‘Photoshop For Textiles’ Gives Full Control For Designing Patterns, Zero Waste
Image via Byborre
The realm of textile design and technology is about to get its own iteration of Photoshop thanks to Byborre, a Dutch textile label, and its new Create platform.
This platform takes the technology and capabilities of circular knitting machines digital, allowing users to design the materials themselves down to the color and textures. A library provided by the platform is stocked full of synthetic and natural yarns, knitting structures and production facilities.
Functions like UV protection and odor resistance can also be incorporated into the fabrics designed using Create. Borre Akkersdijk, Byborre’s co-founder and creative director, has dubbed it “a Photoshop for textiles.”
Image via Byborre
“I’ve developed textiles for over 15 years but I never know how colour will come out of the machine until I see it, because you cannot process the blending of six different colours in your head,” he explains to Dezeen. “Byborre Create lets you know what is going to come out.”
This reduces the need for a trial-and-error based approach. This will in turn reduce the amount of waste produced when something doesn’t come out the way it was meant to, for example.
According to the company, 80% of a textile’s environmental footprint is “set in stone during the design process.” Using Create to design promises “transparency at every step, so you can create worry-free.”
Image via Byborre
Then, the platform will also be able to point makers in the right direction when it comes to sourcing local manufacturers and material suppliers. This will make the textile manufacturing process a lot more transparent and ethical, so designers will be able to find the right partners for a responsible production process.
“We want to see less and less materials used in the wrong way or on the wrong machines,” Akkersdijk says of the aim of the software. “If there is transparency in the industry, you can start talking about what the process means to the planet.”
Complementing Create is the launch of a new initiative called the Window of Textile Opportunities (WoTO), a showroom based in Amsterdam that features Create workstations and prototyping facilities. The space is filled with firms and organizations working alongside Byborre to pave a better future for the textile design and production sector.
Image via Byborre
Image via Byborre
Creators are invited to use the space to try out Create and product design samples, as well as host exhibitions and talks.
Create is still in early stages and interested parties need to apply and be approved by Byborre to access the software. However, the brand is aiming to open up to anyone who wants to use their technology.
The platform’s innovative design has also snagged the title of product of the year at this year’s Dutch Design Awards, with judges describing the tool as a “real gamechanger.”
[via Dezeen, images via Byborre]
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