How might a mixed reality experience be designed to create more authentic connections or feelings?
My journey into tactile mindfulness positions itself at the intersection of burnout culture, overconsumption, and the growing movement toward more thoughtful technology use. According to a 2023 Deloitte survey, more than 77% of respondents reported experiencing burnout in their current lives, with "constant digital connection" identified as a major contributor.
Through this project, you'll experience my tactile pause collection as a series of small, portable objects designed to be carried in pockets or attached as decorative bag or pant accessories. These "tactile pauses" create brief interruptions through sensory engagement, using objects you can squeeze, stroke, or manipulate to bring you back to the present moment and physical awareness. The keychains also include NFC tags and button sensors that create AR experiences for you to engage with. I've designed these for digitally overwhelmed professionals, students, and anyone who finds themselves frustrated by compulsive device checking and endless scrolling. These creations are meant for everyday environments, offices, transit, or home spaces, where digital acceleration feels most overwhelming.
At the outset, I planned to use Google Sheets to collect image data submitted by users. I set up a Google Form that connected to a spreadsheet, but quickly encountered cross-domain restrictions; my AR web page couldn’t access the data due to browser security settings. After several attempts to resolve it, I decided to switch my backend to Firebase Realtime Database. This platform allowed smoother data communication and real-time syncing. I also used Firebase Hosting to deploy my HTML files directly to the web. This resolved the domain access problem, making it easier to test and share the AR experience in a production environment. It took me a week to complete the webpage design and address issues that arose during the launch. As I needed to collect user data, this process was different from a typical QR code scanning AR experience. I aimed to provide users with a mixed-reality experience that was updated in real time.
