Solar Scarf: Expanding DIY educational content with an expressive wearable system

This project uses a design case study as a vehicle for facilitating solar prototyping practices in artistic and design applications of wearables, particularly within the DIY community. Existing solar educational content primarily focuses on engineering learning outcomes, with limited consideration of the aesthetic relationship between the solar panel and the fabric, or the design possibilities of using multiple panels. This trend differs from work within fashion and design research which considers the aesthetic and usability concerns of integrating solar into wearables. This project seeks to bridge the gap between solar educational content and design research by documenting multiple methods for mounting solar panels to fabric, applied in ways that afford different aesthetic outcomes. The tests culminate in an example project in the form of a scarf with embedded solar panels that power LED messages, a playful system intended to help ease communication difficulties that can arise when wearing face-coverings and masks.