Interventions
This page is dedicated to documenting my interventions, each designed to explore personal habits, perceptions, or ways of relating to my surroundings through a first-person perspective.
Last updated
This page is dedicated to documenting my interventions, each designed to explore personal habits, perceptions, or ways of relating to my surroundings through a first-person perspective.
Last updated
Below are my reflections on the first two interventions I’ve completed: tracking my daily water usage and exploring the city without relying on navigation systems. Each one has opened up new insights, not only into my day-to-day behaviors but also into how I might deepen these concepts within my Design Space topics.
For this intervention, I tracked all the water I used in a single day, breaking it down into specific activities like showering, drinking, washing my face, and using the toilet. I was surprised to find that my shower, which I expected to be my biggest water expense, wasn’t as excessive as I had assumed. In fact, my overall daily consumption was lower than the average, which I found encouraging. Initially, I considered continuing this intervention by setting myself a challenge to cut my water use even further. But as I thought about it, I realized that pushing the reduction without a clear purpose wouldn’t necessarily yield practical insights or sustainable changes in my daily life. However, just being more aware of my water use was already a valuable outcome.
Activity
Liters Used
Shower
57.17 L
Toilet
22.5 L
Washing hands/face
1.73 L
Drinking water
2.5 L
Dishwashing
5 L
Total Daily Use
88.9 L
Reflection
Through this intervention, I became more conscious of the hidden ways water flows through my daily routines. This experience also has a strong connection to my Design Space themes around environmental impact and sustainable practices. Understanding my water consumption aligns with ideas of environmental sensing, actively measuring my personal impact, and creating mindfulness around resource use. Realizing how I compare to the average helped me see the potential for designing subtle changes in everyday habits that could collectively have a much larger effect. Even though I didn’t continue with the reduced water challenge, tracking my usage has shifted my awareness, giving me a baseline I can carry forward in daily actions and even future project concepts.
For my second intervention, I decided to explore Barcelona without the help of Google Maps or any navigation system, choosing my directions based only on visual intuition and spontaneous interest. Usually, I rely heavily on Google Maps for navigation; I’ve used it so much that I feel I know its layout better than the physical city. By disconnecting from this app, I wanted to see what it would feel like to let go of my dependence on technology, and instead let my own instincts and immediate surroundings guide me.
I left my house with no specific destination, allowing each decision to flow from whatever caught my eye at the moment. My phone stayed in my pocket, tracking my movements passively so I could later look at my Timeline as a “map” of my journey. I chose random turns and boarded buses whenever they sparked my interest, riding various routes and walking long distances. What began as a casual exploration turned into a nearly 5-hour adventure, taking me through unexpected parts of the city, ultimately leading me, completely by chance, to Park Güell. This unexpected arrival felt surreal, almost as though my instincts had guided me to a familiar landmark, despite not seeking it out intentionally.
Inside the park, I continued to wander, choosing paths and turns based on sights or sounds that drew my attention. I noticed that I was naturally drawn upward, wanting to reach the highest points. Perhaps, in the absence of a reliable map, I instinctively sought views that would give me a clearer sense of orientation. I also realized that sounds, especially music playing in the distance, acted as a kind of navigation guide. The experience made me realize how much we rely on external tools to “optimize” our routes and experiences. Here, without any map, I may not have covered much distance in the park, but I felt I observed and connected with my surroundings more intensely.
As I left Park Güell, I saw a bus heading towards Carmel and remembered hearing about famous viewpoints, so I decided to hop on. My goal wasn’t to ask for directions, as that would take away from the experience of truly “not knowing.” But I did ask the driver for a hint, finding myself at the Carmel bunkers after navigating a few more turns. At each stop, I noticed the stark contrast between finding my way naturally, using park signs, street visuals, or sounds, and the ease of instant direction from Google Maps.
The entire journey wandering unfamiliar neighborhoods, feeling “lost” yet guided by intuition, navigating public transit without a plan, revealed new things about myself and my relationship with technology. I realized how deeply conditioned I’ve become to rely on optimized routes and instant information, which strips away the unexpected and sometimes transformative elements of exploration.
Reflection
This intervention was filled with realizations. Firstly, I discovered that when we remove technological “shortcuts,” we experience our surroundings in a much richer, albeit less efficient, way. Without Google Maps, I was drawn to natural sights, sounds, and open spaces that I might have otherwise missed. I was reminded of my Design Space interest in reconnecting people with their environments and reducing dependence on digital “crutches.” This experience showed me that being attuned to natural elements like direction, sounds, and elevation can act as a personal “compass.”
It was also interesting to see how public transportation played a role in this experience. Normally, I rarely take buses, but here they became part of the adventure, adding layers to my journey and taking me to neighborhoods I rarely explore. It made me reflect on the sustainability of transport choices and how something as simple as exploring a city can be linked to a deeper respect and connection to the spaces we inhabit.
Another key insight was how much I sought higher ground. Unconsciously, I found myself drawn to viewpoints as if they offered a sense of control or perspective similar to the idea of “seeing the bigger picture” in design. In a way, this echoed ideas from the Atlas of Weak Signals and Environmental Sensing: being able to see the world from new angles, not just physically but metaphorically, can help us understand and interact with it differently.
Finally, my exhaustion by the end of the day and my instinct to return home showed me how in tune we are with our own needs and limits when we step away from strict plans or pre-set routes. Without a structured map to follow, I relied on my physical and emotional cues to guide me, ultimately reaching a point where I “knew” it was time to go home.
In collaboration with Ziming, Anya, and myself, we explored the physiological and emotional responses triggered by music. Our aim was to understand how the same track of sounds could evoke varying heartbeat responses in different individuals and to visualize these responses in real time using TouchDesigner. Each of us contributed a sound that represented different moods, from energetic acid techno to calm, cinematic tones, creating a track that served as a shared stimulus for the experiment.
Process
To bring this idea to life, we used a heart rate sensor (AD8232) connected to an Arduino, which transmitted real-time data to TouchDesigner for visualization. Here’s how we set it up:
The heart rate sensor was attached to each participant to capture their heartbeat.
The Arduino was programmed to read the sensor's signals and relay the heartbeat data to the computer via serial communication.
In TouchDesigner, we processed the incoming data and mapped it to visual outputs, such as moving shapes and pulsating geometries, which corresponded to the rhythm of the participant's heartbeat. This integration allowed us to create a dynamic representation of the physiological response to music, highlighting the unique ways each of us reacted.
Electrocardiogram tutorial using TouchDesigner & Arduino
Youtube tutorial that I used to learn the basics of TouchDesigner
Experiment feelings
As the first participant, I hadn’t listened to the final track beforehand, which heightened my curiosity. Sitting in front of the class with my eyes covered by a band, I felt a mix of excitement and unease. It was strange to expose something as personal as my heartbeat while everyone observed. I felt drops of sweat, likely from nervousness, as I realized how vulnerable it was to share such an intimate, emotional response.
When the track began, the acid techno part brought an immediate smile to my face, and I found myself moving slightly despite being aware of the sensors. The rhythmic beats synced with my mood, creating a sense of energy and freedom. However, my heart rate stayed more stable than I had expected, even when my head vibrated and feet tapped to the music. As the track shifted to slower, more mysterious tones, I felt a sense of calm and introspection, almost as if I were in a cinematic adventure. By the time the hard techno returned, I was fully immersed, with vibrations echoing in my head and a heightened awareness of the rhythm in my body.
Reflection
This experiment revealed how deeply personal and unique our physiological responses to music are. Even though we listened to the same sounds, our heartbeats varied, emphasizing how subjective emotional and bodily reactions can be. These differences were brought to life through the TouchDesigner visualizations, which transformed raw data into a shared experience, making the invisible tangible.
The process also opened a window into the concept of emotional privacy and emotional sharing. Sharing something as personal as my heartbeat felt vulnerable yet liberating. It made me question how much of our internal states we are comfortable sharing and how such data could enhance or hinder human connections.
On a technical level, this project taught us the basics of using Arduino and TouchDesigner to connect physical inputs with visual outputs. This skill has exciting potential for future projects, especially those involving interactive and sensory designs. Moving forward, I would love to explore other stimuli, such as smell or temperature, and how they might interact with sound and emotions to create richer, multi-sensory experiences.
This intervention represents the evolution of my earlier Google Maps navigation experiment. Inspired by my growing interest in music and sound, Ziming and I set out to map Barcelona through a sensory and emotional lens, capturing the city’s diverse soundscapes and associating them with personal impressions.
Project Development
Building upon my fascination with human sensing and emotional mapping, the project began with an idea: what if we treated the city like a festival, guided not by streets or traditional navigation tools, but by sounds and the emotions they evoke? This concept pushed us to explore how auditory and visual elements could combine to create a digital map that captured our experiences of Barcelona.
We first experimented with TouchDesigner to convert visual imagery into soundscapes, intending to compose unique soundtracks and visuals for various city zones. However, the resulting audio lacked the distinctiveness needed to represent the diversity of locations effectively.
We moved on and decided to just collect video and audio recordings across different parts of the city. At each location, we recorded not just the environmental sounds but also our personal emotions and observations, noting the time and context of each visit. Using uMap, an open-source mapping platform, we created an interactive map that dynamically updates through data stored in a simple Excel sheet. This tool also allowed me to categorize areas based on our emotional reactions, resulting in three distinct zones: energetic, stressful, and curiosity-inducing.
Tutorial we followed to build our own map
Reflections
This intervention deepened my understanding of mapping as both a technical and emotional practice:
Learning to use uMap was a significant takeaway. It offers endless possibilities to map personal or collective data, applicable far beyond this project.
Mapping how I felt in specific locations gave me a fresh perspective on familiar spaces. It emphasized the subjective nature of our connection to the environment and highlighted the importance of time and context. For instance, a place bustling with activity during the day could feel entirely different at night.
Searching for sounds in the city made me consider integrating another hobby such the one I have with photography. This exploration could evolve into a practice of capturing soundscapes and visual moments simultaneously, enriching the emotional depth of each place.
Future Directions
This project opens the door to potential future applications, such as:
A GPS-based navigation system that uses recorded soundscapes to guide users based on mood rather than traditional maps.
Enhanced interactions with the map by integrating additional sensory data or real-time updates from other users.
Collaborative mapping projects to broaden the emotional and cultural layers of a city’s identity.
Through this intervention, I’ve realized that the act of exploring a city isn’t just about the spaces you encounter, but how those spaces make you feel, what they inspire, and how they resonate with you personally.
Fabrication process This project was born as a challenge to integrate digital fabrication and electronics into an artistic medium, culminating in a kinetic sculpture. The goal was to design a dual-rotating system where two sets of blades moved independently on the same axis. After several iterations, we resolved the mechanical challenge by using one stepper motor connected to the central shaft, while the second set of blades rotated via a bearing and a separate motor-driven gear system.
The blades were laser-cut from wood, with one set spray-painted silver for visual contrast. Supporting structures were crafted using scrap wood and CNC machining, though in hindsight, transparent acrylic could have improved the visual experience by reducing obstructions. The 3D-printed gears and motor couplers provided precise motion transmission.
The electronics were adapted from lessons learned in the Machine Paradox course, utilizing stepper motors controlled via Arduino. Calibrating the motors to achieve synchronized and smooth motion was challenging due to vibrations, which we mitigated by adjusting the code and encasing the motors in foam padding. The final sculpture was completed just in time for the Design Dialogues exhibition, ready to be tested in our experiment.
The Experiment and feedback In collaboration with Ziming, we used the kinetic sculpture to explore the interplay between sound and movement in evoking emotions. Participants were invited to listen to two contrasting music tracks: Track A (Old School Reggae Mix) and Track B (Dutch Hour Acid Techno Remix). While observing the sculpture, they freely expressed their feelings on a canvas.
Key Findings:
Varied means of expression: Not everyone resonated with drawing as a way to express emotions. Some preferred alternative forms like dance or verbal expression, highlighting the need for diverse interactive methods.
Impact of sound vs. visuals: Most participants’ drawings were influenced more by the music tracks than the visual movement of the sculpture. However, the sculpture's hypnotic motion helped many enter a subconscious, instinctive emotional state.
Overlapping drawings and time flow: The shared canvas led to overlapping contributions, making it difficult to distinguish when one track began or ended. Participants suggested exploring the temporal dimension of soundscapes, linking specific visual patterns to sound drops or compositions.
Overstimulation in exhibitions: The busy exhibition environment presented challenges for creating a fully immersive experience, though the sculpture helped focus attention.
Future directions: Potential experimentation I woul like to investigate further include:
Real-time visualizations of sound using tools like TouchDesigner.
Synchronizing blade movements with distinct sound channels (e.g., left and right).
Projection mapping on the sculpture to enhance its visual narrative.
Exploring diverse emotional outputs beyond drawing, like tracking dance or body movements.
This intervention revealed not only the complexities of working with emotions but also the potential of combining sound, movement, and visuals to create deeply engaging and personal experiences.
