Electroluminescent textiles

In this research, the aim was to explore the materiality of light through a textile design perspective. Print designs were developed with textile printing methodology, using multiple screens and blending ink colours through mixing and overprinting. This is in contrast to existing electroluminescent panels, which typically use single-colour prints with clear graphic shapes.

These electroluminescent prints consist of a transparent electrode, printed first in pattern with a phosphor paste, then a ceramic dielectric layer, and finally a second electrode. When alternating current is applied through the electrodes, the phosphor illuminates.

Sample one emphasises the clarity of a single screen phosphor print, but is printed using a blend of two colours of phosphor ink, usually used unmixed. The scratchy detail of the knit pattern adds texture and depth.

Sample two takes advantage of the blue phosphor’s translucency, creating a three-colour print using only two screens through overlapping and blending. The design is based on a twill weave, and, rather than the clean edges of typical electroluminescent printing, embraces the speckled background as a pattern element. The alignment of the two layers of the printed pattern lends a visual depth to the result, in contrast to the flatness of sample one.

The pattern in sample three is created by rasterising and combining images of two knitted textiles. The use of two complementary colours in the print amplifies the raster, creating a visual vibration that keeps the eye moving over the pattern surface.