Hold &
Release

Hold &
Release

Hold &
Release

What if technology could feel the weight of a moment before letting it go?
Hold & Release is an interactive message ritual that translates emotion into motion, where holding becomes remembering, and release becomes letting go.

What if technology could feel the weight of a moment before letting it go?
Hold & Release is an interactive message ritual that translates emotion into motion, where holding becomes remembering, and release becomes letting go.

Scope

Physical Computing

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Team

Individual

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Duration

2 weeks

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Year

2025

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Concept

(01)

What if physical gestures could become emotional data?

What if physical gestures could become emotional data?

Hold & Release transforms a simple gesture, holding and letting go, into a poetic interaction between human emotion and machine response.
Through touch, tension, and time, it visualizes how we hold onto memories and eventually release them.

The experience unfolds in three emotional stages:

  • Hold: the user’s grasp activates a glowing motion, embodying presence and attachment.

  • Release: as the touch loosens, motion fragments scatter, mirroring the act of letting go.

  • Remember: the visuals linger as faint traces, a digital echo of what once was.

It’s not about control, but about surrender, where technology becomes a medium for reflection and emotional transition.

Hold & Release transforms a simple gesture, holding and letting go, into a poetic interaction between human emotion and machine response.
Through touch, tension, and time, it visualizes how we hold onto memories and eventually release them.

The experience unfolds in three emotional stages:

  • Hold: the user’s grasp activates a glowing motion, embodying presence and attachment.

  • Release: as the touch loosens, motion fragments scatter, mirroring the act of letting go.

  • Remember: the visuals linger as faint traces, a digital echo of what once was.

It’s not about control, but about surrender, where technology becomes a medium for reflection and emotional transition.

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System Design

(02)

How I Built It

This prototype connects a flex sensor to an Arduino to “feel” a hold, translates that input to p5.js visuals. The system is simple on purpose: minimum hardware, maximum emotion.

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Interaction Snapshot

(03)

What does it feel like to hold and let go?

What does it feel like to hold and let go?

A sequence of gestures and responses unfolds like a quiet ritual.
Through writing, holding, and releasing, emotion becomes motion, bridging touch, memory, and light. Each stage reveals how technology can sense presence, respond with feeling, and mirror what it means to let go.

A sequence of gestures and responses unfolds like a quiet ritual.
Through writing, holding, and releasing, emotion becomes motion, bridging touch, memory, and light. Each stage reveals how technology can sense presence, respond with feeling, and mirror what it means to let go.

Begin by writing what you hold inside.

(01)

Hold the sensor : Feel the tension build

(02)

Let go : Watch the moment scatter

(03)

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Outcome

(04)

Technology that feels, not just functions.

Technology that feels, not just functions.

The result is an interactive system where touch, motion, and memory converge into an emotional interface.
Through the synchronized response of light, vibration, and time, Hold & Release transforms data into feeling, turning a simple gesture into an act of reflection.

The result is an interactive system where touch, motion, and memory converge into an emotional interface.
Through the synchronized response of light, vibration, and time, Hold & Release transforms data into feeling, turning a simple gesture into an act of reflection.

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Reflection

(05)

What I Learned

What I Learned

Hold & Release taught me that interaction design can express emotion through subtle physical gestures, not by adding complexity, but by amplifying sensitivity.

I learned how to translate intangible feelings into sensory feedback, connecting hardware and code with human emotion.
More importantly, I realized that designing for emotion is about creating moments of reflection, not reaction, letting technology breathe, pause, and feel alongside us.

Hold & Release taught me that interaction design can express emotion through subtle physical gestures, not by adding complexity, but by amplifying sensitivity.

I learned how to translate intangible feelings into sensory feedback, connecting hardware and code with human emotion.
More importantly, I realized that designing for emotion is about creating moments of reflection, not reaction, letting technology breathe, pause, and feel alongside us.

Exploring the future of experiences across digital and physical spaces. Whether you’re building a brand, shaping a product, or imagining something new, I’d love to connect.

Yuna Kim © 2025 All rights reserved

Exploring the future of experiences across digital and physical spaces. Whether you’re building a brand, shaping a product, or imagining something new, I’d love to connect.

Yuna Kim © 2025 All rights reserved

Exploring the future of experiences across digital and physical spaces. Whether you’re building a brand, shaping a product, or imagining something new, I’d love to connect.

Yuna Kim © 2025 All rights reserved