Helena Fernández
Miralpeix
Projects
About
Product Design
UX/UI
Emotional technology
Wearable ecosystem
Interaction design
Brand & product strategy
lumi
A soft emotional
technology ecosystem
Speculative product ecosystem · 2025
Product Designer
UX/UI Designer
Brand Strategy
I designed lumi as a speculative product ecosystem to help people recognise, regulate and understand emotional states through soft sensory feedback.
The project explores how wearable and tactile devices could support emotional awareness without turning feelings into diagnosis, surveillance or over-quantified data.
Overview
What the product is about
lumi is a speculative product ecosystem exploring how soft technology could support sensory wellbeing without claiming to diagnose, measure or read emotions.
The system connects wearable feedback, app configuration and reflection into one low-demand interaction model.
The device supports users in the moment through light, vibration, warmth and touch. The app configures modes and supports reflection later.
A sensory-first product ecosystem designed around soft technology, calm interaction and ethical product framing.
lumi prioritises sensory feedback over tracking, diagnosis or constant screen interaction.
I led product strategy, interaction design, UX/UI, ethical framing and brand/product narrative.
Opportunity definition:
Framed the space between emotional wellbeing, wearables and sensory self-regulation.
Product promise & positioning:
Framed lumi as sensory support rather than emotion tracking or diagnosis.
Device ecosystem design:
I defined Ring, Hold, Necklace, Bear and app roles.
Interaction & technology logic:
Connected light, warmth, vibration, charging, materials and app feedback.
Product visual system:
Built a calm visual and interaction system aligned with the product's low-demand purpose.
- Speculative product ecosystem
- Speculative product design concept
- Year 2025
A speculative product ecosystem focused on sensory wellbeing, ethical interaction and calm digital support.
- Product strategy
- Interaction design
- UX/UI design
- Brand/product narrative
Product opportunity, device roles, sensory feedback, app configuration and reflection logic.
- Figma
- FigJam
- Notion
- Photoshop
- AI visual prototyping
- AI image prototyping
- Hand sketches
Product thinking, UX/UI, brand strategy and visual prototyping.
Insight
Phase 1.1 · Opportunity framing
Many wellbeing tools rely on screens, charts or self-reporting, but regulation often needs support when users have the least energy to interact.
This shaped lumi around sensory support, configurable feedback and reflection instead of tracking or diagnostic claims.
Problem
Wellbeing tools often depend on screens, self-reporting or demanding metrics.
Opportunity
A physical companion can support regulation before reflection.
Direction
Calm prompts, tactile rituals and gentle feedback instead of emotional prediction.
"The opportunity was not to read emotions. It was to design technology that helps people notice and regulate them."
User needs
Phase 1.2 · Emotional support use cases
I focused the first direction on users who need discreet support during stress, overload or low emotional awareness.
This user reaches lumi in moments of stress, overstimulation or emotional saturation, when opening another screen can feel like an extra demand.
They need a fast way to pause, reconnect with the body and reduce mental noise without having to read data, choose from many options or explain what is happening.
For this profile, the product response had to be immediate and tactile: simple sensory feedback, grounding rituals and wearable access that works before reflection or analysis begins.
This user is not necessarily in crisis. They want to understand their emotional patterns over time, but without feeling monitored, scored or judged by the product.
They need summaries that feel soft and useful, not clinical. The experience has to help them connect daily sensations, routines and feedback choices with a clearer sense of emotional awareness.
For this profile, the app becomes a quiet reflection layer: configurable modes, gentle records and simple language that supports self-knowledge after the moment has passed.
This profile includes children who need soft, playful support for self-regulation and parents who need a clearer way to notice when support may be needed.
The challenge is to make emotional care feel shared and protective without turning the child into a data source or creating a sense of constant surveillance.
For this profile, lumi had to feel familiar, gentle and easy to understand: a companion object for children and a subtle signal system that helps adults respond with more calm and context.
Ecosystem strategy
Phase 2.1 · Device family and product logic
lumi is structured as a family of soft sensory objects with one shared logic: pause, regulate and reconnect.
Adult accessories, handheld devices, a kids companion and the app each serve a different context.
The strongest direction is to start with one hero device, prove the interaction model and scale later.
Wearable precision
Function, quality and personal style
Each product needed to feel precise in function and desirable as an object to wear.
The ring works as both regulation tool and fashion complement, supporting light, warmth and haptic feedback.
The criteria: precise sensory behaviour, tactile quality, discreet proportions and daily wearability.
Device-first
The physical object leads the experience so support can happen without requiring constant screen interaction.
Soft feedback
Light, vibration, heat and touch create calming cues that feel sensory, personal and low-friction.
Configurable rituals
Users can adapt feedback patterns to moments such as focus, rest, overload or emotional grounding.
Reflection later
The app helps users review patterns after the moment has passed, avoiding pressure during emotional peaks.
Materials
Softness, safety and sensory feedback
I focused the material study on softness, safety and skin contact. Velvety silicone became the main surface.
Silicone also helps transmit vibration, light and warmth in a softer, less mechanical way.
Material selection became part of interaction design: every signal should feel gentle, not intrusive.
Hypoallergenic contact
Materials need to be safe for prolonged skin contact, especially because lumi is designed for moments of stress, rest and emotional sensitivity.
Soft tactile surface
A velvety silicone finish helps the object feel comforting, warm and non-invasive instead of technical or medical.
Easy to clean
The surface must be washable and simple to maintain so the product can stay close to the body without adding friction.
Responsible material choices
Recycled or lower-impact material options were considered to keep the physical ecosystem aligned with care, longevity and responsible production.
Packaging
Extending the sensory universe
Packaging extends the same sensory language: soft, calm, protective and reassuring from first contact.
The first contact with lumi should already feel like a calm ritual.
Battery & charging technology
Viability, safety and continuous use
I explored battery materials, charging systems and device functions for safe everyday use.
Wireless charging keeps adult devices sealed, soft and easy to place back into a charging surface.
For lumi Bear, a secure exchangeable battery lets caregivers swap and recharge safely without interrupting the toy’s availability.
Wireless adult devices
Adult accessories use wireless charging to keep the device sealed, minimal and comfortable against the body.
Switchable kids battery
lumi Bear uses an exchangeable battery logic so the toy can stay available while one battery charges safely.
Safe and secure access
The battery area must be caregiver-controlled, protected and designed to avoid accidental opening during play.
Daily reliability
Charging choices were evaluated around real routines, making sure emotional support remains available when users need it.
Product positioning
Phase 2.2 · Defining the product promise
lumi is positioned as regulation support, not emotional diagnosis.
The promise is intentionally limited: lumi helps users create space to recognise what may be happening and respond with a calming sensory action.
MVP Scope
Phase 3.1 · Starting with one hero device
The MVP starts with lumi Ring and a lightweight app layer: connect, choose feedback, use in the moment and reflect later.
One wearable makes the value proposition easier to validate before adding devices and profiles.
Pair device
Users connect the ring and define the moments where they want discreet emotional support.
Choose feedback
The app translates light, vibration, warmth and rhythm into understandable controls instead of technical settings.
Use in the moment
The device delivers sensory cues without requiring screen attention, keeping the core regulation moment outside the app.
Reflect later
Users can return to the app later to review simple patterns, adjust preferences and understand what support worked.
UX/UI System
How the product logic becomes an interface
The UX/UI system turns the sensory strategy into a calm digital control layer.
The app onboards the device, manages preferences and supports reflection after the regulation moment.
Calm setup
The onboarding helps users connect the device and choose preferences without overwhelming them with too many questions.
Sensory controls
Feedback settings are designed around understandable sensations rather than technical parameters.
Gentle reflection
Summaries focus on patterns, routines and personal awareness instead of judgement, scores or emotional labels.
Viability
Phase 5.1 · Product realism and constraints
lumi is more credible as support technology than as emotion-reading technology.
The strongest path is one focused device, a limited promise and expansion only after repeat use is validated.
Sensory feedback, configurable routines, simple state logging, trend reflection and multi-device management.
Claims that the device can read emotions with certainty, diagnose states or replace clinical support.
lumi Ring as the first hero device, offered in two sizes: a thinner ring and a thicker ring depending on each person’s style and comfort.
lumi Kids and additional companion devices could scale the system once the core sensory interaction has been validated.
Highlights
Phase 5.2 · What this case study highlights
lumi shows how a speculative product can be framed through ethical interaction and low-demand UX.
The case highlights a product ecosystem across wearable feedback, app configuration, sensory modes and brand/product narrative.
"This case study highlights how calm technology can support regulation without making diagnostic or emotion-reading claims."
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