Gallery
1st Prize: weXpress
Tongji University
Zekai Li, Yijin Pan, Daoyang Wang
As a designer, we’ve always been curious about how technology can truly enhance human experience, not just function. For this project, we wanted to tackle a very personal challenge: how can visually impaired people feel more connected and confident in conversations when so much social understanding relies on subtle cues like gaze, head orientation, or facial expressions? Traditional solutions often fall short, leaving users without key information and creating stress in social interactions.
Our approach was to create a handheld device that communicates a conversation partner’s attention and emotional state through tactile and auditory feedback. From the start, we focused on making it feel natural in the hand—comfortable for long use and intuitive to operate. The tactile feedback uses a five-point electromagnetic array, where small magnets rise to indicate attention shifts, while audio cues convey emotional changes. We went through multiple rounds of iteration—adjusting grip, thickness, materials, and even the placement of subtle tactile markers—to ensure users could pick up information effortlessly and naturally during real conversations.
What made this process truly rewarding was the participatory design journey. Working closely with visually impaired users and experienced inclusive-design practitioners, we didn’t just assume what might work—we observed, listened, and tested in real scenarios. Every round of feedback guided us to refine the physical form, the tactile logic, and the audio cues, making the device feel alive and responsive rather than mechanical. Seeing users quickly adapt and respond to subtle signals was one of the most inspiring moments of the project.
The outcome is more than a device; it’s a way to enhance social confidence and connection. It validates that tactile-auditory multimodal feedback can be practical and meaningful for accessibility, and it demonstrates how inclusive, human-centered design can make everyday interactions more equitable.
