Design, The Softness of Things, Wearables

The Hoodrat

[flickr size=”medium” float=”left”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/fauxtauxs/4466697058/[/flickr]

I am obsessed with hoodies. I probably have 15 of em. I’ve entertained the thought of starting a blog dedicated to them. I also love music. Sometimes I don’t want my commute to end until the album does the same. Half the time, I rock earbuds for their storing convenience. The other half I’m wearing a proper pair of headphones – a light-weight medium size, or when I’m listening to a mix or a favorite album, an over-sized pair of closed-ear cans. Hoodie + big headphones = compromise.
If I’m wearing medium to large headphones, I will have to either leave the hood down or deal with slightly muffled sound when placing them over the hood. If only my hoodies had headphones embedded into them, it’d be the best combination since peanut butter & chocolate or kittens with lasers.

So as to tackle one problem at a time, I will buy ready made headphones. I’m leaning towards headphones made for helmets, as they are low profile and usually come with an amp in-line (to overcome wind noise). The lining should be adjustable as different users means different ear position.

I would like to incorporate control commands for my iPod into the sweatshirt as well. There are quite a few commands to send a music player so I haven’t decided whether to try to incorporate them all throughout the shirt or to narrow down functionality. Play-Pause is the most fundamental. Volume and next/previous track are the other two I’m planning on designing into the circuit.

Once I start to experiment with materials the design, and limitations of features, will become apparent. Here are some very basic ideas.

[flickr size=”medium” float=”left”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/fauxtauxs/4466704118/[/flickr]

[flickr size=”medium” float=”left”]http://www.flickr.com/photos/fauxtauxs/4466700746/[/flickr]

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