This is (Not) a Textile

Digitally Animated Surface Design

This is (Not) a Textile is a surface pattern design project made with tools from motion design. The aim is to bring textile design into a new digital context, and explore how crossing these two fields can help to develop a new method of designing dynamically changing print. The process begins with hand sketching using automatic drawing methods inspired by surrealism. Then, the pattern elements are animated and constructed in the Adobe After Effects program using multiple layers of compositions. The result is a collection of animated patterns that each express a unique quality of digital changeability: building pattern layers, shifting light and color, and moving tessellation. In the future, designs like these may be applied to the real world with the help of augmented reality technology. In addition to influencing how design in the textile field can be reformulated with digital processes, this project pushes the boundaries of what textiles are and how they can be communicated and transformed through digital technology.