With the now ubiquitous nature of smartphones and internet access, new opportunities to collaborate around the world are possible. During the Fall 2016 semester, students enrolled in a textile design class were paired with artisans in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. With no opportunity to meet in person, 13 design teams used the popular communication app WhatsApp to each develop a collection of scarves. The immediacy of digital communication facilitated a rapid back and forth rapport between the designers. This interface created unlikely pairings that due to cultural barriers related to gender, marital status, and religion would not have typically occurred. The technology provided the opportunity to build spectacular synergy together! The collections are amazing and the byproduct? Great friendships were formed as all discovered that design is a universal language that can cross culture
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