Speculative Design Showcase Alexis Simonet

TouchBase is a brand and product designed to allow the user full control and access of the five basic emotions: Sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste. The interaction with this product allows the user to control each emotion individually on a dial switch. I came up with this idea primarily because of the benefits it would have for people with ADHD who struggle with overstimulation or people experiencing large amounts of pain. In these situations, it would be beneficial to be able to turn down hearing or your sense of touch in order to experience less of that emotion in any given moment.

TouchBase was intended to be accompanied by AI assisted control that senses the nervous system in order to be able to properly notify you if there is an issue with your body and an adjustment to the senses should be made. It would also prevent any drastic changes to be made to your emotions should your body not need them. For example, if you were to accidentally turn your sense of touch all the way down, there would be an AI blocking that move if it senses no issue with the nervous system as to prevent people from insanity or overuse with the product.

The technology would come in two parts - an arm application that would be placed on the outside of the forearm and a microchip that would connect to the nervous system through the back of the neck. A hologram would appear through a camera on the arm application as shown above that would show the user the dials they are able to adjust. In order to prevent any outside force or person from adjusting the user's senses, there is a Touch ID feature to unlock it and the hologram would only be seen by the user as it would appear through only the eyes of the user. Since the microchip is connected to the nervous system, it would allow the person using the device to see the hologram and no other outside force. This would be one of the many safety precautions included in order to make adjusting your emotions an effortless and enjoyable experience

Process Work

/ the logo /

The logo itself was created with the intention of having five different points of interest to indicate the five senses. It is shaped with a neuron in mind, different points of connection and lines that provide the design with movement.

/ the icons /

The set of icons was designed in a simplistic style that gave each one life and movement while still remaining clean and professional. They were organized in a repeating pattern and painted on the wall at the showcase as well as was used in various design decisions from the user handbook to the packaging to poster design.

/ user personas /

Considering user personas can be very important in the conceptualizing process, especially for Speculative Design. It is important to consider a wide range of users and how they would interact with the product. For TouchBase specifically, I really wanted to include three very different people who could use it in similar ways to give themselves more social and physical freedom.

/ the showcase /