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Ever wondered how light and color can shape what we feel and imagine?
“It feels like I’m deep under sea!” -p8
Light Experience, Eyes Closed
This exploratory project investigated the diffusion of light through closed eyelids, aiming to create an open-source platform for understanding how colors and light affect human emotions and experiences.
Role
Lead Hardware Engineer
UX Researcher & Designer
Client
Seth Hunter
Display Engineer, AR/VR
Participants
36 Participants
Impact
Mood and color perception toolkit, guide, insights.
Date
Jan. 2024 – May 2024
“Explore light perception through closed eyelids, creating an interactive and embodied experience.”
“walking through a foggy forest.” -p2
hardware
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hardware 〰️
Diverse Screen Technology Engineering
Create a fast inexpensive prototype we used a foam sleep mask, neopixel RGBW strip, neopixel ring, and light diffusion material.
Hardware Development
Matrix-Style
Focused on early exploration of brightness and hue transitions with small-scale prototypes.
Ring-Style
Expanded testing with refined prototypes, including A/B testing (warm-to-cool vs. cool-to-warm sequences).
User Research
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User Research 〰️
Research & Discovery
36 participants aged 21–46
Methodologies
think-aloud protocols
PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) surveys, to measure mood and emotional responses.
Phase I
Early exploration of
brightness and hue transitions.
“a bright, sunny day” -p17
Phase II
Perception of warmth tones.
A/B testing
warm-to-cool
cool-to-warm
Secondary Research
Cross-Cultural Color Perception Studies
Insight
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Insight 〰️
Insights
Reds and blues invoke strong emotional reactions.
Bright Pink caused discomfort and anxiety.
Warm
Energy & Alertness
Cold
Calming
Insights
Female identifying participants shared more detailed descriptions of shapes and movement,
Male identifying participants leaned towards literal interpretations.
Environment matters: Trust and comfort played significant roles in participant engagement, highlighting the importance of clear communication and a welcoming setting.
Mood metaphors: Asking participants to describe their mood as a weather type or color provided rich qualitative data but posed challenges for consistent analysis.
