AirCraft: Exploring Air as a Design Medium

Air is essential for all living things and is felt through wind, our breath, and artificial air currents from fans. Current research surrounding air in interactive systems is limited to pneumatic haptic technologies, which can result in barriers to creative experimentation by designers with limited technical expertise which traditionally associated with STEM fields. Additionally, harnessing air as a design material needs deeper investigation, including the elemental and instinctive aspects of air that make it an integral part of our sensory existence and lived experience. In response to these gaps, we created AirCraft, a toolkit to explore the use of air as an expressive design medium. We deploy and assess this toolkit through generative design workshops involving designers and makers from diverse backgrounds. Outcomes showcasing various ideas and shifting perspectives on using air as a design element. We emphasize the importance of incorporating air into interaction design and advocate for further exploration of this overlooked material for design interactions.