Conductive Design: 10 Objects Transformed Into Touch Pads & Circuits

INKO Leather iPad Cover Tattooed with Conductive Ink

You might think an iPad case is just an iPad case – until you see INKO by industrial designer Alexandre Eschasseriau, which features a raised keyboard made of leather connected to zero wiring whatsoever. The designer actually tattooed conductive ink into the leather to create a capacitive network between the embossed leather keypad and a bluetooth antenna, which transmits each keystroke signal to the iPad.

Future-Shape SensFloor Conductive Carpet

The SensFloor by Future-Shape is a conductive underlay that can be hidden underneath carpeting, tile or parquet flooring to track the movement of several people walking over it at once, sensing activity in the room and notifying the owner. The device can tell whether someone’s standing, walking, sitting or lying on the floor, which could potentially save the lives of elderly people.

Liquid MIDI Fabric Controllers

Designers Esteban de la Torre and Judit Karpati worked with materials by Bare Conductive to create MIDI controllers on fabric using electrically conductive paint. First of all, the conductive design is visually pleasing, becoming an intentional aspect of its presentation. It’s flexible and comfortable. And when you hook it up to Max MSP and Albeton Live, you can play the MIDI notes.

Affone: Interactive Conductive Sound Posters by Leo Virieu

These interactive sound posters are cool to look at even without their electronic function. Designer Leo Virieu used conductive inks on cyclus paper to create a ‘digital screen’ with a graphic appearance; when you interact with them, they play music.

Scientific Skin Conductive Tapestry by Fabio Antinori + Alicia Pytlewska

How do you truly make textiles come alive? For Bare Conductive and designers Fabio Antinori and Alicia Pytlewska, the answer lies in electricity, integrating conductive paint into suspended fabric substrates. The sensors in the textile hangings react to the presence of a person nearby, tracking their movements and producing an ambient soundscape in response.