Affinity
Affinity
Affinity
A friendship bracelet for the age of sensors.
A friendship bracelet for the age of sensors.
A friendship bracelet for the age of sensors.
A paired set of bracelets and a companion app that turn one person's emotional state into color and vibration on the other person's wrist — so two people far apart can share how they feel without saying a word.
A paired set of bracelets and a companion app that turn one person's emotional state into color and vibration on the other person's wrist — so two people far apart can share how they feel without saying a word.
A paired set of bracelets and a companion app that turn one person's emotional state into color and vibration on the other person's wrist — so two people far apart can share how they feel without saying a word.
SPECULATIVE MOBILE PERIPHERAL
SPECULATIVE MOBILE PERIPHERAL
Role
The Studio 2 (Interaction Design), CCA MFA Design · Year 1, Spring 2024
Type
Context
Speculative / discursive — a designed object that asks a question, not a shipped product
Solo — concept, research, industrial design, UI, prototyping
Pencil & physical modeling, Maya (CAD rendering), Figma
Tools
Role
Solo — concept, research, industrial design, UI, prototyping
Context
The Studio 2 (Interaction Design), CCA MFA Design · Year 1, Spring 2024
Type
Speculative / discursive — a designed object that asks a question, not a shipped product
Tools
Pencil & physical modeling, Maya (CAD rendering), Figma
THE BRIEF
THE BRIEF
THE BRIEF
Design for a sense we don't usually share
Design for a sense we don't usually share
The studio asked for a mobile peripheral inspired by nature, sitting between speculative and real. I chose the hardest thing for people to share:
how we actually feel. We can send words and images instantly, but the feeling underneath stays private, especially across distance.
The studio asked for a mobile peripheral inspired by nature, sitting between speculative and real. I chose the hardest thing for people to share: how we actually feel. We can
send words and images instantly, but the feeling underneath stays private, especially across distance.
The studio asked for a mobile peripheral inspired by nature, sitting between speculative and real. I chose the hardest thing for people to share: how we actually feel. We can send words and images instantly, but the feeling underneath stays private, especially across distance.
Affinity asks a simple question:
What if your body could tell someone who loves you how you're doing, before you found the words?
Affinity asks a simple question
What if your body could tell someone who loves you how you're doing, before you found the words?
Affinity asks a simple question
What if your body could tell someone who loves you how you're doing, before you found the words?
THE INSIGHT
THE INSIGHT
THE INSIGHT
Nature already communicates state through color
Nature already communicates state
through color
Nature already communicates state
through color
Two patterns in nature pointed the way. The first is aposematism, or warning coloration. A poison frog or a banded snake broadcasts its internal state through high-contrast color so others read it instantly, without contact. Color is the message.
Two patterns in nature pointed the way. The first is aposematism, or warning coloration. A poison frog or a banded snake broadcasts its internal state through high-contrast color so others read it instantly, without contact. Color is the message.
Research board: aposematic (warning) coloration across species. The recurring signal is high luminance contrast in red, orange, and yellow, colors that read as distinct against a natural background.
Research board: aposematic (warning) coloration across species. The recurring signal is
high luminance contrast in red, orange, and yellow, colors that read as distinct against a
natural background.
Research board: aposematic (warning)
coloration across species. The recurring signal is high luminance contrast in red, orange, and yellow, colors that read as distinct against a natural background.
The "Wood Wide Web," where fungi and plants trade signals underground, adds the second idea: connection through an unseen network.
The form those ideas land in is one people already know: the friendship bracelet, a small object that says we're bonded, even apart. Affinity is that gesture, made to carry a feeling.
The "Wood Wide Web," where fungi and plants trade signals underground, adds the second idea: connection through an unseen network.
The form those ideas land in is one people already know: the friendship bracelet, a small object that says we're bonded, even apart. Affinity is that gesture, made to carry a feeling.
If a frog can wear its state on the outside, could two friends wear each other's, gently, and only by choice?
If a frog can wear its state on the outside, could two friends wear each other's, gently, and only by choice?
RESEARCH -> SYSTEM
RESEARCH -> SYSTEM
RESEARCH -> SYSTEM
What a wrist can actually sense
What a wrist can actually sense
I mapped what a wrist can measure today: heart rate and variability (PPG), skin conductance (GSR), temperature, and motion.
Then I specified the full stack: capacitive touch to send, an LED array to show color, a haptic motor to be felt, and Bluetooth to pair the two bands.
I mapped what a wrist can measure today: heart rate and variability (PPG), skin conductance (GSR), temperature, and motion.
Then I specified the full stack: capacitive touch to send, an LED array to show color, a haptic motor to be felt, and Bluetooth to pair the two bands.
I mapped what a wrist can measure today: heart rate and variability (PPG), skin conductance (GSR), temperature, and motion.
Then I specified the full stack: capacitive touch to send, an LED array to show color, a haptic motor to be felt, and Bluetooth to pair the two bands.
The bracelet as a system: sensors and actuators on the form, with the hinge and swiveling clasp that let a rigid bangle open.
The bracelet as a system: sensors and actuators on the form, with the hinge and swiveling clasp that let a rigid bangle open.
An honest line about the science
Biometrics reliably read arousal, not the specific feeling behind it. So the strong idea isn't machine emotion-detection; it's the interaction: a deliberate, opt-in way to send a feeling. The most important screen is the one where the person chooses what to send.
An honest line about the science
Biometrics reliably read arousal, not the specific feeling behind it. So the strong idea isn't machine emotion-detection; it's the interaction: a deliberate, opt-in way to
send a feeling. The most important screen is the one where the person chooses what
to send.
CONCEPT -> FORM
CONCEPT -> FORM
CONCEPT -> FORM
From fifteen sketches to one object
From fifteen sketches to one object
I explored form physically first: fifteen annotated sketches, then five 1:1 paper models to test each idea in the hand before committing.
I explored form physically first: fifteen annotated sketches, then five 1:1 paper models to test each idea in the hand before committing.
Concept sketches: where the display sits, how the band opens.
Five paper study models, made for proportion and fit.
Five paper study models, made for proportion
and fit.
A moodboard set the intent: jewelry you'd want to wear from someone you love, closer to a Tiffany bangle than a fitness tracker.
A moodboard set the intent: jewelry you'd want to wear from someone you love, closer to a Tiffany bangle than a fitness tracker.
Material direction: jewelry, not gadget.
Refining the final form, clasp, and hinge.
The form resolved into a slim hinged bangle with a padlock-style clasp. That wasn't styling: a friendship bracelet is half of a pair, so a paired set with a lock-like clasp let the object carry the idea before a light turned on. Each LED reads as one pixel across three rows, so the band shows simple patterns instead of a noisy screen.
The form resolved into a slim hinged bangle with a padlock-style clasp. That wasn't styling: a friendship bracelet is half of a pair, so a paired set with a lock-like clasp let the object carry the idea before a light turned on. Each LED reads as one pixel across three rows, so the band shows simple patterns instead of a noisy screen.
Open, ready to put on.
Open, ready to put on.
Clasp detail; the pixel display runs along the band.
Clasp detail; the pixel display runs along the band.
THE HARD DESIGN DECISION
THE HARD DESIGN DECISION
THE HARD DESIGN DECISION
Who decides what a color means?
Who decides what a color means?
Affinity asks people to attach feelings to colors. That raised the question my final review kept circling:
Should the color-to-emotion mapping be fixed by the designer, or set by each user?
Affinity asks people to attach feelings to colors. That raised the question my final review kept circling: Should the color-to-emotion mapping be fixed by the designer, or set by each user?
Affinity asks people to attach feelings to colors. That raised the question my final review kept circling:
Should the color-to-emotion mapping be fixed by the designer, or set by each user?
BOTH POSITIONS HAD MERIT
BOTH POSITIONS HAD MERIT
Freedom vs. Guidance
Freedom vs. Guidance
Emotional meaning is personal. Imposing one designer's color map makes the language feel borrowed, and a bond between two people is exactly where a self-authored vocabulary matters. Some professors agreed.
My position
My position
Some professors warned that too many options create friction and decision fatigue, and weaken the instant legibility that makes a warning color work. A curated default lets a pair start at once.
The counter-argument
The counter-argument
HOW I RESOLVED IT
HOW I RESOLVED IT
HOW I RESOLVED IT
I designed for both, in layers. Affinity ships with pre-made patterns for common feelings so a new pair starts in seconds, plus a Pattern Creation tool to build and name their own over time. Guidance first, freedom when you want it.
Each preset feeling is a pattern, not a single color. You cycle to the one you want, then tap your bracelet a set number of times to send it:
twice for love, three times for support, four for sadness.
I designed for both, in layers. Affinity ships with pre-made patterns for common feelings so a new pair starts in seconds, plus a Pattern Creation tool to build and name their own over time. Guidance first, freedom when you want it.
Each preset feeling is a pattern, not a single color. You cycle to the one you want, then tap your bracelet a set number of times to send it: twice for love, three times for support, four for sadness.
I designed for both, in layers. Affinity ships with pre-made patterns for common feelings so a new pair starts in seconds, plus a Pattern Creation tool to build and name their own over time. Guidance first, freedom when you want it.
Each preset feeling is a pattern, not a single color. You cycle to the one you want, then tap your bracelet a set number of times to send it: twice for love, three times for support, four for sadness.
Pre-made patterns for common feelings.
Build and name up to two of your own patterns.
Build and name up to two of your own patterns.
If I built it again, I'd treat the defaults as a suggestion the pair personalizes together, and test whether shared meaning is stronger when two people author it. The question never fully resolved.
THE PRODUCT
THE PRODUCT
THE PRODUCT
Send a feeling in one gesture
Send a feeling in one gesture
The app stays small on purpose. Color Patterns sends a pre-made feeling; Pattern Creation builds your own, pixel by pixel.
A tap on the bracelet pushes it to your paired band, where it lands as color and a matching vibration, felt without looking.
The app stays small on purpose. Color Patterns sends a pre-made feeling; Pattern Creation builds your own, pixel by pixel.
A tap on the bracelet pushes it to your paired band, where it lands as color and a matching vibration, felt without looking.
The app stays small on purpose. Color Patterns sends a pre-made feeling; Pattern Creation builds your own, pixel by pixel.
A tap on the bracelet pushes it to your paired band, where it lands as color and a matching vibration, felt without looking.
Low bandwidth is the point. A chosen send, not a constant broadcast, avoids alert fatigue and keeps each signal meaningful.
Like the friendship bracelet it comes from, the value is in choosing to reach out.
Low bandwidth is the point. A chosen send, not a constant broadcast, avoids alert fatigue and keeps each signal meaningful. Like the friendship bracelet it comes from, the value is in choosing to reach out.
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