Design Concepts for a Temperature-sensitive Environment Using Thermochromic Colour Change

Abstract

Thermochromic dyes and pigments, of both leuco dye and liquid crystal types, offer significant potential for aesthetic and functional textile design in the area of smart materials. This paper presents an overview of some of the most important recent design applications of thermochromism, illustrating the potential they offer the designer together with a discussion of the technical features of the materials which have limited their exploitation to date. Our approach to research on thermochromic textiles at the design/technology interface is presented in terms of an illustrated discussion of the application of a specifically developed variable-temperature colour measurement methodology to inform and predict thermochromic colour change effects within design, complementing the fundamental skills of the textile design practitioner.