Leather is a material used for the making of artifacts ever since early human history, and which can be used also in contemporary design for various types of interactive and electronic products. In this paper, we present a series of small scale explorations of leather, first as skin close interfaces for physical engagement, and secondly in terms of crafting using hand tools and a laser cutter. We reflect on our experiences along these two strands and discuss future possibilities of leather as a rich material for providing new types of interactive experiences. By discussing emerging topics related to traditional crafting processes and contemporary rapid fabrication with this material, we find a great potential of merging such processes and tools for future interaction design settings.

In this paper we present a series of design explorations on the theme of wearable and mobile technology through the lens of jewellery design. This is done by looking at properties of traditional fine jewellery in terms of material considerations and crafting processes, as well as considerations related to patterns of wear and interaction. By using jewellery as a point of departure, both theoretically and practically, we discuss four topics: a) the gestalt of electronic artefacts versus jewellery design, b) material preciousness, c) interactive properties of physical materials, and d) jewellery usage as an inspiration for new interactive designs.

As interactive objects get embedded into different cultural contexts and take on more varied material forms, the relationship between interaction design and crafting practices in the physical domain is becoming increasingly interwoven. In this paper, we present an explorative project that involved intense collaborations between the areas of interaction design and silversmith practice. A main focus of the investigation concerned ways of surfacing conductive metals in interactive artefacts through the making of small, three-dimensional, and close-to-skin sensors. We reflect on insights made during this process, focusing on the challenges of combining the two knowledge areas on a level of materials, tools and techniques. In particular, we discuss qualities that silversmith crafting brings forth that can inform future directions of interaction design in terms of interaction gestalts, design values and hybrid crafting practices, more broadly.

In this paper we present Nebula, a prototype for examining the properties of textiles, fashion accessories, and digital technologies to arrive at a garment design that brings these elements together in a cohesive manner. Bridging the gap between everyday performativity and enactment, we aim at discussing aspects of the making process, interaction and functional aesthetics that emerged. Nebula is part of the Sound Clothes project that aims at exploring the expressive potential of wearable technologies creating sound from motion.

Surface materials play a central role in the way we experience things. This is also the case with interactive artefacts, since the materials that are used for designing a surface or a casing will affect the ways in which the artefact will be physically interacted with and experienced as an object. In this paper we take a closer look at physical surfaces and study the experiential properties of different types of craft materials, which in our case are leather, textile, metal and wood. We look at how they influence the experience of interacting with an artefact by providing illustrative examples of interactive artefacts from our own design research, in which such materials have been used on their surface. In order to do this we distinguish between three types of experiential properties based on Giaccardi and Karana's materials experience framework (Giaccardi & Karana, 2015), and on Fernaeus et al. action-centric tangible interaction (Fernaeus, Tholander, & Jonsson, 2008). These are sensory experience, physical manipulation, and interactive behaviour. The purpose with our distinction between the three experiential properties is to illustrate possible ways in which a craft material can influence the interaction with an artefact, focusing on the sensorial experience craft materials offer, how they afford particular physical manipulations in regards to the ways they can be given shape, and finally how they can offer interactive qualities based on their abilities to conduct, to resist, or trigger. We end by reflecting on the three experiential properties and discussing emerging topics that should be further considered when craft materials are used on the surface of interactive artefacts, in regards to craft values but also the social and cultural situatedness of surfaces and consequently artefacts.

The material foundations of computer systems and interactive technology is a topic that gained an increased interest within the HCI community during the last years. In this paper we discuss this topic through the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi, a philosophy that embraces three basic realities of the material world: 'nothing lasts', 'nothing is finished', and 'nothing is perfect'. We use these concepts to reflect on four unique interactive artefacts, which all in different ways embrace aspects of Wabi-Sabi, in terms of their design gestalt, materiality, but also in terms of use practices. Further, we use our analysis to articulate three high-level principles that may help addressing the long-term realities faced in physical interaction design, and for the design of interactive systems in general.