Interaction - Bachelor

HeartLight Booth

trophy Awarded

HeartLight booth is an interactive light installation that uses a small pulse sensor to pick up your heartbeat and turn it into light. Each heartbeat travels through the fibre optics, lighting up the space in a rhythm that feels alive and personal. The idea came from noticing how easy it is to feel disconnected in our fast, tech-driven lives — this project slows people down, creating a private, reflective moment to reconnect with themselves.

Ayesha Ahmad

The Problem

We’re surrounded by technology that constantly pulls our attention outward — but not much of it helps us turn inward. Many people feel disconnected from their emotions and even from their own bodies. In a world designed for constant engagement, it’s become harder to simply pause, breathe, and feel present. This disconnection can make us feel detached, anxious, and overstimulated — even though we’re surrounded by technology that is meant to connect us.

The Exploration

What if we could see our heartbeat? What if a quiet, invisible rhythm could become something visible, calming, and poetic?
HeartLight explores how interaction design can support emotional awareness — not through screens or numbers, but through light and sensory experience. It’s based on the idea that seeing and feeling your heartbeat in real time can foster mindfulness, interoception (awareness of the body’s internal state), and emotional regulation.

The Gap

Most biofeedback systems focus on data and performance. There’s little space for emotion, poetry, or personal reflection in those experiences. HeartLight fills that gap by translating biometric data into an intimate, artistic interaction — one that helps people reconnect with their own rhythm.

How might we create an immersive, intimate installation that turns a person’s heartbeat into light and supports emotional awareness?
And how might seeing another person’s heartbeat through colour and rhythm shape our own rhythms and emotions?

Ayesha Ahmad

Design Process

Project Research

Research

My research explored how light, space, and biofeedback can support emotional awareness. Public spaces often focus on movement and visibility but rarely on stillness or reflection. I was drawn to the idea of public intimacy — creating small, personal moments within shared environments.

Projects like the Queen’s Baton and MIT’s aSpire use biofeedback through heartbeat and breath, but often miss emotional depth or privacy. Research on heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) shows it can help with calm and emotional regulation when presented through light instead of data.

Inspired by George Khut’s works, I wanted to design a more poetic experience — one that uses technology to reconnect people with their own rhythm rather than measure it.
Prototyping

Prototyping

I started sketching how the structure could come together — testing shapes, spacing, and materials to see what felt most balanced and inviting.

I built small prototypes using Arduino, NeoPixel LEDs, and fiber optics, just testing how the system could respond to a pulse in a way that felt natural. I played around with brightness, colour, and rhythm until the response moved more like a heartbeat instead of a machine.

These early tests helped me figure out the booth’s size, materials, and overall feel. It started to feel less like a setup and more like something that breathes with you.
Scaled down version

Scaled Model

Due to the fact that the full build was complex and required appropriate spacing and equipment and staff, I wasn’t able to complete the final version until closer to the exhibition. To still communicate the concept effectively, I decided to create a scaled-down model as a temporary solution.

The smaller version captured the structure, proportions, and interaction flow of the full installation. It helped demonstrate how the sensors, lighting, and enclosure would work together while still conveying the intended atmosphere and purpose of the project.
UI design

UI design

After user testing, I realised the original setup — a start button and separate pulse sensor — made the interaction feel overcomplicated. People weren’t sure when to press or lift their finger, and it broke the flow.

I changed the interface to a one-touch system so everything happens with a single gesture. It made the interaction more intuitive and reduced the cognitive load on the user — they just place their finger and watch the light respond.

To make the process even clearer, I used simple pictograms instead of text-heavy instructions and added a small loading heart bar so people know how long to keep their finger on the sensor. These small changes made the experience smoother, faster to understand, and more natural to use.

The result is a UI that feels effortless — guiding people without words and keeping their focus on the interaction itself.
sensor placement

Sensor placement

To get the one-touch interaction working properly, I had to test different ways of placing the sensors. The best setup ended up being the touch sensor on the back of the box and the pulse sensor on the top, both linked together.

I ran copper tape from the touch sensor to the front surface so it could trigger through the acrylic when users place their finger on the marked area. It took a bit of trial and error, but this layout made the interaction smooth and reliable — everything sits hidden inside, and the acrylic gives it a clean, finished look.

Design Response

HeartLight could be used in places designed for reflection and calm such as galleries, wellness spaces, hospitals, or waiting areas — anywhere people might need a quiet moment to pause. It offers a gentle, sensory way to reconnect with yourself through light and rhythm.

It’s a simple concept with flexible use — whether as an interactive artwork, a tool for mindfulness, or part of a therapeutic environment that helps people slow down and breathe.

Public intimacy is achieved by designing from the inside out…

Alexander Royfee

Ayesha Ahmad

Ayesha Ahmad is completing her Bachelor of Interaction Design at QUT. She enjoys creating experiences that bridge people and technology through thoughtful, user-centred design. Her work focuses on building meaningful interactions that feel human, intuitive, and emotionally engaging.