This study presents an alternate viewpoint to the strive to overcome the gap between research and practitioners within paper prototyping in interaction design. Earlier research identifies three aspects of this gap, which is: Practitioners being unaware of interaction design methods and theories Practitioners being aware, but choosing not to apply these methods and theories, due to time, budget and constraints of labour Practitioners and research having different perspective on similar design issues Our study was done by carrying out qualitative interviews with interaction designers based on two digital design bureaus. One of the bureaus has an expressed link to research: the other has not. Our hypothesis is that the gap would manifest as a difference in work practice between the two bureaus. Our study shows that the two bureaus have similarities in work practice and that this work practice is based on scientific methods and theories, but is adapted to fit the client and/or the project. We conclude that the overcoming of the gap might not be necessary. Perhaps the nature of the design process with its complexity makes this hard. We advocate a trust in the practitioner’s ability to consider and adapt methods and theories regarded necessary.

The increasing prevalence of digital fabrication technologies and the emergence of a novel materiality in contemporary craft practice have created the need to redefine the critical context of digital jewellery and wearable futures. Previous research in this area, such as that presented by Sarah Kettley (2007a) and Jayne Wallace (2007), has provided the foundations for further enquiry but has not been advanced significantly since its inception. The artistic research presented in this thesis focuses on how smart materials and microelectronic components could be used to create synergetic digital jewellery objects and wearable futures that reflect changes in the body of their wearer and their environment through dynamic responses. Laying the foundations for a theory of <i>Interactive</i> <i>Craft</i> through evaluating different aspects of creative practice that relate to responsive objects with a close relationship to the human body is at the centre of this enquiry. Through identifying four distinct categories of wearable object, the <i>Taxonomy of the Wearable Object</i> is formulated and clearly delineates the current existing conceptual, technological and material perspectives that govern the relationships between different types of wearable objects. A particular focus is placed on exploring the concept of <i>Digital Enchantment</i> and how it could be utilised to progress towards developing the <i>Uncanny Object</i> that appears to possess biological characteristics and apparent agency, yet is a fully artificial construct. The potential for the practical application of a design methodology guided by playful engagement with novel materials, microelectronics and digital fabrication technologies is analysed, taking into account Ingold’s concept of the <i>textility of making </i>(Ingold, 2011). Through exploring the notion of the <i>Polymorphic</i> <i>Practitioner</i> in the context of <i>Alchemical Practice</i>, a model for experiential knowledge generation through engaging in cross-disciplinary collaboration is developed. This is supported by a qualitative survey of European materials libraries, including accounts of site visits that evaluate the usefulness of materials libraries for creative practitioners invested in novel materiality as well as visually documenting a selection of the visited libraries’ most intriguing material holdings. Utilising a scientific testing protocol, a practical body of work that centres on conducting extensive experiments with smart materials is developed, with a particular focus on testing the compatibility and colour outcomes of chromic pigments in silicone. The resulting chromic silicone samples are collated, together with sourced smart materials, in a customised materials library. Investigational prototypes and the <i>Microjewels</i> collection of digital jewellery and wearable futures that responds to external and bodily stimuli whilst engaging the wearer through playful interaction are presented as another outcome of this body of research.