Luminous Links
I designed and delivered an interaction between an app and light that fosters community engagement and a sense of belonging.
Emma Li
2024.04-2024.06
UX/UI Design, Space Design
Toos: Processing, Figma
Research, Concept Design, User Evaluation, Prototyping
Maker: Emma Li(post-production & voice over), Jennifer Yang(voice over)
Inspired by Yoko Ono's "My Mommy is Beautiful," which fosters communal connections through shared expressions of love and remembrance for mothers. Participants attach messages, photos, and mementos, creating a collage that's both personal and universal.
'Luminous Links' transforms visitors’ emotional messages into dynamic light displays using processing and Python scripting. This adaptation broadens the emotional spectrum and visually amplifies these feelings on a catenary installation. Messages are anonymized, encouraging uninhibited sharing. This creates a safe, inclusive space for Lake Macquarie's community to contribute their unique emotional perspectives.
Project Background
Lake Macquarie, renowned for its picturesque scenery and natural charm, attracts numerous visitors and residents. However, as the area's growth continues, its unique natural environment and rich cultural history are not fully leveraged to promote sustained engagement. Additionally, there is a lack of interaction and emotional connection among community residents.
This project aligns with my passion for designing spaces that foster connection and emotional engagement. I saw an opportunity to transform Lake Macquarie into more than just a destination—into a meaningful experience where people connect with both the environment and each other. With a focus on creating responsive, inclusive designs, I embraced this challenge to strengthen community bonds and evoke a sense of belonging through interactive and immersive design.
Project Objective
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Activate this space and create a responsive environment that welcomes and engages visitors.
Strengthen the interaction and emotional connection between people and the place, as well as among community members, fostering a deeper sense of belonging within the community.
Pain Points
Activate this space by addressing these two pain points.
People and Place
Lake Macquarie lacks activities that encourage continuous engagement, resulting in low interaction between people and the place.
People and People
There is a lack of interaction and emotional connection among community residents, which heightens feelings of isolation.
Initial Concept
Recognizing the lack of engagement between people and place, as well as among community members in Lake Macquarie, I saw an opportunity to design an interactive experience that fosters emotional connection and strengthens community bonds. These pain points underscored the need for a space that not only encourages continuous interaction but also cultivates a deeper sense of belonging among residents.
Building on these insights, I envisioned an interactive installation where visitors could anonymously share personal stories, fostering a stronger sense of community and connection. "Luminous Links" embodies my passion for transforming spaces into meaningful experiences—turning Lake Macquarie into a living canvas of lights and narratives that celebrate shared human experiences.
Initial Concept Storyboard
Each month, new themes invite visitors to share experiences in text or drawings, which will be turned into light displays using emotion analysis. Stories submitted via an app will be matched with corresponding light effects and preserved within the app.
Design Process
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Background Research
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Prototyping & User Evaluation
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Design Solution
Background Research
Background research allowed me to ensure that "Luminous Links" accurately translate emotions into light displays by understanding the relationship between emotions and lighting parameters. It also can verifie the reliability of the technology and enhances user engagement to foster stronger community connections.
1.1. Stakeholders Map
I saw analyzing the stakeholder map as key to fostering a deeper connection between locals and the space, strengthening community bonds. By mapping out key connections, I ensured that Luminous Links could gain broad support, encourage collaboration, and create meaningful interactions—helping residents feel more connected to both their surroundings and each other.
I partnered with MAP mima as a key stakeholder to bring Luminous Links to life, focusing on strengthening community engagement and emotional well-being. Collaborating with tech experts and psychologists ensured the design was both innovative and scientifically grounded, while local organizations provided valuable insights and support. To expand our reach, I also would leverage social media and exhibition partnerships, making the project more accessible and impactful for the community.
1.2. Definition and Classification of Human Emotions
With emotions being so diverse, designing lights for every subtle feeling wasn’t practical. Instead, I used emotion classification as a structured foundation, capturing key emotional categories to create meaningful, scientifically grounded experiences—allowing each interaction to feel deeply personal and connected.
Enhanced Inclusivity
Based on Parrots’ emotion classification, I categorized visitor emotions into this six types for the lighting design: Love, Anger, Surprise, Joy, Sadness, Fear.
These six emotion categories span most people's emotional range.
Maximizing diverse keywords within each category boosts inclusivity for user messages and streamlines backend emotion keyword recognition efficiency.
1.3. Relationship Between Emotions and Lighting Parameters
To create a truly immersive and emotionally resonant experience, I explored how emotions translate into color, brightness, and intensity. This understanding allowed me to design lighting that genuinely reflects users' feelings, shaping atmospheres that align with their emotions and making every interaction more meaningful and impactful.
Analyze these six emotions within the circumplex model (Russell, 1980) to determine the appropriate brightness.
Building on my research into how emotions interact with lighting, I designed six distinct lighting effects—each carefully crafted to capture different emotional responses. By fine-tuning specific lighting parameters, I aimed to create an experience that truly resonates with users on an emotional level.
1.4. Technology Research
My initial concept imagined capturing emotions through visitors’ drawings or text, translating them into dynamic lighting effects. While exciting, I knew further research was needed to ensure these inputs could be accurately recognized and transformed into real-time visuals.
Recognizing emotions from visitors’ drawings proved challenging due to their complexity, but I found a solution—identifying emotions through keywords in their text inputs to trigger corresponding lighting effects. I brought this vision to life using Processing software for dynamic lighting presets, Python scripts with GPT models for precise emotion analysis, and MQTT protocol to seamlessly connect software with lighting hardware.
Advantages
User-Friendly and Real-Time Interaction
Stable and Efficient Lighting Effects
Accurate Emotion Analysis
Seamless Integration and Communication
Prototyping & User Evaluation
Based on prior research, The prototyping phase was a vital step in bringing "Luminous Links" to life, allowing me to test and refine how emotional categories, recognition methods, and lighting parameters translated into user experiences. Choosing text input as the primary interaction ensured simplicity and accessibility, while low-fidelity models and app interfaces enabled real-world testing. This hands-on process helped me uncover gaps, refine usability, and ensure the system resonated emotionally with users, driving the project closer to its goal of fostering meaningful community connections.
Next, a low-fidelity physical model and app interface will be developed for comprehensive testing, assessing user experience, emotional alignment of the lighting, and app usability.
2.1. Prototyping
I developed a prototype that brings the concept to life in two key ways: a Low-Fidelity Physical Model to simulate how users experience dynamic lighting feedback after sending a message, and Mid-Fidelity App Interfaces to test how they interact within the app and use it to connect with the lighting system. This approach allowed me to refine both the digital and physical experiences, ensuring a seamless interaction between users and their emotions expressed through light.
Low-Fidelity Physical Model
Mid-Fidelity App Iterfaces
2.2. Testing
I set up the Pre-Test Definition and Optimization phase to refine the app interface and overall user experience. To guide this process, I created a project poster that visually introduces the concept, user journey, and lighting effects. I also prepared semi-structured interview questions to gather deeper insights, ensuring the design truly resonates with users.
App Interface Testing
User Interaction Journey Testing
I conducted user testing with 19 participants, followed by semi-structured interviews with each tester who participated.
2.3 Iteration
I gathered valuable feedback from testing and post-test interviews, uncovering key areas for improvement. Using these insights, I refined the design to enhance user experience, improve app functionality, strengthen privacy considerations, and fine-tune emotion selection—making interactions more seamless and intuitive.
Feedbacks
Iteration
Design Solution
"Luminous Links" was born from my passion for creating meaningful connections within communities, blending physical and digital interactions to foster emotional expression. Through a simple app, participants anonymously share their emotions, which are then transformed into dynamic lighting displays along a catenary. By categorizing emotions into six distinct types, each represented by a unique lighting effect, the installation offers a safe, inclusive space for expression and collective resonance.
To ensure accuracy, I leveraged Python scripts, GPT, and sentiment analysis models (VADER/TextBlob) to analyze emotional data. The MQTT protocol seamlessly transmits results to Processing, triggering real-time lighting effects via DMX channels—bringing emotions to life through light. To sustain engagement, I designed features like monthly themes and a Community Wall within the app, allowing participants to personalize messages, interact with others’ stories, and strengthen their sense of belonging over time.
Highlights
Participants anonymously submit emotions via the app, ensuring privacy and encouraging authentic expression without fear of judgment.
Anonymous Submissions
The app features an online wall displaying anonymous messages, encouraging interaction and allowing users to customize and revisit their expressions anytime, extending engagement beyond the physical installation.
Community Note Wall
Monthly theme updates keep content fresh and relevant, inviting participants to explore new emotional experiences and fostering ongoing community interaction.
Adaptive Monthly Themes
Emotion analysis results trigger LED lights that instantly reflect each participant's unique emotional state, allowing them to see their feelings as light and experience resonance with others.
Real-Time Personal Emotion Lighting
3.1 Storyboard for Concept
Visitor interactions - a passive mode when unoccupied, along with interactive modes for single and multiple users - with the exhibit are illustrated through a detailed storyboard.
3.2. App Interfaces
The app interface provides an intuitive, guided experience for users to share emotions, customize notes, and interact with community reflections through dynamic lighting displays.
3.3. Light Effect
The light effect system features three modes: a calming Passive Mode with blue hues when idle, Single-Person Interaction that activates emotion-specific lighting, and Multiple-People Interaction where each participant’s emotion is displayed sequentially, creating a dynamic, shared visual experience.
3.4. Engagement in the future
The "Luminous Links" design solution enhances engagement through monthly themes, real-time emotion-based LED displays, sentiment analysis, and a Community Note Wall for ongoing interaction.
Reflection
Reflecting on my project, I see opportunities to make it even stronger. While the research laid a solid foundation, incorporating more detailed data analysis or case studies could uncover deeper insights and better support my design choices. I also realize the importance of sharpening the problem definition and objectives to make the project’s purpose and impact crystal clear. Additionally, setting clear success metrics and envisioning the projected impact would help measure its effectiveness and real-world value. These improvements excite me because they would bring me closer to creating an even more meaningful and user-centered experience.