Abstract:
When designing devices that enable communication between individuals using technology, the significance
of how the device relates to the user as an individual, rather than a member of a collective, is of great importance. This
paper draws on practice centred research into the integration of digital technologies within contemporary jewellery
and focuses on opposing notions of jewellery and the gadget within the conception and design of wearable digital
communication devices.
As computing and technology become more ubiquitous in their conception, there is evidence that designers are
looking for methods of bridging technology with the human form (corporate examples include IBM, Philips and
Nike). The technology of the large corporate companies is about mass-produced changes in our personal experience of
the world. Mass-production is by its nature detrimental to intimacy and the sense of individual experience. Jewellery
is about an intimate relationship between an individual and an object, and often forms a page link in the relationship
between one person and another. This paper illuminates the contribution that contemporary jewellery design can make
to the design and conception of digital communication devices, illustrating a creative methodology for creating new
objects embodying technology. The method acts to bridge the areas of HCI, contemporary jewellery and other design
disciplines.
This research is not about inventing new mobile phones or PDAs, which are worn in a novel way on the body, but is
about the design and application of wearable digital technology using the methods and perspective of a Contemporary
Jeweller. The results include a new model and perspective for viewing objects, in particular wearable objects
involving computer technologies. This paper has significance both directly within design and craft as well as wider
implications outside of this field.
Key words: Contemporary Jewellery, Wearable Technology, Emotion, Communication, Individual Experience.
1. Introduction
The desire to make the human form the locus for digital devices is increasingly evident in the proposals and
developments of digital device designers. This motivation is often technology led as a result of the increasing
ubiquitous and miniaturised nature of computing and technology. However, the body, as a site for interactive
devices, has much wider possibilities. This paper explores the contribution and perspective of Contemporary
Jewellery in the design and conception of wearable digital devices, reflecting the awareness of jewellers to the
person/object relationship and notions of personal significance.

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