ÀSE
ÀSE
Building an Afrofuturistic transformative self-care experience, pre-COVID and during COVID.
CONTEXT
Creative Technology Graduate Thesis
SKILLS
Research, Physical Computing, Creative Coding
Building an Afrofuturistic transformative self-care experience, pre-COVID and during COVID.
CONTEXT
Creative Technology Graduate Thesis
SKILLS
Research, Physical Computing, Creative Coding
Às̩e̩ is an Afrofuturistic, transformative self-care experience for young adults of the African diaspora – a population at disproportionately high risk of life dissatisfaction.
APPROACH
In this project, I combined techniques from neuroscience and behavioral-psychology with creative technology to cultivate healing, well-being, and a pathway to a limitless life vision.
Mental imagery is the use of the senses to create or re-create an experience in the mind. I used it to increase well-being by building up self efficacy and positive expectancy and lowering stress in my peers.
My initial prototype was a physical, multi-sensory experience I built using Arduino and sensors that changed lighting in the room based on where the user is standing in the room. With COVID lockdown, I had transmute it into a remote experience. In this 8 minutes video, I explain the experience I created, and the results I got from testing it with 8 young adults from the African Diaspora. They described it as:
Mental imagery is the use of the senses to create or re-create an experience in the mind. I used it to increase well-being by building up self efficacy and positive expectancy and lowering stress in my peers.
My initial prototype was a physical, multi-sensory experience I built using Arduino and sensors that changed lighting in the room based on where the user is standing in the room. With COVID lockdown, I had transmute it into a remote experience. In this 8 minutes video, I explain the experience I created, and the results I got from testing it with 8 young adults from the African Diaspora. They described it as:
“A prayer to yourself.”
– Y. F.
“Medicinal.”
– R. W.
“Healing. Made me break through these limitations I had on what I can achieve.”
– J. A.
I created an online home for the story behind Às̩e̩. I used the translation of the surreal visuals into a web space as an opportunity to have fun with 3D effects in CSS. Check it out here.
I created an online home for the story behind Às̩e̩. I used the translation of the surreal visuals into a web space as an opportunity to have fun with 3D effects in CSS. Check it out here.