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The Warmth of the Other – Designing for More-than-Human Interactions by Expressing Organism Well-being Through Thermal Feedback
Method: focus group/workshop, expert interview, Research-through-Design
Researchers in HCI are exploring technologies to enhance the care of other beings by suggesting novel ways of interacting with organisms. In this Research-through-Design study, we explore the potential of thermal feedback to express the conditions of organisms used in bio-design, such as fungi, bacteria, and algae. We interviewed bio-design researchers, collected sensor data reflecting the wellbeing of a microbial culture, and developed a prototype that expresses this biodata through thermal feedback. Bio-design researchers then experienced and discussed three scenarios of using this prototype. We present three tensions that designers should negotiate when expressing biodata through thermal feedback (I) explicitness of data representation (II) temporality of thermal feedback, and (III) human versus organism perspectives. Moreover, we outline six thermal parameters to navigate these tensions. We contribute to Bio-HCI and more-than-human design by exploring thermal experiences to communicate biodata and discussing opportunities and challenges of such approaches to data expression.
“Bioluminal Pulse”, 2024
Method: prototyping, art-making, participatory workshop, creative coding
Prototyped and designed a glowing lamp using seaweed material and microcontroller for a workshop at UROBOROS festival in Vartiosaari, Helsinki.
Choreographing Fluidities: Charting In-betweenness Through Sensory
Imaginaries, Linguistic Musings, and Critical Design
Method: workshop, rapid prototyping, participatory design, design probe
The concept of in-betweenness, a state of being intermediate, transitional, or liminal between two points or stages, entails navigating a spectrum of cultural, linguistic, and identity-related dimensions. This interstitial offers a rich tapestry of experiences that are often underexplored traditional design practices. This paper introduces a novel workshop format designed for individuals who navigate the complexity of inbetweenness, offering tools for them to express, exchange, and creatively channel their experiential liminality into tangible output. The workshop is carefully crafted to create an open space that invites agential storytelling and empathetic cross-reading among participants. Methodologically inspired by sensory anthropology, sociolinguistics, information science, and design justice, this project seeks to harness the intangible, fluid, and often dishonored in-between experiences and celebrate its creative potential and hermeneutical richness.
Ephemeral Platforms, Enduring Memories: Errors and Digital Afterlife
In publication, International Journal of Communication (2025)
Taking death as an empirical site of sociotechnical errors, this article explores how the end of life highlights the disjunction between individual mortality and platform ephemerality. Inadequate platform policies often render digital legacy inheritance logistically challenging, leaving the personal data of the deceased unattended and lingering as digital phantoms in cyberspace. Online memorialization poses a design glitch for social media platforms by transforming deceased user profiles into unfenced memorial spaces. Real-life instances such as RIP trolling and grief tourism demonstrate how platform algorithms exploit the emotional value of posthumous data, inadvertently shaping the grieving process and imposing an emotional toll on the bereaved. The "death glitch" lays bare the precarity and complexity of digital infrastructures, which grieving individuals are illequipped to navigate. In this essay, I outline two common types of sociotechnical errors engendered by death, highlighting the complexity of making the death glitches legible to platforms designed for fleeting interactions and algorithms aimed at scalability.
Harmful Anthropomorphism? Understanding User Perceptions of Artificial Empathy in Conversational AI
Method: in-depth interview, speculative scenario, grounded theory
Buiding on critical HCI studies, this project aims to zoom in on human-AI empathetic exchanges and assess user perceptions of simulated empathy in conversational AI. As a key factor in human-human interactions, empathy has been shown to enrich interpersonal communication and enhance connection and trust. For conversational AI, evaluating the perceived empathy demands a comprehensive approach that considers the measurement and reception of empathy while paying attention to the intricate interplay between technological design, psychology, and ethics. We aim to gain some insights into this new form of empathy practiced on a conversational basis, this one-sided, always available, computation-based empathy. We are curious about how users perceive this simulated empathy, manage their expectations (which may differ by task type/user needs), and adapt to this characteristic of AI.
PlantPants App
Duration: 4 months
Tools: Figma, Qualtrics, Adobe SuiteCanva, Miro
Skills: design research, UX design, survey construction, user interview, prototyping, ideating, usability testing
Problem
People are increasingly turning to houseplants as a way to connect with nature and enhance their living spaces. However, caring for houseplants can be a challenging task, often leading to plant neglect.
- Providing plants with adequate sunlight and water.
- Monitoring plants’ needs while traveling or maintaining a busy lifestyle.
- Not knowing exactly what a plant’s needs are or why it is becoming unhealthy.
User Research
The team has designed a user survey on Qualtircs to understand user needs in smart plantcare and tested early draft of interface sequences with users. 40 + responses were captured and we conducted 7+ interviews with key users.
Takeaway 1: Enhance clarity and education in the app's user interface (UI).
Users expressed confusion about the UI wireframes regarding the lighting and nutrient levels. We updated the UI with visual aids and interactive elements to make the information more digestible.
Takeaway 2: Prioritize automation and user convenience.
Users highly valued the auto-watering schedules, signaling that plant care tasks needed to be automated as much as possible. We implemented push notifications and an auto-docking feature to ensure PlantPants charges itself when low on battery.
Takeaway 3: Focus on core plant care needs and address user concerns.
While some users are interested in advanced features like camera-based disease diagnosis, our user research revealed that we needed to prioritize the essential plant care aspects: lighting, moisture, and nutrients.
User Stories
Using agile development methodology, we defined and organized a series of user stories that encompass epics “setup and user login”, “plant disease diagnosis”, “make plant care easier”, and “improve plant health and longevity”.
User Persona
Based on our previous user research and user stories, we created three user personas to identify our primary and secondary users.
User Flow & Design Sketch
After reviewing previous user research, user stories, and persona, we sketched out key wireframes in Figma and designed a list of features by pages.
Design Notes
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Focus on priority features on home screen - bring main features to home page.
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Include a feature to advise when PlantPot is low on battery/solar power.
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Add push notifications for features.
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Provide more direct feedback in the app as to what user is looking at.
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Be more explicit on what the nutrients are and why they make a difference in your plant’s life.
- Confusion around the first set of UI wireframes and how the user would know what lighting choice to pick for each plant.
Design System
Prototyping & Usability Testing
The team created a clickable prototype with Figma. With the clickable prototype, the team conducted an online usability test with 5+ users from user research group. We received feedback stating that the product was great in general, organized really well, intuitive navigation, straightforward, visually appealing and informative for all-level plant parents.