Helena Fernández
Miralpeix
Insights
Product Design
UX/UI
Emotional technology
Wearable ecosystem
Interaction design
Brand & product strategy
lumi
A soft emotional
technology ecosystem
Year 2025 · Emotional wellbeing and sensory interaction
Product Designer
Brand Strategist
Creative Direction
lumi is a conceptual product ecosystem designed 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.
Problem
Emotional wellbeing products can feel clinical, invasive or too certain about states they cannot truly read.
Role
Product strategy, UX/UI, ethical framing, brand universe and creative direction.
Solution
A soft sensory ecosystem that supports awareness and regulation through touch, light and optional reflection.
What it proves
Design can make emerging technology feel human, careful and emotionally credible.
Overview
What the product is about
lumi is a calm emotional support system built around one premise: technology should help users notice and regulate, not label or diagnose.
The ecosystem combines sensory objects, wearables and an optional app layer for discreet daily support.
The device supports the user in the moment through light, vibration, heat and touch. The app configures and supports reflection later.
1 Product focus
A sensory-first product ecosystem designed around emotional awareness, regulation and everyday support.
lumi helps users pause and reconnect through gentle feedback instead of constant screen interaction.
2 My role & process
My role covered product strategy, ecosystem definition, interaction design, visual direction and storytelling.
🔍 Opportunity definition:
Framed the space between emotional wellbeing, wearables and sensory self-regulation.
🧠 Product promise & positioning:
Positioned lumi as support technology focused on regulation and awareness.
🧩 Device ecosystem design:
Defined Ring, Hold, Necklace, Bear and app roles.
✨ Interaction & technology logic:
Connected light, warmth, vibration, charging, materials and app feedback.
🎨 Visual and product storytelling:
Built the soft purple identity and explanatory product visuals.
1 Project type
- Product design concept
- Emotional technology ecosystem
- Year 2025
A product case study focused on sensory interaction and emotional awareness.
2 Scope
- Product strategy
- UX/UI design
- Device ecosystem
- Brand storytelling
Product opportunity, ecosystem logic, device roles, interaction principles and app structure.
3 Tools & method
- Figma
- FigJam
- Notion
- Photoshop
- AI visual prototyping
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.
lumi explores a sensory companion that helps users reconnect before the experience becomes data.
The opportunity was emotional technology that feels less like tracking and more like support.
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
The first direction focused on users who need discreet support during stress, overload or low emotional awareness.
1 The overwhelmed user
Needs sensory feedback and grounding rituals without opening an app or making decisions.
2 The reflective user
Needs gentle summaries, configurable devices and awareness without judgement.
3 The family user
Children need soft regulation support; parents need gentle signals that help them respond.
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
The material study focused 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
The technology study 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.
The first loop is simple: 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.
1 What is viable
Sensory feedback, configurable routines, simple state logging, trend reflection and multi-device management.
2 What should be avoided
Claims that the device can read emotions with certainty, diagnose states or replace clinical support.
3 First product candidate
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.
4 Later ecosystem
lumi Kids and additional companion devices could scale the system once the core sensory interaction has been validated.
Impact
Phase 5.2 · What the concept proves
lumi shows how emotional technology can support regulation without labelling or controlling users.
The result is a product concept where hardware, interface and brand work together to make emotional wellbeing feel tangible, calm and close.
"The project proves that emotional technology can be more valuable when it supports regulation instead of pretending to decode emotion."
Creative
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Creative
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Creative direction, sensory brand language and storytelling across product, app and packaging.