Concept
The Heartbeat Lamps explore emotional connection through responsive lighting. Designed to bridge physical distance between loved ones, the system transmits one person’s heartbeat in real time; captured via a handheld ‘pebble’ lamp and translated into a pulsing light within a larger companion lamp. The result is a poetic, sensory expression of presence, allowing users to feel close even when far apart. This project reimagines lighting not just as a functional product, but as an intimate medium for communication and care.
Process
Craftsmanship and technology were brought together in this collaborative project, combining handmaking with embedded electronics to create an object that feels both tactile and intelligent. The making process included wood turning, glass blowing, and digital fabrication; each requiring a high level of precision and an understanding of material response.
Sensor integration and coding were developed in tandem with the physical form to ensure the interaction remained seamless and unobtrusive. Careful attention was given to how the heartbeat signal could be translated into light in a way that felt natural, calming, and emotionally resonant.
Working collaboratively with designer Sophie Nather, the project was shaped through an iterative process of exchange, testing, and refinement, with ongoing dialogue helping to resolve challenges around interface, sensitivity, and build quality. The result is a system that embodies both technical care and emotional subtlety.
Outcome & Reflection
The finished lamps retain a quiet elegance. The pebble transmitter is soft and smooth in the hand, while the larger lamp emits a pulsing glow; mirroring the rhythm of another person’s heartbeat. Every decision, from material choice to sensor placement, was made to preserve the poetic clarity of the interaction.
This project reinforces the power of design as a medium for emotion, storytelling, and sensory presence. The challenge of merging handcrafted aesthetics with embedded technology highlighted the value of working across disciplines, and the need for empathy not just in what is designed, but how it is experienced.
It also revealed how intimacy and interactivity can coexist; where form and function support one another, and where the object becomes a conduit for something deeply human: connection across distance. In an increasingly digital world, Heartbeat offers a quiet reminder that design can reintroduce warmth, softness, and meaning into our relationships with technology.
Skills Used
- Wood turning
- Glass blowing
- Digital fabrication (laser cutting, CNC)
- Sensor-based interaction design
- Arduino programming and electronics
- Collaborative prototyping
- Material research
- Lighting design
- User experience & emotional interaction mapping