This design project places itself in the field of knit, smart textiles and inclusive design. Knitting is a technique that can create interactive objects, for children with autism that may need support to interact with their surroundings. Therefore, this work sets out to support these individuals, using objects that offer different tactile sensations, to provide focus and calmness. To achieve this, the aim is to design inclusive knitted objects that encourage individuals with autism to interact with knitted forms through stimulating textures, vibration, and colours. Through technical research on Shima Seiki, Dubied and Silver Reed, 3D objects with various bindings are developed to create stimulating textures. Sensors and other electronics are also investigated and integrated, to make the textiles smart. Further investigations are made using surveys with an autism community, to accommodate their needs during the design process. The result of this project is three textile objects that provide two kinds of stimulation. Two pieces which react to touch with vibration, and one object with different tactile textures. As well as knowledge about how to knit forms with textures, and how to insert electronics into knitted structures. It is also how people with autism can be helped by using the objects as tools, to facilitate sensory processing or non-verbal communication, in their everyday life.

(Not) Drawing The Line: Technology Re-examined is the culmination of interdisciplinary research exploring the nature of materiality and process in the fields of art, science, and technology. Exploration and experimentation in these diverse disciplines have helped to illuminate many of the ideas and concepts that have guided the overall research process. These explorations have also honed the ability to critically examine how technology is perceived and represented, post-internet.   This document illustrates the processes involved in the conception and creation of a body of work manifested through visual and technological problem solving, investigative research of materials and technologies, and the fundamental concerns of art, technology, form and pattern. These empirical areas of research are punctuated by literary texts on the philosophy of art and technology that have informed many of the visual comparisons represented. This body of evidence is an exploration of the idea that the evolution of technological developments can often be attributed to the creation of art through the heuristic experimentation and visual explorations of the artist. / Master of Fine Arts