THE BIOMATERIALS SPECTRUM – exploring emerging pathways for textile design education

This short paper explores the role of biomaterials in design education especially for textile students and the potential and challenges they pose. Through a biomaterials spectrum looking at how design students approach biomaterials and relating it to my PhD research, I have created a spectrum to explore where design students interested in working with biomaterials can start and which routes, they can take to advance their knowledge and skills. The approaches in the spectrum are related to the workshop space it requires increasing the complexity through the spectrum. 

In the material spectrum it is envisioned how engagement with biomaterials could be planned covering easily accessible DIY approaches to more advanced collaborative-dependent approaches using examples from Design School Kolding students as well as insights from my own PhD project.