A dual-function device that works as both a night light and message sender, translating touch into presence across distance.
Year
2026
client
University Brief
production scale
One-Off
Category
Industrial & Sympathetic Design
Manufacturing methods
Wood-turning | Glassblowing | C++ Arduino Programming
Materials
Oak | Soda-Lime Glass | Acrylic
Collaboration
In collaboration with Vincent Taheny.
The Problem
In long-distance relationships, communication is often reduced to screens, text, and notifications. While efficient, these modes lack the physical and emotional nuance of touch.
Proposed Solution
This project responds by exploring how product design can:
reintroduce touch
create subtle, ambient communication
support emotional connection beyond screens
How Does this work?
When the user places their finger on the small pebble, ergnomically designed to sit in the palm and invite touch, the device detects their heartbeat and transmits it to its paired light which begins to pulse softly, mirroring that rhythm.
What would normally be a message becomes something quieter:
a shared, ambient signal of presence.
An intimate way of saying “I’m thinking of you.”
Development focused on:
Natural interaction
Subtle feedback
Emotional resonance
The project combined:
Arduino programming for biometric sensing
Glassblowing methods for light diffusion
Crafted from recycled soda-lime glass and locally grown and felled oak timber from Scottish Woods in Fife.
Story