Default to Unlearning is the practical part of a bachelor project, developed as an extension of the thesis titled Unlearning the Default: The Journey to Decolonise Design.

While the thesis primarily explores racism and its manifestations in design, the practical work shifts focus toward feminist perspectives and the intersection of art and craft.

Knitting was chosen as the medium for creating posters, emphasizing its historical and cultural significance as a traditionally female craft. The patterns for the knitted posters were designed using coding, highlighting the conceptual connection between knitting and programming. The patterns were coded, translated into knitting instructions, and then physically realized through knitting techniques.

The second layer, binary code is embedded within the knitting patterns, serving as a hidden message that challenges and deconstructs “default” systems. The binary code highlights the structural parallels between the structures of knitting and coding, inspired by female spies during wartimes (including the First and Second World Wars and the Revolutionary War) who used knitting to secretly pass on important information. When users interact with specific areas of the knitting patterns on iPads, the binary code is translated, revealing its hidden meaning.