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Can Design Really Support Mental Wellbeing? Seven Projects Exploring the Question

Can Design Really Support Mental Wellbeing? Seven Projects Exploring the Question

Design DesignWanted
Design is increasingly moving toward 'mental-wellbeing' interfaces, using haptic and biometric devices to translate internal emotional states into observable data.
What: An overview of seven projects, including 'Pulse Pack' (heartbeat haptics) and 'Cognitive Bloom' (AI-generated digital gardens), which treat emotions as quantifiable inputs to help users practice self-regulation.
Why it matters: The rise of emotion-sensing devices raises critical ethical questions regarding whether we are truly fostering self-awareness or simply digitizing the inner human experience.
Decoder
  • Bilateral stimulation: A therapeutic technique (often used in EMDR) that involves alternating sensory input to help the brain process traumatic memories.
Original article

Design's field of action is shifting from the body toward the mind, through devices that detect emotions, stress, and moods and translate them into data. Seven projects, among them a digital garden of inner states, a bag that pulses with the heartbeat, and a breathing lamp, turn the invisible into an interface. Whether such technologies deepen self-understanding or digitize inner life remains an open question.

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