Project Overview

Make A Wish: Tangible Celebration
Make A Wish: Tangible Celebration
Make A Wish: Tangible Celebration
Translating the physical ritual of breath into a whimsical, tangible digital celebration interface.
Translating the physical ritual of breath into a whimsical, tangible digital celebration interface.

[Role]

Concept, Interaction & Motion Designer

[Duration]

2 Weeks, 2025

[Tech Stack]

ESP32, Python, Blender, Flex Sensors, Serial Bridge

Poetic Computing

Biometric Input

Tangible UI

The Challenge & Logic

Execution & Craft

Impact & Takeaway

The Challenge & Logic

Digitizing the Ritual of Breath

Meaningful physical rituals are rapidly disappearing within sterile digital spaces. My primary challenge was determining whether the intimate warmth of a traditional birthday candle could successfully survive translation into strict code. I wanted to design an interactive object allowing users to perform a genuine physical act of celebration across distance.

To achieve this, I needed to accurately detect the physics of human breath rather than mere sound. Initial prototypes using standard microphones failed completely due to unpredictable ambient noise interference. Therefore, I implemented a vertically mounted flex sensor to detect direct air pressure, creating a silent, tactile, physics-based trigger.

Execution & Craft

A Real-Time Breath Pipeline

This project required a highly seamless hardware-to-software architecture. I utilized an ESP32 microcontroller to capture the analog sensor data, passing it through a custom Python serial bridge. This data feeds directly into a real-time Blender rendering environment. I meticulously modeled a custom strawberry-shaped candle to serve as the visual centerpiece.

The interaction unfolds through a deeply physical sequence. A physical potentiometer allows the user to 'strike a match,' smoothly turning up the brightness. As the user leans in and blows, the digital flame dynamically flickers in direct response to breath intensity before gracefully vanishing into a beautiful cloud of particles.

Execution & Craft

A Real-Time Breath Pipeline

This project required a highly seamless hardware-to-software architecture. I utilized an ESP32 microcontroller to capture the analog sensor data, passing it through a custom Python serial bridge. This data feeds directly into a real-time Blender rendering environment. I meticulously modeled a custom strawberry-shaped candle to serve as the visual centerpiece.

The interaction unfolds through a deeply physical sequence. A physical potentiometer allows the user to 'strike a match,' smoothly turning up the brightness. As the user leans in and blows, the digital flame dynamically flickers in direct response to breath intensity before gracefully vanishing into a beautiful cloud of particles.

Impact & Takeaway

The Era of Poetic Computing

Make A Wish powerfully proves that digital interactions can remain beautifully soft, intimate, and whimsical. By moving entirely away from tapping on cold glass, this project introduces natural biological functions as a primary input controller.

This exploration into 'Poetic Computing' demonstrates how integrating physical warmth into digital systems fosters profound emotional connection. It validates that the future of spatial design lies in creating technology that genuinely listens to our bodies.

The Era of Poetic Computing

Impact & Takeaway

Make A Wish powerfully proves that digital interactions can remain beautifully soft, intimate, and whimsical. By moving entirely away from tapping on cold glass, this project introduces natural biological functions as a primary input controller.

This exploration into 'Poetic Computing' demonstrates how integrating physical warmth into digital systems fosters profound emotional connection. It validates that the future of spatial design lies in creating technology that genuinely listens to our bodies.

All Works