Nier Zhou

Textiles (MA)
Portrait of Nier Zhou, a young Asian man smiling, wearing a light-colored shirt with a dark background.
A pair of knitted pressure sensing socks
A pair of knitted pressure sensing socks
Smart knitted socks that turn foot pressure into rhythmic visuals, translating each step into a sensory expression.
A sequence of four images showing a person wearing pressure-sensitive knitted socks in different foot positions—no contact, tiptoe, side-foot, and full-foot—paired with corresponding generative visualizations created in Processing based on pressure data.
A sequence of four images showing a person wearing pressure-sensitive knitted socks in different foot positions—no contact, tiptoe, side-foot, and full-foot—paired with corresponding generative visualizations created in Processing based on pressure data.
Four distinct foot postures generate responsive visuals through Processing, highlighting how subtle shifts in pressure can sculpt dynamic textile-driven imagery.
Three action shots showing a person wearing smart knitted socks while walking, jumping, and running. Below each movement is a corresponding real-time pressure visualization graph and particle display generated via Processing.
Three action shots showing a person wearing smart knitted socks while walking, jumping, and running. Below each movement is a corresponding real-time pressure visualization graph and particle display generated via Processing.
Dynamic foot movements—produce rhythmic waveforms and particles in Processing, revealing motion as both data and performance.
“Touch to Rhythm — A fingertip’s pressure weaves waves of light and sound, where a sock becomes an instrument, and movement composes its own quiet song.”
A pair of knitted pressure sensing socks
A sequence of four images showing a person wearing pressure-sensitive knitted socks in different foot positions—no contact, tiptoe, side-foot, and full-foot—paired with corresponding generative visualizations created in Processing based on pressure data.
Three action shots showing a person wearing smart knitted socks while walking, jumping, and running. Below each movement is a corresponding real-time pressure visualization graph and particle display generated via Processing.

About

Nier Zhou is a textile designer from Shanghai, exploring the intersection of structured knitting, interactive technology, and body-responsive design. His graduate project, Dance Your Rhythm, is inspired by the grace of trained dancers—whose movements are shaped by years of discipline. Nier imagined a future where anyone, without formal training, could create moments of visual beauty using their own body’s pressure and rhythm.

Through a pair of smart knitted socks, he translates pressure from the feet into generative visuals and sound. Each step becomes a visual rhythm, each gesture a data-driven composition. The project merges conductive textiles, microcontrollers, and Processing-based coding, transforming socks into expressive interfaces.

Professionally, Nier worked as an independent textile designer for SPINEXPO, developing innovative fabric structures and textures recognised for their tactile and structural qualities. He also taught knitted textile design at Shenzhen University, delivering courses to undergraduate students in textiles and fashion.

Rooted in Shanghai yet globally engaged, he remains open to collaborations across disciplines and geographies that shape the future of interactive textile design.

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