Book Review: Out of Touch: How to Survive an Intimacy Famine

Abstract

Douglas Atkinson is a PhD candidate at UCL Knowledge Lab and Lecturer in Fashion Wearable Technologies at London College of Fashion: UAL. His research interests include touch perception of physical and digital artefacts, and the multi-modal and crossmodal sensory experience of making. His PhD research focuses on ethnographically documenting the forms of touch used to gain understandings and mediate the making process during the hands-on development of a garment. The research also introduces designers to touch-sensing textile materials in the context of their studio prototyping activities, to elicit discussions on their hopes, fears and proposed applications for digital touch technologies in garment design or manufacture. Douglas has previously been a Research Associate on the ‘Digital Sensoria: Design through Digital Perceptual Experience’ project (supported by the RCUK Digital Economy Programme) and Co-Investigator on ‘MIDAS: Methodological Innovation in Digital Arts and Social Sciences’ (ESRC funded). He lectures on fashion and digital technologies at a number of universities and has recently co-authored a report to Government as part of the Innovate UK ‘Made Smarter’ programme discussing support for re-shoring UK garment manufacturing using automation.