Mindful Expressions
Interactive Design, Speculative Design, Projection Mapping
TEAM
DURATION
Independent Project
11 Months, 2022-2023
OVERVIEW
There is potential in building a safe and mindful space for children to explore their internal experiences. It has always been a major interest of mine to create an immersive journey that encourages communication and emotional exploration through different senses. I want to detail how emotions originate interiorly and are reflected in the body as I sketch out a series of line emotions on which new kinds of speculative emotional expressions evolve.
The project presents a speculative world with concrete and abstract designs. It delves into the origin of emotions and their reflection in the body, evolving and visualising our current state of mind. I intend to raise awareness of emotional complexity in children, prompting us to think and experience, while introducing alternatives for parents to strengthen relationships and foster understanding of children's inner worlds. Ultimately, the project aims to assist adults in interacting with children and creating meaningful connections based on understanding their emotions.
FEATURED IN
OUTCOME
What if Emotions Could Be Expressed Wordlessly?
Studies show that the choice of colours and shapes in children's artwork portrays their state of mind, which we can understand by reading the visuals. Equivalently, children with autism can recognise emotions through transformed visuals and reduce confusion.
In the reflective trapezoidal prism, moving shapes are mapped onto the model using projection mapping. A leap motion installed tracks the gestures we create so that we can control the visuals. The goal is to allow us to express our emotions without having to use words.
Handmade laser-cut journal book summarising the design process.
Medium: Mixed media
RESEARCH
Prioritising Academic Achievement over Emotional Well-being
Emotional regulation can be a significant barrier to learning for many students, as they struggle to regulate their emotions throughout the day. This dysregulation hinders their learning engagement, and there is a lack of consensus on technology's long-term impact on children. While schools provide appropriate regulations, children still struggle to identify and express their emotions independently.
In today's education, schools often overlook the importance of emotional well-being in favour of academic achievement. This reality poses significant challenges for children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The unique characteristics of ASD, including difficulties in social communication and restricted interests, make it challenging for these individuals to communicate their emotions. As a result, they often struggle to control their feelings, leading to emotional dysregulation.
To have a more comprehensive understanding of children with autism, I visited a local Special Needs School in South-West London and interviewed three educators with one of them having an autistic child.
Most schools adopt the Zones of Regulation in supporting children to regulate their behaviours. Students communicate and share their understanding with teachers and peers by placing their names in four corresponding colours. Each colour represents different emotions which help teachers to personalise their learning promptly. These strategies have proven to be effective in students’ development. However, a shortage of educators hampers effective emotion regulation. The educators highlight AI technologies can help understand and regulate students' emotions. The role of immersive learning technology enhances instructional practices, emotional well-being, and academic success. With technology providing personalised feedback and interventions for emotional needs, they believe that collaboration between educators and technology is crucial for high-quality education in the future.
After interviewing three diverse educators, I created a narrative that is predominantly non-verbal but has a special way of communicating with the world around her. She exhibits echolalia tendencies and struggles with verbal communication, yet she possesses a remarkable knack for maintaining eye contact and smiling. It seems she speaks a language understood only by those who engage with her, creating a profound connection. Although her words and sounds may not always convey meaning, her genuine smile and unwavering eye contact radiate, making her a delightful presence.
OUTCOME
Senmmersion:
A Virtual Reality Journey of the Senses
The VR trailer presents a visionary world, showcasing a sensory room that enables children to explore and comprehend their inner world. This space is meticulously designed as a sensory room, offering diverse themes and experiences that facilitate a profound understanding of emotional expression throughout the journey. This integration empowers both us and children to not only control but also interpret our emotions through experiential learning, providing a distinctive and immersive approach to emotional understanding.
The VR trailer presents a visionary world, showcasing a sensory room that enables children to explore and comprehend their inner world. This space is meticulously designed as a sensory room, offering diverse themes and experiences that facilitate a profound understanding of emotional expression throughout the journey. This integration empowers both us and children to not only control but also interpret our emotions through experiential learning, providing a distinctive and immersive approach to emotional understanding.
Medium: Virtual Reality, Blender and Unity
OUTCOME
Shaping Emotions:
Interactive Control of Transforming Forms
Through envisioning a world where emotional expression can be wordless, I designed a sensory toy that responds to our movements and represents our emotional states. This concept enables us to express our emotions more fluidly, as words alone often fall short of capturing the breadth of our inner feelings. However, I acknowledge the inherent challenges in expressing emotions, as our internal landscape is intricate and hard to articulate. This design embraces complexity, offering a tangible means to communicate and convey our state of mind.
Medium: Arduino, TouchDesigner and Plywood
PROCESS
Selection of Mediums
I tested out different mediums to understand which outcome provides a more accessible and engaging experience for the audience to explore their emotions. I noticed that each special needs school offers a sensory room for students to calm them down. This inspired me to draw inspiration from the elements commonly found in sensory rooms.
3D Clay Printing
Form finding of Origami structures
Interactive Visuals with Javascript
Interactive Visuals with TouchDesigner
Laser-cut Plywood with Arduino
VR with Unity
PROCESS
User Testing - Phase 1
I tested out with peers during the WIP Show to improvise the design concept.
The feedback prompted me to reconsider these approaches. Some participants felt overwhelmed and experienced VR sickness which has pushed me to pivot towards a more tactile and interactive design, aiming to provide a tangible and engaging experience for the audience.
PROCESS
Prototyping
I incorporate the concept of projection mapping and real-time data visualisation, focusing on tracking the hand movements of the audience and using sound as a key element.
01
Small Scale
02
Technical Testing
The interaction uses a combination of visual techniques and body-tracking data which generate an entertaining yet also subtly didactic tone. The visual narratives created leave children with questions about what is being communicated, encouraging them to understand the complexity of emotional regulation in learning.
PROCESS
User Testing - Phase 2
I tested out with the public during the Degree Show to observe their engagement throughout the experience.
In the second phase, I observed that both adults and children were more actively engaged when they had the opportunity to control shapes and colours through play and learning simultaneously.
NEXT STEPS
Reflections
This project aims to foster new insights and cultivate a utopian inclusive community where individuals can be mindful of themselves and freely express their emotions without any restraints.
01
Personalise for each individual
02
Increase the variety of shapes and colours which represent all sorts of emotions
03
Learn and interact without environmental constraints
I anticipate the design mentioned above may be transferrable to other scales of projection-mapped objects and could perform at home where children can also learn and interact without environmental constraints. It is possible to perceive the way of forcing people with autism to alter their practice and shape them. I want to personalise for each individual, in the future development steps, by increasing the variety of shapes and colours which represent all sorts of emotions to develop a more comprehensive and engaging learning environment.
