Breath, Amplified

Date

30 MAY 2025 05 JUN 2025

Week

Week 6

Unit

Micro UX

Team

Group JJED · Dahoon Lee, I-lin Chang (Ellen), Jiayi Zheng, Jin Wang

Brief

Design a way to make brain activity responding to aesthetic experiences visible, tangible, or interactive.

In short

Developed both the audiovisual installation Aware of Breath and the tactile workshop kit Breath Knead Kit to express breath.
The digital approach allowed precise feedback, while the analogue method offered intuitive and emotional engagement.
Recognised the need to move beyond visual UX and explore the liberation of underused senses like touch and smell.

Final Design Ideation

We explored four directions for the final output: co-painting, art therapy, game, and interactive digital artwork. The two strongest contenders were a digital art installation and a therapeutic sand-based workshop. Because analogue methods had clear physical limits in expressing breath, we decided to expand into digital expression using tools like TouchDesigner. Our first attempt was a digital reinterpretation of the early “Elephant’s Trunk” prototype.

At the same time, I proposed a breath-based workshop using sand—an idea inspired by imagining how the flow of breath could be translated into something tactile.

Aware of Breath: Digital Bubble

Our team developed an interactive digital installation for two participants. Each person’s breath, captured by a microphone, would trigger responsive bubbles visualised on a screen, while also playing back their breath through headphones. The visual system was built in TouchDesigner, allowing participants to see and hear their own breathing in real time.

The participant begins with a reset activity, reflecting on their breath using the Elephant’s Trunk device. Photo Credit: Author

The facilitator guides the participants to focus on their breath before leading them into the digital bubble experience. Photo Credit: Author

By blowing into the microphone, the participants can observe changing bubbles on the screen. Photo Credit: Author

The experience began with a brief reset using the “Elephant’s Trunk,” then participants sat side by side, watching the bubbles generated by their combined breath. We also explored ways to enhance immersion, like a chair embedded with soft robotics or real soap bubbles blown from behind. However, these additions were eventually removed to avoid distraction.

Stage 1 – A reset activity using an analogue tool to listen to one’s own breath. Photo Credit: Author

Stage 1 – A reset activity using an analogue tool to listen to one’s own breath. Photo Credit: Author

Stage 2 – When participants blow into the microphone, bubbles change on the screen and their breath is heard through the headset. Photo Credit: Author

Stage 2 – When participants blow into the microphone, bubbles change on the screen and their breath is heard through the headset. Photo Credit: Author

Example of changing bubble visuals. Concept by Group JJED, Digital Production by Jin Wang. Video Credit: Author

Aware of Breath – media art exploring breath awareness through digital bubbles.
Featured: I-lin Chang (Ellen), Jiayi Zheng.
Filmed by Author.
Edited by Jin Wang.

Group JJED

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The following section presents a personal design exploration developed beyond the group project.

Feedback & Curiosity

The digital format allowed for more nuanced responses to subtle breath, unlike analogue methods. It also enabled the designers to curate the audiovisual flow with precision. However, we learned that minimising the presence of technology and providing a comfortable, effortless environment for participants were equally important.

Personally, this project revealed the potential of digital interaction. Still, I was left wondering whether we had fully met our original goal of designing a sensory experience beyond vision. Although tactile and olfactory elements were explored, the use of digital media clashed slightly with the brief’s “low-tech” guideline.

That tension led to an ongoing curiosity—which eventually brought me back to analogue design using sand.

Breath Knead Kit: Another Path to Consider

I began imagining how breath could be translated into something held and kneaded. This led to a workshop concept where passing and kneading sand encourages regular breathing, later evolving into a portable pouch kit that could be used in daily life. The idea resembled kneading bread.

Early sketches of the Breath Knead Kit. Image Credit: Author

Breath Sand Pouch filled with lavender-scented bath salts, part of the Breath Knead Kit prototype. Photo Credit: Author

The kit includes a pouch and a set of guide cards. Photo Credit: Author

“What if we could knead breath?”

I adapted the repetitive motions of pressing and rolling dough into a 5-5 breathing rhythm. After speaking with a staff member at LUSH, who mentioned the calming effects of lavender, I decided to replace the sand with lavender bath salts, making the prototype easier to produce and more soothing.

Example of movements using the pouch. Photo Credit: Author

Example of movements using the pouch. Photo Credit: Author

User test in progress. Video Credit: Author

Breath Knead Kit “We Knead Breath” – a soothing meditation kit that helps regulate breathing through calming scents. Video Credit: Author

Users gently knead the pouch as they inhale and exhale, following a guide card or video. This kit offers a way to restore calm in moments of stress—at home, at work, or at school.

Reflection

This project deepened my thinking about sensory translation, the analogue–digital spectrum, and design methods. The analogue approach allowed for more intuitive interaction and user freedom, while also enabling rapid, meaningful feedback. In contrast, digital methods offered precision and environmental control, but required complex adjustments for things like microphone sensitivity and breath strength—as we saw in the Digital Bubble tests.

Above all, I was reminded that most UX experiences still rely heavily on vision. Despite technical challenges, this project revealed the untapped potential of underexplored senses like touch and smell. In the future, I’d like to further explore the liberation of minor senses as a central design theme.

Reference

D’Ignazio, C. and Klein, L.F. (2020) Data Feminism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11805.001.0001
Dewey, J. (1934) Art as Experience. New York: Minton, Balch & Company.
Gaver, W.W. (2003) ‘Ambiguity as a resource for design’, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 233–240. https://doi.org/10.1145/642611.642653
Kim, M., Nam, E.S., Lee, Y. and Kang, H.J. (2021) ‘Effects of lavender on anxiety, depression, and physiological parameters: Systematic review and meta-analysis’, Asian Nursing Research, 15(5), pp. 279–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2021.11.001
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M. (1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470993.001.0001
Van Diest, I., Verstappen, K., Aubert, A.E., Widjaja, D., Vansteenwegen, D. and Van den Bergh, O. (2014) ‘Inhalation/exhalation ratio modulates the effect of slow breathing on heart rate variability and relaxation’, Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 39(3–4), pp. 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-014-9253-x

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