Summary of the CREATIF project

CREATIF provides the Cultural and Creative Industries with collaborative software design tools allowing the design of bespoke smart fabrics. The design tools consist of software to collaboratively design, layout, visualise and simulate smart fabrics which can then be printed remotely by means of a direct-write printer; conventional fabrics are functionalised by printing active electronic inks. Functions which can currently be produced are light and sound emission, colour change and proximity sensing. Click here to go to the CREATIF project portal and use the CREATIF software suite.

We have demonstrated the tools by producing, within CREATIF, smart fabrics incorporating light emission, interactive colour change and sound emission coupled with proximity sensing. These fabrics are applied in two applications relevant to the Cultural and Creative Industries: an interactive, modular blind and an exhibition stand. Further we have produced a fabric piano, a fabric drum kit as well as what we think is the world's largest smart fabric. Videos of the smart fabrics can be found here as well as a software design tutorial and the two printers produced in the project in operation.

CREATIF offers to the Cultural and Creative Industries the ability to transform everyday fabrics into knowledge intensive smart fabric based creations incorporating a high level of intellectual creative content. The consortium consisted of a design software developer (Grafixoft), a university specialised in fabric machine design (University of Aachen), a university with world leading expertise in creating smart fabrics by printing (University of Southampton), a creative design SME (Diffus Design), an SME, active in design-led building structures and architecture (Base Structures), a large company active in architecture and creative design (Zaha Hadid) and an SME specialised in advanced inkjet printers (Ardeje).