Innovating The Uses of Egyptian Textiles

Innovating The Uses of Egyptian Textiles

By Rania Kamel Mohamed Rafie

Rania Kamel Mohamed Rafie

Supervised by:

Silvia BurgerNikolai Burger

16-570

German University in CairoApplied Arts and Design

Product Design

Egyptian Textile Design Business: Innovating The Uses of Egyptian Textiles

8th Semester

“I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted anywhere for any award. Where other sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged”

Signature:

Date:

Table of Content

Introduction1.1 The Beginning of the Thread

Evolution Of Egyptian Textiles Through-Out History

2.1.1 Materials2.1. Textiles History

2.1.2 Uses of Textiles2.1.3 Social Status2.1.4 Evolution of the Graphical Elements2.2 Political Influences and Reasons for the Decline of the Egyptian Textile Industry

Transnationalism of Design3.1 South Asian Textiles in Britain and Transnational Material Culture

3.2 Transnationalism of Fabric Design Affecting the Egyptian Textile Market

3.3 What Defines “Good Taste”?

Overview of the Research

Methodology5.1 The Market5.1.1 Wekalet el Balah

5.1.3 Innovative Egyptian Textiles and Fabrics5.1.4 Conclusion and Discussion5.1.5 Limitations

Concept Realization6.1 Comfort

5.1.2 Oriental Weavers

6.2 Target Group

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1719202122

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Everyday-used Products7.1 Everyday-used Products Analysis7.1.2 Results 7.1.3 Conclusion

Technology: Speed and Stress8.1 Electromagnetic Radiation8.1.2 Cellphones8.1.3 Laptops8.2 Discussion8.3 Previous Solutions8.3.1 Electromagnetic Wave Absorber8.3.2 BioGeometry8.3.3 Acu-Vibe Technology8.3.4 Power Balance Bracelet

Problem Solving9.1 Brainstorming9.2 Inspired Keywords9.3 Solutions9.3.1 Hot Laps9.3.2 Change User Behavior9.3.3 Mobile Earphones/headsets9.3.4 Neck/Back Massage for Laptop users9.3.5 Posture Enhancers

10.1 The Me Tent

Final Solutions

10.2 Discussion10.3 Final Solution: Back/Lumbar Support10.3.1 Ergonomics10.3.2 Previous Designs10.3.3 Sketches and Ideas10.3.4 Material Selection10.3.5 Pre-models and Trials

Final Model11.1 Product Features11.1.1 Usage

11.1.3 Visual Elements11.1.2 Materials

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384042

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485152

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343636

4243444547

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5253545658

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11.1.4 Dimensions

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Final Conclusion 70

6 Introduction

Introduction

1.1 The Beginning of the Thread

A textile is a piece of fabric or cloth, that is generated by weaving threads or fibers across each other to cre-ate a flat surface. Gottfried Semper, a great historian of art and architecture, argued in an essay published in 1989 that the creation of knotting, threading and twist-ing of fibers were the most ancient human art activity, “even before they were building houses, they were sewing stitching nets and corselets”. (Semper, G., 1989: 218-19, 231)

While Ingold, who was reviewing Semper’s essay ex-plained how the idea of creating a surface from threads is related to the idea of drawing, writing and tracing in The Transformation of the Line: Traces, Threads, And Surfaces (Ingold, T., 2010). Ingold mentions that the person writes a line by drawing a sharp point over a surface, “Such lines are not only drawn on a surface; they actually define that surface as a geometrical plane”, so the idea of playing around, and tracing lines with threads holds so much more than just creating some sort of a cover, it is a work of art in itself. The activity of creating cloth is even something we learned from nature, spiders and silkworms are able to produce threads as a form of housing or protection for them; which from silkworms we are able to produce silk, and from plants like flax we are able to produce linen, and from sheep we are able to produce wool. And that’s not all, the activity of dealing with threads itself is inspired by animals; apes are naturally capable of tying knots with their hands, feet and mouth (Ingold, T., 2010), and Ploceinae or weaver birds tie knots to build their nests (Crook, J. H., 1960) to create shelter. As noticed, cloth is associated with the need for protection and shelter, “Perhaps because of its intimate association with the body and the person, cloth has an uncanny ability to generate confidence” (Femenias, B., 2010) That is why

The aim of this research is to innovate and revive the uses of Egyptian textiles through product design, to try to catch up with the modernized life. Through this research, a history of the textile industry will be re-viewed from the Ancient Egyptian era, the Coptic era, the Islamic era, to the modern world. How has the de-sign elements changed? What are the influences of the change of design? Why has it declined? What are the possible solutions to revive it? How to relate the Egyp-tian culture identity to the modern life? I will be focusing on innovating the uses of textiles through/in everyday-used products, the visual/graphical design of the tex-tile, rather than the production of the textile itself.

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Evolution Of Egyptian Textiles Through-Out History

2.1.1 Materials

"The textile industry of Egypt has developed in various aspects, throughout its restless history of five thousand years" (Kang, J., 2009) All the way from the Pharaonic era, the Coptic era, to Islamic era. However, the pro-ductivity of the textile industry in Egypt seemed to de-crease in the modern world, from the beginning of the 20th century until now, the Egyptian Industry started depending on importing goods, more than manufactur-ing due to political issues. Through this chapter, I will be discussing the use of materials, different uses of textiles, social status, and the change in graphical ele-ments.

In Ancient Egypt, Egyptians depended on linen for almost everything. (Kang, J., 2009) Linen is created from a plant called flax, and the Egyptian goddess Isis was worshiped as the inventor of flax (Robinson, 1969 p.8). However there is also an opinion that claims that cotton was even used by the ancient Egyptians before linen (Indumentaria en el Antiguo Egipto, from Wikipe-dia Spanish edition) It was forbidden to wear wool, or animal fur; it was believed to be impure . Even though

2.1. Textiles History

cloth is the most comfortable thing a person touches, the closest thing to your skin, that covers it and warms it when feeling cold.As Femenias said, we are “rarely free of it, we are physically encased and emotionally absorbed in it from infancy, and it follows us and our descendants even beyond the grave” (Femenias, B., 2010). The relation between cloth and human is not only personal, it is something that connects us all together, we all need it, we all wear it. The two-faced cloth that covers the body, and that faces the whole world, giving an impression of who the person under the cloth could be. With the rise and fall of civilizations, the art and identity of each culture, that is presented through drawings, paintings, sculptures, and architecture, is also presented through fabrics and textiles. The materials used, the colors, the drawings, the patterns, and how the textiles were used says a lot about cultural backgrounds, and even be-lieves, which will be discussed how these aspects were used during the great Egyptian history.

Evolution of Egyptian Textiles

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2.1.2 Uses of Textiles

In Ancient Egypt, linen was used for dressing and outer garments with a very high-quality. Dark linen was also used as mattresses, but the process of weaving was different to make it rougher than that of garments. (Kang, J., 2009) In the Egyptian Textile Museum, the use of fabrics was interfered in many products, it was used in oil lamps, used for holding seals, jars and hold-ing perfumes, it was also used as towels, filters, sash-es, bandages for medical purposes and in the mummi-fication process.As for the Coptic textiles, they were used as hangings and curtains with religious icons of saints and bibli-cal themes in churches. In homes, they were used for fashion garment, tunic, curtain, bed sheets, covers, towels, napkins, table clothes, sacks etc.(Ibid, J. Dunn)In the Islamic era, some religious aspects changed the use of some textiles, and their fashion was somehow restricted since the covering of the body was essential in religion. For instance silk -according to religion- was forbidden to be worn by men (so as gold)(Islam Ques-tion & Answer), however that did not decrease the pro-duction of silk at all, it was worn by women, and it was used for curtains, prayer rugs, tapestry, cushions and many other uses.

animal fur was still produced.When the new religion was introduced, Coptic Christian Egyptians introduced the production of silk in the 4th century, while the Islamic era was thought to be a pio-neer in producing wool, the unique “silk-like wool”, be-sides producing and distributing cotton, silk, and linen was still an important raw material in the production of textiles (Egyptian Textile Museum Book).

Fig. 1, Works of Art : Vignette on Khonsu’s inner coffin lid, New Kingdom, reign of Ramesses II, ca. 1279?1213 b.c. Egyptian; From the tomb of Sennedjem, Deir el-Medina, western Thebes from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Fig. 2, Hair net, Byzantine Period, 4th century AD. From Egyptian Textile Museum Book


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2.1.3 Social Status

Nevertheless, within the uses of textiles and fabrics lies so much more, it is not only a mutual need to cover the body, it also represented social status. In ancient Egypt, as linen was the most material used for textiles,

2.1.4 Evolution of the Graphical Elements

Through the different civilizations that went through Egypt, each civilization had its own influence; the dif-ferent religions, and traditions influenced, not only the industries and production of materials, but also art. As mentioned before, the face of cloth a person wears that faces the world is the kind of image the world sees you with, that piece of cloth that you cover your body with becomes an identity, from what you wear, how you wear it, and what patterns are on it.In ancient Egypt, the patterns on linen were almost plain, even though Ancient Egyptians were known for drawing symbols and hieroglyphic inscriptions, but

Fig. 4, Works of Art : Roundel, probably 6th/7th century Byzantine; said to be from Panopolis (Akhmim), Egypt, from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Fig. 5, Works of Art : Tapestry Square with the Head of Spring, 4th?5th century; Early Byzantine Egyptian, from Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

it was common for all social status, the only thing that differentiated the social standards were the garments they wore."Around 1500 BC, the pharaoh wore various kinds of garments such as gold, colored bids, delicate em-broideries, jewelry etc, on his linen skirt called shenti." (Kang, J., 2009), and since animal fur was forbidden to be worn, anyone who would wear would be considered to be un-religious.Not only in ancient Egypt but even in the Islamic era, an inscribed silk with Kufic script called Tiraz were made for the royal.

Fig 3, Mamluki embrodierd silk, from Egyptian Textile Museum Book.


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only the royal wore embroi-dered garments. (Kang, J., 2009) The symbols were inspired from nature, and from the gods they wor-shipped back then; the rays of the sun, the lotus, the black cat…etc. All represented in an abstract 2D form. When the Coptic Christian era raised, it was influenced by Egyptian and Greco-Roman heri-tages. At first the Christian art was more realistic,

showing biblical stories, iconography and natural hu-man figures, which was said to protect whoever wore it. There was a combination between the Ancient Egyptian symbols and that of Christian for instance, the Coptic Christian had their own “ansate” cross driven from the ancient Egyptian cross sign for ‘‘life’’. However the tech-nique changed from realistic to symbolic form, “the use of color became flatter and rather monotonic” (Kang, J., 2009) moving towards abstraction. As you can see in figure 3 and 4, the human figures in figure 3 seems to be more abstract than that of figure 4.

Fig. 6, Tiraz Tapestry Fragment, Nubia, Fatimid Egypt, 11-12C. From Bolton Museum and Archive Service, Egyptology Collection http://www.bolton-museums.org.uk/collections/egyptology/

When Egypt was conquered by the Arabs in 639 during the Islamic region, the Muslim traditions made a great impact of the different fields of arts in Egypt, especially the textile industry, all the way to 1805. Since Islamic art rarely showed human figures, it was more into cre-ating symmetrical and reflective patterns, geometrical shapes and natural figures called Arabesque. Also the use of calligraphy, whether from versus from the Holy Qur’an, as a symbol of protection, or Arabic proverbs, as a conversation opener.


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tition of the textile industry. (Pamuk, S. & Williamson J., G., 2011)After the Industrial Revolution in 1840’s, European countries starting developing their industries, including their textile industry, their goods became less expen-sive to them, which arouse a competition between the Egyptian textile industries and that of the European’s. Another issue was that after the American Civil War has ended in 1865, the trade of cotton from the south route was re-opened, the demand for Egyptian cotton de-creased.However, when “Gamal Abd-el Nasser became presi-dent he entire textile industry was nationalized under direct control of Egyptian government” (Kang, J., 2009), there was more control from the government over the industry, rather it revived the economy as a whole, as it created more local goods. The issue of lacking technology was still there, which did not help in competing with other countries. Therefore, by the 1970’s there was an encouragement over private com-panies in order to gain experience and technologies from elsewhere outside Egypt, which resulted in less control for the government in the 1990’s under the “im-pact of neo-liberalist economic policy” (J. Beinin, 2004; ibid pp.15-16) which continues uptil now.Kang states that after mid-1980’s both raw cotton

2.2 Political Influences and Reasons for the Decline of the Egyptian Textile Industry

“The governmental control on production had been imposed throughout entire Egyptian history” (The Tex-tile Industry in Egypt, from Eternal Egypt), which had a great influence on the success and failure of the textile industry in Egypt. The Ptolemaic and the Roman empire had a control over the percentage of fabric and clothes produced. The Romans needed a great amount of linen for the Roman army, and would impose a licensing tax on the weavers, if they did not come up with the wanted amount on time. As for the Islamic era, there was no proof of a strict government interference in the textile industry, but as mentioned before, there was a certain institution for creating the Tiraz textiles for the royal. After Muhammed Ali ruled Egypt in 1805, “Egypt went through a drastic modernization in every field of econ-omy, which resulted in increasing the production of cotton”(Doosan Online Encyclopedia, Article : Muham-mad Ali ) “British companies began investing heavily in cotton production in Egypt”, however we only exported the long-staple raw cotton, because it was believed that the taste of already made textiles were not satisfied by European countries, and a very important aspect was the technology. It was said that the Ottomans wars have helped in delaying “potential technology trans-fer at a time when such assimilation would have been crucial”, in order to keep up with the worldwide compe-


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Transnationalism of Design

The word Transnationalism means that something ex-tends beyond the national or local borders. The politi-cal influences in the previous chapter could be defined as a transnational influence, however transnationalism could lie beyond complex political relations, and strict governmental rules. it could lie in a simple object that moves from one place to the other, previewed to the different eyes of people, touching their heart and leav-ing a memory in some way. How could an object just move? In Crang’s and Ashmore’s article The Trans-national Spaces Of Things: South Asian Textiles In Britain And The Grammar Of Ornament, they stated that “Things do not just move through a transnational space, they are transformed in movement” (Crang, P., & Ashmore, S., 2009), perhaps by people or from trad-ing. As mentioned before countries like Britain, and France depended on importing Egyptian cotton, which is something that played a role in succeeding or failing the Egyptian textile industry. The Egyptian textiles only exported raw long-staple cotton, because -one of the reasons- that the Egyptian taste did not satisfy that of Europeans, therefore there was a transnational textile of egyptian origin, that gave an impression to a British ori-gin, leading to a decision taken. But not all textiles gave negative impressions to other countries, some design ideas influence others creating something completely

production and cotton fabric production became less successful in a crucial way, with concluding that “….the beginning of neo-liberalist policy has removed protec-tionist policy and the competition among newly emerg-ing industrialized countries such as China has become fiercer after 1980’s…… Another possible conjecture is that the land which was originally used for cotton production is used for other purposes, as Egypt has modernized and industrialized itself in the late twentieth century.”There was also another company report of an Egyptian textile company called Kazareen that stated that, even though they produce everything locally, but the yarn they worked with was imported from Asian countries, mostly Pakistan and India, due to the fact that “Egyp-tian yarn is more expensive than any other yarn be-cause it is considered as the finest cotton in the world”, since the first quality yarn is only exported to countries with the price of $2.6/kg, “while Indian yarn costs less than $1.8/kg, including shipping cost.” (Syed A. I. et al, Kazareen Textile Holding)


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This, of course, worked back into Indian production and design cultures.” which shows how transnational design goes back and forth. First, it was European in-fluenced by Indian creating a ‘’Hybrid’’, Then it became the Indian influenced by the “Hybrid”, and the cycle never stops. (Crang, P., & Ashmore, S., 2009)It was not only visual qualities, but even different uses and forms. Chintzes were first used as bed curtains and wall hangings, but in the eighteenth century, the

In the early seventieth to early nineteenth century, the Chintzes textiles were popular in Europe, especially in Britain and Netherlands. The chintzes is an Indian cot-ton cloth that is produced by hand-drawing and dyed patterns. The Great Exhibition of 1851, that was held in the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park, exhibited over one hundred thousand objects representing ‘the industry of all nations’, and the Indian textiles “drew especial praise” (Crang, P., & Ashmore, S., 2009). Al-though Indian and European cultures are very different, Owen Jones -a Victorian architect and designer re-nowned for his The Grammar of Ornament (1856)- was able to combine a culture of both, to “re-materialise” and “re-contextualise” the Indian textiles and patterns into something that could be acceptable to a complete-ly different culture. “Patterns too changed, and a dis-tinctively European style emerged, combining British, Indian and Chinese patterns in a way that fitted a wider fashion for Chinoiserie in eighteenth-century Britain.

3.1 South Asian Textiles in Britain and Transnational Material Culture

Fig. 6, Woven silk. ‘Athens’. Designed by Owen Jones for Warner, 1870–1874. V&A Museum, no. CIRC 289-1953.

new; creating a Hybrid design, that could not even define its origin.

Fig. 7, Dress fabric, Aurangabad, India c.1850. Width 81 cm, length 487 cm. V&A Museumno. 798-1852.


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Indian-British patterns were involved in fashion cloth-ing for women and for furnishing. The technology even changed, to produce all these different forms and uses, textiles and dyes were no longer hand-crafted “from hand-crafted textiles to drawings to chromolithographic plates and industrial designs for commodity surfaces” Even though the introduction of these patterns seemed to be rather shocking and ugly to Europeans at first, perhaps because it is different and of different taste, after 150 years of the Great Exhibition, “South Asian textiles and designs were once again being celebrated in London”By the mid-1920s, the Iranian and Persian carpet in-dustries enhanced their carpet designs, which London became a world center for the Persian and oriental carpet trade, “new design motifs, patterns, and colors were introduced in response to world market demand” (Rudner, M., 2011).

3.2 Transnationalism of Fabric Design Af-fecting the Egyptian Textile Market

From the interpretation of the transnational design of South Asian textiles, whatever enters the world market faces the conflict of modernization -in other words cre-ating a hybrid of cultural designs, to please the tastes of others, and it is not only in industries, but trades in general. Even the act of trading raw materials through monetization, has helped in producing a hybrid culture, thus losing an identity or an origin culture. (Femenias, B., 2010) In Femenias’ article In Cloth We Trust, she stated from Nicholas Thomas’ Entangled Objects that “British and other foreign missionaries influenced the form and the design of most, perhaps all, items now extant how-ever, the indigenous and foreign antecedents and the degree of European influence cannot be determined today, and questions about the objects as hybrid or creolized products remain, in Thomas’s estimation, unanswerable” (Thomas, N., 1991) and this is what has happened to the Egyptian market, the taste and the demands of most of the Egyptians has changed due to the transnationalism of design, which will be proven in the market research, by observing the activity of buy-ing and selling in the Egyptian market. However, what pleases the taste of the Egyptians? Or most importantly What defines “good taste”?


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3.3 What Defines “Good Taste”?

Before exploring what’s in the Egyptian market, a back-ground about tastes, and what attracts the customers in textiles has to be analyzed in order to understand the market.The question of good and bad taste is rather confus-ing. Who has the right to determine what good taste and what bad taste is? When after all, it is a point of perspective. I can see something that -to me- seems pretty, but to others is not, yet the idea is not about what I define tasteful or not, but what I can please oth-ers with -as a designer. In an article by Harvey, Press, and Maclean about William Morris, Cultural Leadership, and the Dynamics of Taste discusses how tastes are generated, transmitted and changed through genera-tions. And Egypt, as a country with a very rich history that has went through different civilizations and occu-pations, has experienced dynamic changes of tastes. Taste does not only concern different cultures, but even different social classes and status, because the origin of taste is beyond aesthetics, but it is from the “habitus and the availability of economic and cultural capital” (Bourdieu, Distinction, 1-8, 257-396.), meaning that a person’s lifestyle, and the skills they earn from their everyday life influences how they perceive and prefer visual qualities. Harvey et al has mentioned that Pierre Bourdieu, the french sociologist and philosopher

stated that “Each social class or fraction of class has its own habitus and correlative set of cultural practices. This leads Bourdieu to conclude that relative “distance from necessity” is the main determinant of habitus and the formation of tastes and preferences” (Ibid., 53-96) People in high social classes, are usually those who are not concerned with earning money, but what to do with the money. The different activities and hobbies they would do -painting or learning an instrument- as a way to “upgrade” their skills and social standards. The lifestyle of celebrating, gathering, and talking about art and design -as if they know it all. While the working classes are concerned about earning money, to fulfill their needs and priorities; food, health, security, per-haps education. They have no time, or at least are not concerned with showing off their social skills, because these activities are only a “plus” to their lives. As a con-clusion to Harvey’s et al study, “the inter-generational transmission of tastes depends on the agency of elite cultural actors and institutions that serve to consecrate products and designs as emblematic of enduring good taste”, which means that, whether it is fair or not, the elite social classes are those who define what good taste is, claiming to understand the quality of art and design, which is passed on to the middle social class, all the way to the lower social classes.


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However, how could the elite people declare what good taste is, and claim to understand design, if design is what influences them and influences their perspectives of what is tasteful and what is not. Do we design for the people? Or do we influence the people by our designs?Harvey et al also focused on how the change of “goods” changes tastes; the field of production -or the economic world, versus the field of consumption -the social world. According to Harvey etal, there are four process of taste formation; objectification, legitimiza-tion, transmission, and institutionalization. Objectification; when ideas are transformed into objects or artifacts, providing the market with what is has today. Legitimization; relating to what the country determined as legal or appropriate, symbolizing the traditions and culture of the country. Transmission; extending goods from a place to the other, leading to an extension of tastes through-out the community and even through-out different cultures (as discussed in the transnationalism of south Asian textiles in Britain), and finally Institution-alization; learning about production of goods, renewing tastes across generations. “From this perspective, taste formation may be portrayed as a force for social cohe-sion, rather than one of social domination.”(Harvey, C., Press, J. & Maclean, M., 2011)

Overview of the Research

From the research, an overview of the evolution of Egyptian textiles production was mentioned. The use of linen was the most dominant in the Ancient Egyptian era, but is still used until now. Long-staple Egyptian cot-ton was said to be the best cotton in the world, but was also expensive. The Coptic Christians introduced the production of silk, which the Islamic era continued on producing, but also focused on producing the Egyptian “silk-like wool”. Each civilization influenced the uses of textiles and fabrics, according to their traditions and believes, the uses of materials, and the change in the graphical designs on the textiles. Most of the influences on the textiles industry were political, as it depends on how much the government controlled the industry, and depended on occupations on the country and on the need to buy Egyptian textiles compared to textiles of other countries; seeking better quality, less expensive, and satisfying the tastes of the consumers. There was also a lack of technology, which influenced the qual-ity of the textiles, which diverted the interest on buying imported textiles.Egyptian identity is claimed to be lost, or “combined”, due to the transnationalism of design, and the change of “tastes” in the society, influenced by French, to Eng-lish occupations in Egypt, to the need to find other quality and diversity of textiles from imported ones.


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Methodology

5.1 The Market

According to my methodology there shall be an ob-servation of what the Egyptian textile market offers, through different categories. Mostly, I am aiming at real-izing how much of the products provided in the market are Egyptian-made, Egyptian materials available, what attracts the customer? What are the designs available? by interviewing with the shop-sellers. Which will also help in realizing, if I would be able to interfere in the production of the textile of my up-coming design, or will I only include an already made fabric in my design.

5.1.1 Wekalet el Balah

Photos 8 & 9 taken during the “explora-tion” in Wekalet el-Balah.

Wekalet El-Balah is a local market, located in Cairo, known for selling all the categories -but is mostly cheaper than other markets- of fabrics and textiles, Rugs, curtains, tapestry, clothes...etc. Two of my colleagues and I went to Wekalet El-Balah to observe the market. We walked into the whole market, focusing mainly on stores that sell fabrics per meter, which were the largest stores in the Wekala, and are the most that attracted the eye from the rest of the street vendors that sell clothes, and other relevant goods.We entered almost 10 stores, only 4 of them had their own factories and produced their own textiles, the rest were just retailers of other imported textiles. Even the stores that produced their own textiles, still sold import-ed fabrics. We asked the shop sellers, some basic questions like The materials of the fabrics? Which fabrics are im-ported which are not? What are the customers driven to buy?Most of the shop sellers were not really helpful, they were only aiming to sell, which accordingly changed their responses to us. When we asked some shop sell-ers if a specific fabric was imported or not, some would just tell that they’re imported, as if they feel that we demand imported fabrics. And when we tell him that we are students working on a project to support Egyptian-

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made textiles, they would tell us they’re Egyptian-made. However, there were some shop sellers that were, I be-lieve, honest. According to their responses, There are plenty of Egyptian-made cotton and linen, very few silk. Some fabrics were said to be made in Turkey, but with Egyptian yarn, while others were said to be manufac-tured in Egypt, but made with Asian or imported yarn because it is cheaper. There was no huge difference

between the prices of imported textiles and Egyptian-made textiles, it only differed from the quality. The aver-age price was mostly 15 to 25 EGP per meter. When we asked the sellers about what are the trends and are people driven to buy these days, there was

no specific answer, be-cause these kinds of textiles were used for several uses, with sev-eral designs. In Egypt, the furnishing design is divided into mostly three styles, classic designs (mostly equivalent to the 18th century French/Eu-ropean luxurious furnish-ings), modern designs (basic shapes), and what they call “modo-style” something in between. As

claimed by the shop-sellers, there is no specific kind of design that people these days are attracted to, yet the -so called- modern designs seem to be on spot on the stores. On the other hand, the demand for Classic designs did not decrease in a serious rate.The Egyptian-made fabrics seem to have very poor taste -at least according to my perspective. Some pat-terns were just too distracting, and some colors did not match together. There seemed to be very few designs that were Egyp-tian-based, but then again, there is no definition of an

Photo 11, street vendors, taken during the “explo-ration” in Wekalet el-Balah.

Fig. 10, fabrics in Wekalet El-Balah from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cotton.htm

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Egyptian design. It is rather Pharaonic, Bedouin, or Islamic, which was still very few. Perhaps designs that are Islamic, or could be called Oriental -based on Per-sian designs- were existing somehow.Nevertheless, there seemed to be a trend of textiles with calligraphy. These kinds of textiles are widely-spread, however in the innovative Egyptian-designs, that will be discussed in the next chapter, are in trend, besides the floral patterns.

5.1.2 Oriental Weavers (Al Nasagon Al Sharkeyon)

We also paid a visit to another leading textiles store called the Oriental Weavers. The Oriental Weavers is a recognized brand in the Egyptian carpet and rug indus-try, providing different categories and tastes of carpets and rugs designs with a good quality. It is quiet a chal-lenge that an Egyptian-based multinational organiza-tion, is able to export their goods. Some of their fibres and raw materials are produced locally, but we noticed that most of the designs we preferred were not pro-duced or designed in Egypt. According to the sales man in the Oriental Weaver’s store in Maadi, most of the buyers these days are fo-cusing on more “modernized” designs, however they provide “classic” designs in order to satisfy different needs and tastes. The exclusive products they had were mostly polyester, chenille and wool rugs with ba-sic shape patterns.

Fig. 12, Oriental Weavers shop from http://www.cdwcharlotte.com/images/dscn0829.jpg

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5.1.3 Innovative Egyptian Textiles and Fabrics

Fig. 13, An advertising poster for the company Tanis

Fig. 14, A pencil case by El-Horreya Designs Fig. 15, A laptop case by El-Horreya Designs

Entering into a whole different category, these compa-nies has found a way to encourage the use and buying of Egyptian-made textiles, Tanis and El-Horreya are two companies that are ready to shine in the Egyptian mar-ket.

Tanis founded in 1987 produces local textiles that are believed to be the best in quality in Egypt. Aiming mod-ern tastes with a touch of oriental identity, Tanis’ fabrics are produced, designed, and hand printed using local design expertise, local materials and local crafts-peo-ple. Their designs are rather beautiful and pleasing to the eye. They design cotton, linen, and silk fabrics with

a very high quality compared to the Egyptian textiles found in the local markets (like Wekalet el-Balah). How-ever, since Tanis is targeting the elite people of Egypt with expensive prices; they are not available to every-one. Fabrics per meter were from 90 to 120 EGP. Also the manager was not helpful at all, and did not allow anyone to take a tour in their factory, even after we told them that we are design students.On the other hand, “Al Horreya is an ongoing dynamic design project is created to support humanitarian or-ganizations in the Middle East”, with innovating the uses of Egyptian-made fabrics into modern products, like laptop cases, bags, fashionable clothes, and even shoes with a reflection of oriental Egyptian designs. So it’s not only about supporting Egyptian-made products, and reviving the oriental identity but supporting those in need.

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5.1.4 Conclusion and Discussion

From what I have concluded through the market obser-vation were the following: Egyptian-made textiles were not as undervalued as I expected, Egyptian cotton is always in a very good quality -no doubt, but the quality of linen was rather displeasing sometimes compared to imported linen. However, the visual elements were less tasteful than the quality. Imported fabrics were usually in a better quality, and had a larger variety of designs; due to the lack of technology available in the Egyptian textile industry. There is no apparent identity in the de-signs of the fabrics, which means that Egyptians have a diversity of tastes, but from what I have noticed that in Wekalet El Balah most designs are a bit crowded, perhaps this is how the customers like it. But may we not forget that in Wekalet el Balah, the target group is mostly C and B class as they provide affordable prices. Unlike that of Tanis’ the patterns were more simple, but still holding an oriental identity, as they target a higher class. This settles us on the fact that the taste of the higher target group is different than that of a lower one (in a less crowded way, I believe as it is influenced by globalization), and that there is a trend leading people to re-value the Egyptian oriental identity (focusing more on Arabic/Islamic designs) in a modernizing direction, which is also proven as there started to exist a trend of calligraphy patterns on textiles found in Wekalet El

Balah. This is how taste is transformed, as mentioned before in the previous chapter of What Defines “Good Taste”, higher classes are those who determine trends and good tastes, as they are more open to innovative design ideas, which is then transmitted into lower and lower social classes through time. This leaves me to conclude that in order to introduce innovative designs, A and B class will be more open and probably appreci-ate new ideas than the C class, however familiarity is still needed.

Fig 16, Arabic Calligraphy on a fabric worn by a woman, from http://blog.corinnemartin.com/?p=4283

Market Research

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5.1.5 Limitations

During the market observation, there had been several limitations. First of all, there should have been more market observation to more places, but due to the un-stable security conditions of Egypt these days, it was not safe to visit all places. Secondly, I was only focus-ing on fabrics that were sold per meter, so it limited my observation, because I was not interested in clothes, or garments. Thirdly, in Wekalet El Balah, as mentioned before, the shop sellers could not be fully trusted as some of them felt uncomfortable giving out informa-tion fearing competition, or just aiming to sell, which made them change their answers sometimes, eve though we told them we were students working on a project. However, some shop sellers offered us to visit their factories. What would have been more helpful, if we were able to take a tour in Tanis’ factory, or even to be able to make an interview with the company owner in order to understand what influences and difficulties they faced in reaching innovation and success, but the owner refused.

Concept Realization

From the research on fabrics and textiles, and from the market observation process, there is one thing that I al-ways find in common despite the diversity, is that peo-ple are attached to fabrics as it is comfortable to the skin. As mentioned before, “...because of its intimate association with the body and the person, cloth has an uncanny ability to generate confidence” (Femenias, B., 2010), it is not only used for clothing, but in furniture, in our houses. It is impossible to find a house that does not have a sheet of any kind of fabric; on the bed, the most comfortable place you can be, on the chairs, or even on the floor. The main obvious objects that are related to a person’s comfort usually includes fabric. Therefore, I am aiming at innovating the use of textiles, in everyday-used products (which I will define shortly), to provide comfort, not only physical comfort, but also emotional comfort. Without neglecting the idea, of stick-ing to a cultural identity.

6.1 Comfort

Concept Realization

23Concept Mood board

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6.2 Target Group

As mentioned before, I will be choosing to target A & B classes, since they are more open to innovative ideas, which by time will be passed on to lower classes. Even though the working classes could be exposed to stress more; however, I am targeting those who are stressed due to too much usage of electronic devices. Mostly these people are university students, and working young adults who use a lot of electronics daily, aging from 18 to 30’s and maybe more, or people who are ac-tually interested in buying electronic devices, so called “geeks”.

Concept Realization

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Everyday-used Products

Before explaining why would I want to provide comfort through/in everyday-used products, I would like to de-fine what are everyday-used products. Everyday-used products are products that, some mean a lot to us, and some we take for granted, but we use at least once, or repetitively through our day. It could be a pen you write with everyday, your cellphone, key chain, or even the doorknob you open the door with every time you leave your house.We are attached to these products whether we are aware of it or not. We are not only attached to them for their function, or perhaps their high importance in our society; there are certain objects that we are attached to that may make no sense, or no difference in our lives if they are lost. We may feel that we need them, even though we can survive without them, or we may feel that we do not need them, and then realize how impor-tant they were to us when we lose them, because we are emotionally attached to them. Their usability affects our body and our emotions. The use of these everyday products provide familiarity, when a person is familiar with an object or a product, he/she feels security, which I relate to comfort. Even though not all products are user friendly, or aim at providing comfort for us. Some-times when a person buys a new laptop, for instance, changing the system of Microsoft PC to Apple Mackin-

tosh, the unfamiliarity could cause the person to not like the product, or feel stressed when he/she uses it. De-spite the familiarity or unfamiliarity with a certain prod-uct, we are bound to deal with things that we dislike dealing with through our day, whether this “thing” could be an object, or a situation in our busy lives.

7.1 Everyday-used Products Analysis

Since my aim is to provide comfort through everyday-used products with textiles, I had to examine and de-fine what are the usual everyday-used products of by my target group. I made a survey that I spread through the social network Facebook, since it is easier to reach my target group through. I asked them about their age and gender, what are/is their most important object/ob-jects in their daily life? Is there an object that they may find, stressful or irritating, but they still use through their day? (In order to realize if there are some objects that do, in fact, cause stress) What are the objects that pro-vide them comfort, besides a bed? (To get inspiration) and What objects that provide them confidence (be-cause I find comfort leads to confidence -as when you are comfortable you be yourself- also to get inspiration)


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7.1.1 Results

When I spread the survey through Facebook, only 31 participants answered, only 7 were male, and the rest were female, ranging from the age of 18 till 30. When they were asked to name an object/objects that they “can’t live without through their day”, 12 out of 31 people stated a Cellphone with their different types like “bbm, or iPhone”, 4 people mentioned Laptops, 3 said Water, 1 mentioned eyeglasses, and the last one men-tioned Pillow. Proving that the majority (16 people) are attached to personal electronic gadgets.

The following question was : If they find an object/ob-jects irritating, or in other words “stressful”, but they still need through their day. The majority (17 people) answered Yes, while the rest (14) answered No. From the 17 participants, 8 stated that their personal irritating

object is the Cellphone, arguing that the alerts, vibra-tions, and the idea of being reachable the whole time just drives them “insane”. 4 of 17 mentioned their car, relating it more to traffic jam, while 2 mentioned Laptop. One person wrote “Any technological item”, while the rest wrote objects like Tissue, Alarm clock, uncomfort-able school desks, Slippers, Lamp, and Keys. What I find in common in these objects are mostly two things; objects that cause alertness, or objects that are easily lost (like keys and slippers for instance). The next question was to name an object/objects that provide comfort (other than a bed), to make people think deeper into objects that surround them. Some answers were related to physical comfort, while some were psychological. For example, 4 out of 31 said -surprisingly- Cellphone, because of the idea of being reachable, or reaching anyone. 7 stated objects related to music, iPods, mp3s, and headphones. 4 persons mentioned objects similar to clothes or pyjamas. The majority wrote objects related to physical comfort; 4 persons said Lazy boy, 4 said Bean bag, another 4 said Pillow, 4 said couch, while 1 person mentioned Blanket. Other objects were TV, Elevator, Shoes, a warm cup of hot drink, lotion, perfume, and 1 mentioned coffee and chocolate (which are somehow irrelevant).The last question was about object/objects that provide


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confidence, as I related the idea of being comfortable, to being confident. Since more than half of my partici-pants were females, most answers were fashion and clothes-related. 5 out of 31 mentioned High heels, 2 wrote clothes or jeans, 3 wrote objects that are similar to perfumes (body spray, and deodorant), while other three that are definitely girls, said Bra. Other objects were accessories, Veil, Wallet, Book, Car, Cellphone, Drawing Tablet, Pencil-pen-paper, and Mirror.

*The number of results of the survey combined seem more than the number of the participants because some participants mentioned more than one answer.

7.1.2 Conclusion

From this survey, I have realized that the most com-mon objects were cellphones, or electronic related. The stress caused by these objects, that people are aware of, are from vibrations and alerts. Most objects that provide comfort are made of fabrics, even objects that provide confidence. But there was very few relation between objects that provide comfort and objects that provide confidence. However, cellphones were men-tioned in all of the answers to all of the questions, pro-viding mixture of feelings between confidence, comfort, stress, and personal importance.Therefore, I will be focusing mainly to engage my “to-be product” that provides comfort through/with/in electron-ic devices (Cellphones and laptops in particular)


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Electronic devices are generated by electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves are waves that consist of both electric and magnetic components, resulting from the motion of an electric charge and containing a definite amount of electromagnetic energy. These waves produce an electromagnetic field that is a result of fluctuating electric fields combined with magnetic fields from the usage of electronic devices, which has proved that it harms the human health. “These electro-magnetic waves are thousands of times stronger than the level used in the communication in our body cells” (BioGeometry), as a result this misbalances the energy

Technology: Speed and Stress

In a consuming culture, that forces people to release all their energy to work in order to buy more and more goods, as a superficial way to “upgrade” their lives, or feel better about themselves, we are not only fac-ing the stress of work, but also the stress caused by a “Hyper-culture”. We studied in the 6th semester, in Social Sciences course, that hyper-culture is the culture that is driven by speed -of technology- in a very short time. We are facing the issue that everything around us is reachable; we are able to be in several places at the same time through the internet, which widens our knowledge and our limits of existence. You don’t have to be in Tahrir for instance to know what’s happening in the revolution, or even you don’t have to be in Japan to know about the tsunami. The accessibility of things, the speed of technology, the mixing of cultures, and the possession of too many electrical gadgets (cellphones, laptops, microwaves, televisions, different music play-ers) too many changes happening in so little time, is a stressful hyper-culture. The ability to be patient has diminished, and patience leads to calmness, whatever contrasts calmness leads to stress, -thanks to technol-ogy- which is another reason why I would like to pro-vide comfort through these everyday-used products. Because these electronic devices are not longer an accessory tool that you throw with your other personal

belongings, but these devices are now essentials (or at least to most people), and are used daily (which is proven in my Everyday-used Products Analysis). Although they have made our lives easier in several ways, or in other words “faster”, they may actually harm us. Devin Jindrich, an assistant professor in the School of Life Sciences, said that “There are injuries that can be directly linked to…the types of activities that people do when they’re interacting with technology,” on daily basis. (ASU)

8.1 Electromagnetic Radiation


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in our bodies causing stress. Electromagnetic radiation is found in electronic devices like cellphones, laptops, microwaves, televisions...etc.

8.1.1 Cellphones

“Worldwide, the number of cell phone users is estimat-ed to be approximately 5 billion in 2011 and that num-ber has continued to climb” (Environment, Health, and Safety Online), proving that cellphones have become more essential to people than necessary, without even realizing how harmful they could be. As mentioned be-fore, cellphones work by using electromagnetic radia-tion to send and receive signals, just like microwaves, which are used to cook food with by “heating” it. “Ra-diation which is called “ionizing” can be absorbed by tissue and break molecules apart, such as gamma rays

and x-rays, are known to cause cancer”. The main fact that the use of mobile phones can cause cancer is still an argument. Since the amount of radiation caused by cellphones is not as strong as that of microwaves, therefore is not as harmful. However, that does not make the usage of cellphones on long-terms harmless.Some researchers from Australia lead by radiation ex-pert Dr. Peter French, principal scientific officer at the Centre for Immunology Research at St Vincent’s Hospi-tal in Sydney, hypothesize that those who are exposed to using cellphones for more than 10 years are more likely to have cancer later on. Dr. Peter French said that “mobile phone frequencies well below current safety levels could stress cells in a way that has been shown to increased susceptibility to cancer”. Another research team in Sweden found an increased risk for brain tu-mors in people who used cellular or cordless phones (Hardell, L. etal, 2006) On the other hand, “based on epidemiological findings, mobile phones use for less than ten years is not associ-ated with cancer incidence”. Epidemiological, Animal and In Vitro studies state that exposure to RF fields is unlikely to lead to an increase in cancer in humans.Even though, there are no tangible evidence that RF causes cancer, there is some evidence that RF fields can influence EEG (Electroencephalogram, which is an


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instrument used to test the electrical activity in different parts of the brain) patterns and sleep in humans. And that’s not all, there are, in fact, self-reported symptoms of mobile phone usages. The heat that is caused by talking too much on the cellphone, is related to caus-ing brain tumors, having that the pain and headache is caused from the specific parts of the head the cell-phone is exposed to. There is also another report that says that cell phones are related to lack of sleep, or uncomfortable sleep when placing a cell phone next to your bed. (Environment, Health, and Safety Online) Unfortunately, scientific studies have failed to find a relation between self-reported symptoms and RF expo-sure, yet there are some single symptoms that are, in fact related. (ec.europa.eu)Whether cell phone’s radiations cause cancer or not, the use of cellphones do cause stress, as mentioned before, from the alerts, vibrations, and the idea of al-ways being reachable. It causes distractions, which is something I should put into consideration, people sometimes want to be reachable, incase of work-relat-ed, or social-related reasons, but they eventually feel stressed from being “too reachable”.

Different cell phone usages:

Shoulder

Ear and Head

Fingers


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8.1.2 Laptops

Another device that is widely spread is the laptop. The laptop is the smaller scale of a desktop computer, that was firstly designed for businessmen, or for those who need to work on their computers anywhere. However, as most people are now driven by, what we mentioned before, a “hyper-culture”, they are also driven to buy objects that are minimized, in order to be mobile. Although laptops may not seem as harmful as cell-phones, since radiation give off by laptops is 20 mill gauss which is less than that of cellphones, laptops still have side effects which may lead to stress. The radiation from laptops may not seem as harm-ful, however they may harm pregnant women, as “the radiation may affect the baby’s development and risks

mom or expectant mom’s health.” (knoji.com) Also the State Universities in New York stated that placing lap-tops on the lap, while using it, affects a man’s fertility as the heat coming from the laptop results in lowering sperm production. Another problem that is related to physical stress, as we mentioned before laptops are a scaled down size of desktop computers; the screen and the keyboard are very close together, which is ergonomically uncom-fortable for the user as he/she will tend to hunch their backs causing a pain in the neck and back. This is also related to having the screen too close to your vision, or in fact not close to our eye level, causing vision fatigue, and pressuring more on your neck and back. This will only be caused after using the laptop for a long pe-riod of time, which is my concern as my target group spends most of their time working on their laptops, they may not realize how to sit in the right posture while working intensely, which may also lead to shoulder cramps; as when the user becomes too involved on his/her work on the laptop, he/she tends to lean more closer to the screen, compressing his/her shoulders. However, this may not be an issue for those whose laptops’ screens are not very small. As I mentioned before, there are injuries that are related to the usage of technological devices. ASU researchers found out that


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8.2 Discussion

From what I have concluded that the harmful effects of laptops and cellphones that lead to stress are not al-ways visibly physical related. These devices cause us stress whether we are aware of it or not. The pain of the back, neck, ears, and headaches are things we may be aware of, but the lack of sleep, the disturbances from the alerts and vibrations, and the radiations that harms our health and brain, we are not always aware of, as it becomes a routine in our lives, in addition to our beloved electronic devices that makes us wonder, how were we ever alive without them. It is rather ironic, that after all the stress and discomfort these objects cause us, they are still important in our lives, or at least to most of us.

there is a musculoskeletal disorder that are caused due to long-term usage of keyboards called carpal tunnel syndrome, which may cause twitching or swelling in the fingers. (www.statepress.com)


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8.3 Previous Solutions

8.3.1 Electromagnetic Wave Absorber

In order to start brainstorming, previous solutions for reducing the harmful effects of electronic devices had to be researched on, whether it was focusing on gen-eral electronic devices, or particularly cellphones or laptops.

A solution developed by Sony, is the electromagnetic wave absorber. An electromagnetic wave absorber sheet is a metal sheet that is placed inside an elec-tronic device, mostly in home appliances. This sheet is mostly made of copper or nickel metal ink, metal screen, and metal foam, which works on reflecting the electromagnetic radiation “from the surface of the con-ductor: internal fields stay inside, and external fields stay outside.” These materials “absorb the energy in electromagnetic waves as magnetic loss, and convert that energy, in the end, to heat”, which is why elec-tronic devices heat up after long usage -causing other problems. Also the electromagnetic absorber sheet should be placed where the electromagnetic strength is the greatest, which is mostly inside the electronic device itself. The amount of reduction also depends on

the thickness and the size of the shielded volume. The electromagnetic wave absorber sheet is proven to be successful as it reduced approximately 7 dB (the unit used to measure a powerful level of an electric signal) by covering the IC (Integrated Circuit) inside the cellphone with the sheet. The developers of Sony stated that for further electromagnetic wave reduction, the sheet could cover the DSP (digital signal processor) and the CPU (central processing unit) (emcstw, www.sony.net)

The electromagnetic wave absorber sheet seemed in-teresting, as I thought it could be placed or used inside of my product, and use fabrics as a cover or serving the function of my “to-be” product. However, in order for this electromagnetic wave absorber sheet to be effect-ed, it has to be closes to the IC, which means it should be placed inside of the cellphone itself, the more layers are in between the sheet and the IC, the less effective it is.

Discussion and Inspiration on Electromagnetic wave absorber sheet


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tion emanating from the earth (believed to be a major cause of cancer) and different types of man-made pol-lution..... It appears to amplify and balance the energy fields of the body on all levels, and thereby give the body greater power to heal itself. The healing process resulting from a strengthening and balancing of the immune system manifests differently from one person to the other; certain results, however, have been repeat-edly observed.”BioGeometry has been tested and used to heal several diseases, including Hepatitis C, which was a project by Pharmaceutical faculty of El Azhar University, headed by Dr. Taha Khalifa, the Dean of the Faculty of Pharma-cy. The project was proved to be successful.

8.3.2 BioGeometry

“BioGeometry® is a science that deals with the Energy of Shape; it uses shapes, colors, motion, orientation and sound to produce a vibrational quality that balanc-es energy fields” It aims at protecting our health and body against the harms of electronic devices, by using the science of Biogeometry in architecture, furniture, and jewelry products that could be worn and surround the person all the time in his/her daily life.According to the science of BioGeometry, that is found by Egyptian Architect and Scientist Dr. Ibrahim Karim (D.Sc./Dipl.Arch.-ETH, Zurich) who spent more than 30 years researching about the energy of shapes, which was firstly established by the Ancient Egyptians, “BioGeometrical shapes balance the body energies on different levels; positive effects are usually felt on the emotional, mental, spiritual as well as the physical level. They have been found to be effective over a very broad range, including the protection against harmful radia-

“L” Mobile Sticker to provide the BG3 (3 Energy Balancing Qualities) to the human energy field.

Biosignature Emitter Medallion


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BioGeometry offers products like pendants, earrings, rings, carpets, even cellphone stickers. BioGeometry produces their products and perceive their shapes according to BioSigna-tures. These Biosigna-tures are shapes and patterns inspired from nature. “Extensive re-search in this field has shown that all patterns on the surface of plants, animals, insects and

other living systems, form an integral part of the total energy system of that life form. This pattern is related to the peripheral energy flow on the surface of the body, which usually interacts with the environment to adapt the central energy system to external changes” (www.Biogeometry.com)

Diamond Chair by IK designs, a BioGeometry Product.

Discussion and Inspiration on BioGeometry

BioGeometry has proven to be effective in some cases, however; the shapes and elements has to be used very delicately and precisely, According to BioGeometry’s scientists, a slightest change in the shapes may affect it’s effectiveness, however it may never harm or give out negative energy to the human body. This aspect limits my graphical elements option, even though it is pos-sible to use BioSignatures on textiles. Also it does not imply with my idea to provide a product with a cultural identity, even if it is modernized. And I could not copy the shapes already given, unless it is copyrighted, otherwise it will be plagiarism, since it is a trademarked work. Plus, I am not a scientist in this area, therefore I am unaware of how to create these delicate shapes.

However, this gave me an inspiration that what seems to relax the mind and the eye of the human are things inspired from nature, as they somehow seem familiar to us, these organic shapes provide us safety and com-fort.


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8.3.3 Acu-Vibe Technology

“Acu-Vibe technology is a proven and effective system for measuring, balancing, and transferring Vibrational energy. Acu-Vibe technology works from the quan-tum or informational field of the body all the way to the physical and has a Vibrational balancing effect on the Acupuncture systems of 12 main meridians, 8 extraor-dinary vessels and 7 energy centers or chakras.”

Acu-vibe Technology provide bracelets that balance the energy of the human body, hence protecting the body from the negative impacts of electronic devices to give the body more power. (or the natural power the human body has without the effect of these devices)(www.vibrationalliving.com)

8.3.4 Power Balance Bracelet

There is also another bracelet with the same idea, that seemed to be more of a trend, is the Power Bal-ance bracelet. The site of the product does not give any feedback or scientific proof of how it works, or how effective it is. Even though several athletes from the Coastal Carolina University felt the power from the bracelet- as mentioned in an online report by Ryan Naquin, “Elite athletes like Drew Brees, Shaquille O’neil, and Shane Victorino, all of who have won champion-ships in their respected sports, promote the Power Bal-ance Bracelet as a product that gives them a phsyical edge over their opponents.”, Still it was scientifically tested and was proven to not be effective on everyone. “We contacted Stacey Beam with Coastal Carolina University’s Natural and Applied Sciences Depart-


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ment. She is the University’s Lab Coordinator for Sports Study. She says the bands rely on no proof at all, only testimonies..... The test proved there is no way you can effect energies that are coming off of your body. A bracelet or wristband can not make you better at balancing or more agile. Beam does agree though the bracelet do have a psychological effect.” (www.caroli-nalive.com)

Discussion and Inspiration on Acu-Vibe and Power Balance Bracelets

The idea of having a protecting product against the negative effects of electronic devices is inspirational as it is something that is always reachable and with the user all the time, despite of being scientifically effec-tive or uneffective, or the purpose of the product (to provide energy), the feeling of owning an object that protects the user is psychologically effective. However, the vibrational, or “secretive” technology of solving the problem of an unbalanced energy caused by electronic devices remains uncertain, and unconvincing to some users. Hence, I will be focusing more on an object that is physically (touchable) comforting, and psychologi-cally, rather than an invisible technology, which is re-lated to the idea that my material is from textiles.


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Problem Solving

In order to start the Problem Solving process, There has to be a clear identification of the main problem, and relate it to my aim and my target group.

Provide Comfort Electronic devicesUsing Textiles

Physical Comfort Emotional Comfort

Texture

Touch

Cotton

Silk

Heat absorption Visual

Religious

Arabic Calligraphy

ProverbsHoly Versus

Cultural Nature Inspired

OrientalPatterns

Colors

Shapes

Target Group

Cellphones Laptops

A & B Class Young Adults

Busy Lifestyle 18’s to 30’s

University Students

Designers

SecretariesBuisnessmen

Physically Stressed Using electronic devicesexcessively

electromagneticwave absorber

Biosignatures

Problem Solving

9.1 Brainstorming

39Problem Solving

Stress from Cellphones and Laptops

Re-design Object

Change User Behavior

Accessory

Vibrations

Alerts

Sleeping Disorder

Ear pain

Electro-magnetic waves

Head-ache

Sweaty Fingers

Heat

Finger Cramp

Back-ache

Neck-ache

Laps

Vision Blur

The diagram on the right shows visible and physical effects that cause stress by cellphones and laptops. There are several problems that are related only to cellphones, oth-ers related to laptops, and some in between (which are all concluded from the previous research)

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9.2 Inspired Keywords

Physical Flexibility SoftDe-materialize

Heat AbsorptionNature Inspired

Problem Solving

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Reachable

Mobility

Relaxation

Cultural Identity Spongy

Problem Solving

42 Problem Solving

9.3 Solutions9.3.1 Hot Laps

At first, I thought of something that could prevent the reach of heat on the laps (for laptop users), as the heat is harmful for the body, especial-ly for men, and could emotionally cause the user to feel uncomfortable while it using the laptop on their laps. This behavior exactly is used by university students, and employees who can finish their work in an in-formal atmosphere, like their homes. Another aspect was the eye level, as this object could be placed on the laps underneath the lap-top, or on the desk, the laptops’ screen should be near the eye level. Therefore this object could be inclined (or have the option of inclination) to reach the appropri-ate eye level, which could also solve the problem of tilting the user’s neck, causing it to stress the body.However, as this object will be mostly made of fabric, and will be upholstered (or stuffed in order to be comfortable, and flexible in size to provide the tilting option), the heat coming from the laptop will be mostly stuck between the laptop and the upper layer of the fabric where the laptop is held

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on. Even though, this will prevent the heat of the lap-top from reaching the laps, it may cause the fan of the laptop to burn on the long run, that is why it is preferred to place the laptop on a stiff material (like wood for instance), so the laptop’s fan won’t overheat. Also as the object itself is stuffed, placing it on your laps for a long time, in a hot weather, may cause your legs to be sweaty. Therefore this option was excluded.

9.3.2 Change User Behavior

Another aspect was to change the misbehavior of the user that causes discomfort, instead of dealing with the misusages of the laptop or cellphone.

Use-less Block Usage Distance

Sit on a desk

Put on a calm ringtone or alarm

Massage neck and back

Turn Phone off

Use a mouseTurn sound to silent

Use Mobile ear-phones/headsets

Take Break between working hours

Posture Enhancer

The Tent

Move laptop for-ward + backward

Turn vibration off

Problem Solving

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The diagram on the left shows that there are three main categories, whether to use the device less, or block its usage at all : like take break between working hours, turn off cellphone in your break, or once you’re done with work, or the other way around. The Tent option, is like putting a shield to block the usage of all elec-tronic devices, which will be discussed later on. Turn the sound to silent, choose a calm ring tone for your cellphone, and turn vibration option to off, which are all related to alarm systems that distracts the user in deal-ing with his/her ordinary life, and causes them stress. Another category was the distance, Sit on a desk, use a mouse, or an object to move the laptop forwards and backwards, so the user won’t go through the discomfort of their backs, necks, and headaches. Use Mobile ear-phones/headsets, to avoid having a direct electromag-netic radiation to your head and ear. Other categories were related to dealing with symptoms, like massaging the neck and back, or wearing posture enhancers (for laptop users).

9.3.3 Mobile Earphones/headsets

The use of mobile ear-phones seemed to be used by certain target group, mostly working adults that are older than my target group. Although the idea of relating plugging something to your ear, with the idea of the touch of a comforting fabric, and a protec-tion from the heat, was interesting. However, those who I have asked, why don’t they use mobile earphones or headsets have mostly said: 1. They hated how ear-phones could be a one more object to carry around, and eventually lose. 2. It takes time to unwind the wires3. They hated how bluetooth (wireless) headsets could make them seem like they’re taking to themselves, which felt uncomfortable. The use of earphones to this target group seemed like something related to listening to music, not to talk through

Problem Solving

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9.3.4 Neck/Back Massage for Laptop users

Another solution was to provide the laptop user a neck or back massage after using the laptop for too long, or even during the laptop usage.Previous products that provide back or neck massages mostly needed assistance (could not be used by the user alone like in fig. 1), and the already existing one that is simplified and is self-reliant, is unstackable, and even looks unfriendly (as shown in the fig. 2). Other self-reliant products for neck or back massages are high-tech like massaging lazy boy chairs. The Neck Rest pillow (fig. 3) mostly used for drivers and traveling purposes, does not aim at massaging the neck, however the micro-beads that is used to stuff this pillow with, give a massaging effect. So there were two main problems of how to make a product that massages the neck or the back:

Problem Solving

Fig. 3Fig. 1

Fig. 2

1. Self-Usage 2. Mobility 3. Appealing

46 Problem Solving

As the neck and the back are parts of the body that are unreachable for the self, this lead to Reflexology, how to massage specific parts of the body from the hand or the feet. As you can see from figures 4 and 5,

Fig. 5

the location of the reflex parts of the neck and back on the hand and on the feet.Reflexology has proved to be benefi-cial and effect in various ways. “Pressure sensors in the feet and hands are a part of the body’s reflex-ive response that makes possible the “fight or flight” reaction to danger. Feet ready to flee and hands ready to fight communicate with the body’s internal organs-think adrenal glands” This leads me to conclude that the wrong usage of hands and feet may lead to stress of other parts of the body, and perhaps engaging these parts of the body in a relaxing activ-ity may provide stress-relief for the neck and back. However, the reflex-ology technique works by applying stress “to the feet and hands using specific thumb, finger and hand

Fig. 4

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techniques. Stretch and movement techniques are utilized as “desserts” to provide relaxation to the foot. Tools or instruments- such as a golf ball or wooden foot roller- are used for self help application only.” (Kunz, B. & Kunz, K, www.reflexology-research.com)

9.3.5 Posture Enhancers

Another solution were the posture enhancers. Posture enhancer is worn underneath or above the clothes to force the back to be in a healthy straight posture, which is supposed to not lead to back and neck discomfort. However, since the material of the posture enhancer is tight, it does in fact support the back, yet it causes other discomfort. When wearing the posture enhancer for a long time, it becomes sweaty, and the back mus-cles mainly depend on it, which leads to weakening the back muscles. Some users have commented that “for posture support, this product’s straps are too far in toward the neck to assist in any posture improvement” (www.amazon.com)

Problem Solving

48 Final Solutions

10.1 The Me Tent

Break Time

1 23 4

The Tent represents a shield or a blockage from the usage of electronic devices, of course this does not in-dicate a permanent blockage, as unfortunately we may rely on cellphones and laptops to do our work. The Tent is taking a break from work, from stress, leaving all personal electronic devices behind, and relaxing.The Tent could be a personal product, or a place/atmosphere where you are isolated from the stressful devices. There were several scenarios of what the Tent could be. The term “Tent”, precisely was chosen, as it is a simple, flexible space made from fabric.

Scenario 1

Final Solutions

Privacy

Isolation

The first scenario starts with a working person, or a student who is working on his laptop. When it’s time to take a break, the person takes his “Me Tent”, in form of a bag, then sets it in a space in his working area. In this scenario, the Tent is personal, aims at isolating the user, where the user can feel comfortable, be himself, do whatever he wants. The user could listen to music, meditate, or take a nap. However, in this case, the Tent is too limited for personal freedom, and limited as a space, where the user can feel enclosed.

Confidence

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Break Time

Relaxing Lounge

CAMPUS

Seperators

Several tents

hand inelectronic devices

Bean Bags

1 23

Scenario 2

The second scenario, is almost the same as the first, however, the Tent is represented as a public space (of-fered in a working place or in the university campus), where the user could be offered with private tents, separator, whether the user prefers to share his tran-quility time alone, or loosen up with his colleagues.This public, yet isolated place, is only allowed to enter without any electronic devices. Chill out music, bean bags, relaxing visual graphics on the curtains will be offered.

RelaxationFlexbility Visual Comfort

Music

Final Solutions

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1

Break TimeLeave in electronic devices Socialize

2 3 4

Scenario 3

The third scenario is different, which aims at, rather than blocking the user himself from the electronic world and surroundings, but blocking the personal electronic de-vices from the user’s world. Although the main purpose of using laptops and cellphones was to communicate, but the usage of these devices have left us isolated from the real world already (the digital world versus the real world). Even when we are texting other people on our cellphones, we isolate ourselves from interacting with the people around us. Therefore, I have concluded

that, even though we do need to relax on our own, but we need to interact and socialize with other people more, which is a different kind of comfort (emotional comfort, the feeling of being socially recognized and loved) People are often too engaged in their work, that they already block themselves from interacting with other people, which leads them to feel lonesome at the end.

Final Solutions

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10.2 Discussion

After discussing the idea of the Tent with several col-leagues, the idea of isolation from products was need-ed. It is challenging to change the user behavior, and convince my target group, that their personal gadgets meant the world to them to use these products less, or block them completely. From the three scenarios discussed previously, the most convincing scenario, in my personal opinion, was the third one. People do not need to be trapped in a tent, in order to feel relaxed, but rather trap the objects that cause them stress in a tent. This idea could be developed more later on, but in order to start carrying around an object to use to block your personal gadgets, that you mainly do your work on, in my opinion, will not make the user decide to block using these devices just because he/she carries a piece of cloth with them (or perhaps it would). Most importantly, it does not prevent the misusages of these devices, it will not remind the user how to use these de-vices properly and in a healthy way, and will not lessen the back, neck pains, and other physical pain.From the previous product’s solutions, I have decided to focus on creating a product that supports the back (forcing the user to sit in a healthy posture), but is not something to be worn all the time, as that will weaken the back muscles. The laptop user should be aware of how to sit properly and in a healthy way, but as the user

gets too engaged in his/her work, they forget, therefore they need a reminder. I also want to combine the massaging feature to the product, and make the product mobile at the same time, to satisfy the hyper-culture society; as it is some-thing they would not be pressured of where and how to carry the product around with them in their workplace, or university campus.

Final Solutions

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10.3 Final Solution: Back/Lumbar Support10.3.1 Ergonomics

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, “the aver-age office loses over $7300 per employee per year in poor productivity and medical and Workers’ Compen-sation claims”, which over 50% suffered from low-back injuries, or the lumbar area.(Anshu, A., 2011) Discom-fort in the lumbar area decreases overall comfort rat-ings for the user (Bishu et al., 1991; Page et al.,1994; Vergara & Page, 2002; Anshu, A., 2011)The proper and healthy way to sit is to maintain lum-bar lodorsis, which is an inward curvature of the spine. Therefore “lumbar disc pressure, back muscle activity, and comfort ratings are lowest with a supported recline angle in the range of 110° - 130°”Lumbar supports are proven to increase comfort and gain anatomical and physical benefits (Corlett & Eklund, 1984; Anshu, A., 2011), as it also “stabilizes the pelvis, minimizes the muscular effort required to sup-port the trunk, and relieves the lower spine of some of the upper body weight” (Coleman, Hull, & Ellitt, 1998; Anshu, A., 2011)The dimensions of a back of a chair should be 45 cm high, and 36 cm wide, while the back/lumbar rest should be between 15-25 cm high.

Final Solution

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10.3.2 Previous Designs

Final Solution

Previous designs are more concerned with office chairs and car seatings lumbar support, and since the shape of the support itself should be firmer than a normal pillow or back rest, the shape becomes immobile and static or unappealing, which is what I am aiming at pro-viding differently, mobility.

54 Final Solution

10.3.1 Sketches and Ideas

55Final Solution

Portability

Portability

56

Stuffing for the upholstery:

Foam Cotton Batting Polyester Fiber Feather Microbead

Durability Durable (takes a long time to change in size)

Durable More durable than cotton batting

Durable Question of durability

Pros Available in different densities and firm-ness.Easy to make differ-ent precise shapes withStain Repellent (op-tional)

Very Soft BreathableResilientBecomes softer with age

Very softResilientStrong

Ultimate com-fort

Eco-friendlyGood for the back (firmness and gives a massaging effect)Does not absorb moisture Breathable (airflow/ helps in heat retention problems)Hypo-allergic (Inhibits growth of bacteria)Better than foam in terms of comfort

Cons (If) contains PBDE (Polyprominated dipheriyl ethers) may contribute health problems

Inflexible to do precise shapes with.Uncomfortable if not added with polyester

Inflexible to do pre-cise shapes with.

Very expen-siveInflexible to do precise shapes with

Becomes stiffer by timeMay loose the microbeads if the outer layer is tornMust be double-layeredInflexible to do precise shapes with.

Final Solution

10.3.2 Material Selection

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Fabric for the upholstery:

Fabric High Resistance Low Resistance Cleaning Texture

Cotton Wearing (weaved tightly)FadingPilling

SunlightSoilingWrinkling

Easy to clean Soft

Linen FadingPillingAbsorbs Moisture

SoilingWrinklingFragile to heavy up-holstery (less durable than cotton)

Easy to Clean Depends on quality, but usually not very soft

Wool Water repellentFadingPillingWrinklingSoiling

Hard to clean Not very soft, a bit hairy

Synthetic SoilingWearing (depends on quality)More durable than cotton

FadingPinning

Easy to clean Soft, but unnatural

Final Solution

58

10.3.3 Pre-models and Trials

Model 1:A Basic mock-up done with upholstering the fabric with Polyester fiber batting, but it was too soft, which is unhealthy for the back, and the stuffing was unable to take the specific form of the model. Therefore, fiber batting along with cotton batting was excluded.

Final Solution

59

Dimensions

Foam cutting guide

Foam

Final Solution

Model 2:A Basic mock-up without the fabric.

60

Model 2 given to volunteers to try out according to their own interpretation. The following pictures show the different uses.

For sitting on the floor, the mod-el was uncomfortable, too bent (maybe from the step on the ground)

For sitting on the chair, it was more comfortable, but still the height was too tall. A different use for the model

Final Solution

61Final Solution

Dimensions

Foam cutting guide

Foam


62 Final Solution

For sitting on the floor, the model was too short, and too thick.

For sitting on the chair, the model was too thick, and too short.

Different use for the model, yet it was still uncomfortable.


63Final Solution

Dimensions

Foam cutting guide

Foam


64 Final Solution


For sitting on the floor, the model was too short For sitting on the chair, the

model was still too short

A different use for the model, which was said to be very comfortable

Adapting

65

Final Model

Model 4 was chosen, and improved according to the comments of the users.

Final Product

66

11.1 Product Features

Final Product

11.1.1 Usage

67

11.1.2 Materials

Final Product

Cotton fabric, Egyptian-made and hand printed.Comfortable for the skin, and high resistance for wearing.

Foam stuffing (to form the detailed shape and curves).Specific density and firm-ness to be comfortable, yet healthy for the back

Elastic Strap, to hold the back rest to the chair (suitable for university and school chairs), and was planned to hold the laptop, but the idea will be improved

Zipper, used for the upholestry, but could also store personal be-longings inside

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11.1.3 Visual Elements

The pattern was specifically chosen, as it has an Egyptian culture identity, yet is modernized, and contains light and comforting colors. However, the product could be also available in different patterns and plain colors, in order to satisfy different tastes.

Final Product

69

11.1.4 Dimensions

Front View

Final Product

Side View

70

Final Conclusion

As a conclusion, innovating the uses of Egyptian tex-tiles, by indulging a cultural element and identity with the modern life, the demand to buy that certain product will increase, adding a re-value to Egyptian textiles, and putting other professions related to fabric and textile buisnesses in work. In order for me to create the model, three professions were included to produce the model, the craftsman to create the wooden cutting guide for the foam, another company called Taki for furniture, to produce specific orders of foam, and the upholsterer to combine the fabric with the foam.

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Innovating The Uses of Egyptian Textiles