London ( CNN ) -- Imagine if you could paint a working light switch directly onto your wall , without any need for sockets , cables or wiring . A group of students from the Royal College of Art ( RCA ) in London has made that possible by creating electrically conductive paint . The paint acts as a form of liquid wiring . Unlike conventional wires , it can be applied to almost any surface , including paper , plastic , metal and even fabric . The product has the appearance and consistency of runny marmite , but dries quickly when exposed to the air . Its inventors , RCA graduates Isabel Lizardi , Matt Johnson , Bibi Nelson and Becky Pilditch , call their creation `` Bare Paint . '' While they do n't claim to be the first group to have invented a conductive ink , they are pioneering new ways it can be used . `` We started this project in earnest in 2009 , '' says Matt Johnson . `` We were originally interested in trying to apply electronics to the skin ... so we arrived at this idea of applying them as a coating and eventually we got this idea of a conductive paint . '' The team began by investigating how electronics were being used in the body . `` In 2008 -- and probably still today -- there was a lot of work around electronic textiles , '' says Johnson . `` And though we really liked the idea of having a jumper ( a piece of clothing ) that has some intelligence in it , we did n't like that it was so bulky and that once you took it off the functionality disappeared . '' Around the same time there was a lot of `` extreme work '' being done by people who were injecting electronics beneath the skin . For their final project , the RCA students began work on making something less intrusive , looking for a substance that could be painted onto the body . Eventually , says Johnson , `` that idea transformed into the material we have now , which is very safe though it 's not specifically intended for the body anymore . '' After graduating from college , the team collaborated on a video for DJ and producer Calvin Harris . The resulting project was the `` Humanthesizer , '' a performance which literally brought the paint to life , with dancers whose movements triggered audio loops from Harris 's song `` Ready for the Weekend . '' `` Making a new material was a bit daunting for four designers , '' says Johnson . The team 's solution was not to return to school to study chemistry for four years . Instead , they simply went on Wikipedia . According to Johnson , the online encyclopedia provided them with almost everything they needed to know about crafting conductive materials . Once the paint 's formula was finalized , co-creator Isabel Lizardi says the team began to consider how it might be applied to real-world products . The first thing they launched was the paint in its raw form , which they made available to other garden-shed inventors . Today , Bare Paint jars and pens are sold on the Internet and stocked by Radio Shack electronics stores across the United States . Projects being done by Bare Paint users include everything from interactive color wheels to homemade electric toys . Johnson says that conductive paint opens up an enormous range of creative opportunities . As conductive paint becomes increasingly common , we can look forward to a future where billboards talk back , walls are interactive , and greeting cards come to life in our very hands . `` Devices no longer have to look high tech to be high tech , '' Johnson says . `` Our goal is to put interactivity onto objects you do n't expect . ''
A group of students in London has developed electrically conductive paint . The paint allows wiring to be applied to paper , metal and even textiles . It is now being used in projects around the world including interactive posters and home-made toys .