boxes — ANKE + SKYE

ANKE + SKYE

Assignment:

Create a wearable device to enhance a sense of TOUCH using only cardboard, glue, and yarn.

I designed this wearable to be used as a fidget toy, a nature exploration device, an occupational therapy tool, and a fashion accessory.

Touch can serve as an exploration tool and a grounding focus of a mindfulness meditation. In this assignment, I focused on the physical and calming aspects of touch. Manipulating objects with different textures helps children develop a sense of touch, it also helps adults regain tactile sensation after a sensory loss due to illness or injury. I made textures from the restricted materials available for this assignment to facilitate tactile interaction and engagement with natural environment.

I modeled this device on the sensory equipment used in occupational therapy that provides children with smooth/rough and hard/soft objects to manipulate. Children can practice identification of different textures by handling different textured objects such as rough vs. smooth shapes. Occupational therapists frequently use “feely boxes” which contain objects with different textures and shapes. I conceived this assignment as a wearable feely box containing different compartments with textures that enhance the sense of touch such as soft, smooth, rough, and prickly. The empty compartments encourage the wearer to look for similar textures in nature and place their finds inside the boxes.