the language of memory
Rebuilding Human memory, consciously.
Rebuilding Human memory, consciously.
overview
An experience design installation that translates the abstract nature of memory into a tangible, interpretable visual experience.
An experience design installation that translates the abstract nature of memory into a tangible, interpretable visual experience.
A memory recalled once is never the same twice—it transforms each time we attempt to retrieve and rebuild it in our minds. We capture moments to preserve their value: through photographs, through writing . . . and yet we can never truly replicate the feeling of an experience.
A memory recalled once is never the same twice—it transforms each time we attempt to retrieve and rebuild it in our minds. We capture moments to preserve their value: through photographs, through writing . . . and yet we can never truly replicate the feeling of an experience.
opportunity
Improving memory and recall through a research-based design system.
Improving memory and recall through a research-based design system.
I designed an installation and interface system that transforms memory-rebuilding into a felt experience, guiding audiences to consciously reconstruct past memories through emotion, color, light, and vividness.
I designed an installation and interface system that transforms memory-rebuilding into a felt experience, guiding audiences to consciously reconstruct past memories through emotion, color, light, and vividness.
project type
Experience Design
Design Research
Interactive Installation
Duration
7 Weeks
my role
Design research
Creative Design
software
Touch Design
Dovetail
solution
The Language of Memory: reimagine and reconstruct, reflect and relive.
To emulate the feeling of and reconstruct a memory, participants are guided through parameters that define one: emotion, color, light, and vividness. Emotion anchors what we remember, color and light cue how we retrieve it, and vividness reflects how much weight it still carries. Audiences are encouraged to rebuild memories to relive, reflect, and rethink what defines a moment on their personal timeline—creating a reflective space that invites us to reconsider not just what a memory is, but how it feels to carry one.
To emulate the feeling of and reconstruct a memory, participants are guided through parameters that define one: emotion, color, light, and vividness. Emotion anchors what we remember, color and light cue how we retrieve it, and vividness reflects how much weight it still carries. Audiences are encouraged to rebuild memories to relive, reflect, and rethink what defines a moment on their personal timeline—creating a reflective space that invites us to reconsider not just what a memory is, but how it feels to carry one.
Experience
What defines a moment in time?
01 Emotion
At the root of every memory is an emotion. The stronger the emotional response at the moment of an experience, the more deeply it lives in the mind and the easier it is to recall. What we choose to remember can be quietly still or intensely alive, but at the core are feelings that anchor what we remember and shape how we remember it.
Happiness, sadness, anger, or fear: audiences are first asked to think of memory tied to one of these emotions to ground the feeling, and set the mood.
Happiness
Sadness
Anger
fear
02 Color
Each time we recall a moment, the details shift, but where precise images fade, color fills the gaps, evoking the feeling of a memory even when the details blur. Color may act as a context clue, but is just as often shaped by the emotional tone of the moment—warming or cooling depending on how it felt.
03 Light
Similar to color, brightness or darkness in a memory can ground it in place and time, but they can equally reflect how recently or how deeply the experience was felt.
04 Vividness
The vividness of a memory reflects how tightly the mind chose to hold it. Its sharpness or blurriness often comes down to two things: the emotional weight it carries, and how recently it was lived.
research
Interviews & data notation.
I hosted a series of one-on-ones interviews asking a wide range of people of different ages and backgrounds to reflect on strong personal experiences. Some memories were strong because they were pivotal moments of change; others were strong simply because they were unique. There were many different ways to think about memory, what they looked like or what they really are, and each person envisioned past experiences in different ways.
Key Insights
Our perception and understanding of moments we experience vary greatly, but there were several things that each person’s recount of an experience involved:
01
Emotional Resonance
People remember moments in life that are either pivotal/unique and are strongly linked to their emotions.
02
An Indescribable
Essence
An Indescribable Essence
Memories have an indescribable essence that is defined by vibrant colors, quick movement and imagery.
03
Emulating Feeling
Memories are recorded because they are precious moments people want to keep alive in order to emulate the feeling.
process
Building in Touch Design
To build a language through which memory could be communicated, I began working in TouchDesigner, a visual programming platform, to create visualizations and movements representative of what I'd learned a memory to be.
Using music and sound, I gathered songs and sounds tied to specific emotions—happy, sad, angry—and translated them into 3D noise through code, creating abstract visualizations that could represent the form of memories tied to each emotion.
I added multiple nodes allowing audiences to adjust parameters of the visualization—grounded in my research—to help them define and reconstruct a memory of their choice. By continuously adjusting emotion, color, light, and vividness to fit a single memory, audiences actively rebuild the experience in their mind, using these four parameters as a scaffold for reconstruction.
process
Keywords & Moodboarding
I created a moodboard of inspirational images and chose several keywords to guide my design decisions during the entire process.
emotional
emotional
immersive
immersive
magical
magical
expressive
expressive
powerful
powerful
vibrant
vibrant
gallery
the language of memory
Rebuilding Human memory, consciously.
overview
An experience design installation that translates the abstract nature of memory into a tangible, interpretable visual experience.
A memory recalled once is never the same twice—it transforms each time we attempt to retrieve and rebuild it in our minds. We capture moments to preserve their value: through photographs, through writing . . . and yet we can never truly replicate the feeling of an experience.
opportunity
Improving memory and recall through a research-based design system.
I designed an installation and interface system that transforms memory-rebuilding into a felt experience, guiding audiences to consciously reconstruct past memories through emotion, color, light, and vividness.
project type
Experience Design
Design Research
Interactive Installation
Duration
7 Weeks
my role
Design research
Creative Design
software
Touch Design
Dovetail
solution
The Language of Memory: reimagine and reconstruct, reflect and relive.
To emulate the feeling of and reconstruct a memory, participants are guided through parameters that define one: emotion, color, light, and vividness. Emotion anchors what we remember, color and light cue how we retrieve it, and vividness reflects how much weight it still carries. Audiences are encouraged to rebuild memories to relive, reflect, and rethink what defines a moment on their personal timeline—creating a reflective space that invites us to reconsider not just what a memory is, but how it feels to carry one.
Experience
What defines a moment in time?
01 Emotion
At the root of every memory is an emotion. The stronger the emotional response at the moment of an experience, the more deeply it lives in the mind and the easier it is to recall. What we choose to remember can be quietly still or intensely alive, but at the core are feelings that anchor what we remember and shape how we remember it.
Happiness, sadness, anger, or fear: audiences are first asked to think of memory tied to one of these emotions to ground the feeling, and set the mood.
Happiness
Sadness
Anger
fear
02 Color
Each time we recall a moment, the details shift, but where precise images fade, color fills the gaps, evoking the feeling of a memory even when the details blur. Color may act as a context clue, but is just as often shaped by the emotional tone of the moment—warming or cooling depending on how it felt.
03 Light
Similar to color, brightness or darkness in a memory can ground it in place and time, but they can equally reflect how recently or how deeply the experience was felt.
04 Vividness
The vividness of a memory reflects how tightly the mind chose to hold it. Its sharpness or blurriness often comes down to two things: the emotional weight it carries, and how recently it was lived.
research
Interviews & data notation.
I hosted a series of one-on-ones interviews asking a wide range of people of different ages and backgrounds to reflect on strong personal experiences. Some memories were strong because they were pivotal moments of change; others were strong simply because they were unique. There were many different ways to think about memory, what they looked like or what they really are, and each person envisioned past experiences in different ways.
Key Insights
Our perception and understanding of moments we experience vary greatly, but there were several things that each person’s recount of an experience involved:
01
Emotional Resonance
People remember moments in life that are either pivotal/unique and are strongly linked to their emotions.
02
An Indescribable Essence
Memories have an indescribable essence that is defined by vibrant colors, quick movement and imagery.
03
Emulating Feeling
Memories are recorded because they are precious moments people want to keep alive in order to emulate the feeling.
process
Building in Touch Design
To build a language through which memory could be communicated, I began working in TouchDesigner, a visual programming platform, to create visualizations and movements representative of what I'd learned a memory to be.
Using music and sound, I gathered songs and sounds tied to specific emotions—happy, sad, angry—and translated them into 3D noise through code, creating abstract visualizations that could represent the form of memories tied to each emotion.
I added multiple nodes allowing audiences to adjust parameters of the visualization—grounded in my research—to help them define and reconstruct a memory of their choice. By continuously adjusting emotion, color, light, and vividness to fit a single memory, audiences actively rebuild the experience in their mind, using these four parameters as a scaffold for reconstruction.
process
Keywords & Moodboarding
I created a moodboard of inspirational images and chose several keywords to guide my design decisions during the entire process.
emotional
immersive
magical
expressive
powerful
vibrant
gallery
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