knitted roll pillow filled with spelt husks, and a knitted blanket with embroidered conductive beads as touch points for haptic contrast.

 

Photography: Gastón de Giglio

Model: Constanza González

ProjektkategorieMaster Projekt-Fächer BA/MA Textil- und Material-Design