Abstract

Traditional craft practices are often preserved as finished objects rather than experienced as active systems of knowledge. As a result, the techniques, visual logic, and cultural meaning behind these crafts become less accessible to broader audience. Pixel Weave addresses this challenge by translating the double ikat (a premium, highly complex weaving technique in which both the warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) yarns are individually resist-dyed to a preplanned pattern before being placed on the loom, so that the design only fully emerges once the two dyed yarn sets are woven together) weaving logic of Patan Patola, a centuries old textile tradition from Gujarat, India, into an interactive digital installation. The project enables participants to explore the structure of the craft by creating their own woven patterns through a guided visual experience. An 11 × 11-pixel grid, a fixed five color palette, and a curated set of motifs based on Patola designs provide the framework for interaction. These design constraints encourage participants to understand the principles of the weaving process while creating patterns within the visual language of the tradition. The installation combines visual communication, interaction design, motion design, environmental graphics, and digital projection. Participants first design patterns on a digital interface, and their designs are then projected onto a large fabric surface that represents the weaving process. This interaction connects digital creation with the visual structure of traditional textile making and allows participants to experience the underlying logic of the craft. Pixel Weave was exhibited at Imagine RIT 2025, where more than 350 people interacted with the installation. At the level of the installation itself, visitors spent time building full patterns rather than briefly sampling the interface, many downloaded the patterns they created to take with them, several engaged with the storytelling cards enough to ask questions about the motifs' cultural meaning, and one visitor asked whether the same pixel system could be extended to represent people or animals rather than pattern alone. This is evidence of genuine conceptual engagement rather than passive viewing. More broadly, this outcome suggests that constraint-based design can serve as a viable method for translating heritage textile knowledge into contemporary interactive contexts, offering a model for how structured, culturally grounded systems might support craft preservation efforts beyond this single installation. This thesis documents the research, conceptual development, design process, and implementation of Pixel Weave. It demonstrates how interactive visual storytelling can communicate traditional craft knowledge through digital media and presents a design approach that connects cultural heritage with contemporary interactive design.

Publication Date

7-29-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Visual Communication Design (MFA)

Department, Program, or Center

Design, School of

College

College of Art and Design

Advisor

Daniel DeLuna

Advisor/Committee Member

Adam Smith

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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