Travis Adcock Design

Overview

THE BRIEF

Create an interactive wearable which will perceivably enhance the expressiveness of the wearer in some manner. Develop a narrative around the object exploring its role and the context in which it is used.

THE CONSTRAINTS

Fabricate a low resolution, functional model using inexpensive materials, rapid prototyping techniques and desktop modeling methods. The design will incorporate electronic components controlling the expressive elements.

ROLE

Solo Designer

CONTEXT

Third-Year Studio

DURATION

4 Weeks, Fall 2026

ADVISOR

Noah Posner

Development

INITIAL IDEATION

I started by generating 30 ideas for expressive wearables. I began by sketching loosely, then refined them for my 30-concept presentation.

REFINING

Based on feedback, I picked my 3 favorite concepts and further explored how they'd actually be made, including component specification and test sketch models.

Based on feedback, I picked my 3 favorite concepts and further explored how they’d actually be made, including component specification and test sketch models.

REFINING

I decided to move forward with the poison dart frog hoodie because it was the most interesting and unique concept. I started with very lofty technical goals detailed here but would have to scale back to complete the project by the deadline.

Prototyping

FABRIC TESTING

First, I tested three different fabrics with a piece of packing foam diffusing an LED strip that was wrapped around it. The goal was to find a fabric that allowed light through while looking opaque when the lights were off.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: RANDOM UNUSED LAUNDRY BAG I FOUND, 40D NYLON RIPSTOP, SPEAKER FABRIC

I chose to go with the random laundry bag because it was free, but also because the grid pattern in the ripstop felt unnatural and the speaker fabric didn’t work well at harsh viewing angles and would’ve been harder to work with.

VIEWED AT AN ANGLE, LAUNDRY BAG VS SPEAKER FABRIC

INITIAL TESTING

I started by mapping the distance measured by a Time of Flight sensor to the color of the LED strip. This worked decently well, but I was unsatisfied with the range and line-of-sight requirement of the 1300 mm (51 in) Time-of-Flight sensor.

I tested an ultrasonic sensor next, which gave me a much longer range and cone-shaped zone of measurement, which in theory would have been an improvement, but it came with lots of noise that was extremely difficult to reliably filter out.

I settled for a compromise between the two, a Time of Flight sensor with a longer range.

INTEGRATED MODEL

I traced a section of the hoodie and drew out the pattern I wanted to use on tracing paper.

I cut out the foam spots, wrapped them in LEDs, glued the sections to my fabric panel, and (roughly) attached the panel to the hoodie. Success!

Elements to refine from here included preventing light leak from the foam panels, better sensor placement, and smoother animation.

Final

FINAL INTEGRATED MODEL

I addressed the concerns above, added an idle state, and mirrored the panel to go on the other half of the hoodie. Then I sewed it into the hoodie, where I also made a hole for the sensor to see through.

FINAL ELECTRONICS

The final electronics included an Adafruit VL53L1X Time of Flight Distance sensor as the input, a SparkFun RedBoard Plus as the control, and a WS2812B LED strip as the output.

Unwanted conversations and invasions of personal space happen everywhere, from grocery stores to parties. Most of us silently endure them because saying something feels too awkward. No more. Let the Red Alert Hoodie say it for you.