How to Knead Your Breath

Date

06 JUN 2025 19 JUN 2025

Week

Mini Brief 1

Unit

Final Major Project

Brief

Design an intervention that reshapes user-to-user interaction in public spaces.

In short

Questioned performance beyond fixed theatre time/place and audience barriers.
Mapped audience positives/negatives through love & breakup letters.
Next: define my UX stance, audience role, and everyday-space context.

This mini brief served as a preliminary stage before beginning the Final Major Project,
helping me explore potential themes and research directions.

Project Context

In earlier research, our group explored breath-based self-awareness and emotional grounding through The Elephant’s Trunk and Digital Bubble. As a personal development of that work, I wanted to shift my focus toward the subtle beauty of everyday breath and sensory awareness, which led to the creation of the Breath Knead Kit.

Analogue & Digital

Considered analogue and digital approaches, alongside ideas that ultimately weren’t taken forward. Image Credit: Author

The Elephant’s Trunk was an analogue prototype made from connected paper cups, allowing users to hear and become aware of their own breathing without any technology. Through this process, we realised that analogue methods alone could not sufficiently amplify bodily signals, which led us to Digital Bubble, an interactive workshop that visualised breathing through a microphone.

Despite this shift, I remained interested in designing breath-based experiences within the constraint of “minimal technology.” I wanted to test whether a sensory experience could still be created with the smallest possible technical intervention.

From Breath to Sand

Workshop idea: translating breathing into the tactile feel of sand. Image Credit: Author

I began by imagining breath translated into the flow of sand. Transforming an invisible bodily signal into tactile and olfactory materials seemed to open a new sensory pathway. I believed that the rhythm of gripping and releasing sand, the movement of fine particles, and the diffusion of lavender scent could help users feel their breath through entirely different senses. This became a tactile extension of the self-awareness explored in previous projects.

Strategically selected materials for prototyping. Image Credit: Author

Initially, I considered presenting loose sand, but practicality and portability became an issue. I shifted to a pouch format and replaced scented sand with easily available bath salts. Lavender was chosen for its calming effect. This allowed the kit to remain simple, mobile, and suitable for everyday use.

Final Kit

A kit designed to help regain calm through the 5–5 breathing method. Image Credit: Author

The pouch was designed to be kneaded like dough and is accompanied by a short video that guides users through the 5-5 breathing method. Users can follow the video or interact with the pouch freely while regulating their breath. After use, a subtle lavender scent remains on the hands, gently closing the experience.

User testing generated suggestions on scents, sizes, and use-case extensions. Ideas included tea-inspired scents, travel-sized versions, or designs tailored for specific body areas such as the wrists. Some users proposed adding warmth to the pouch, but microwave testing revealed that the fabric burned easily, indicating a need for safer materials and clear usage instructions.

User test in progress. Video Credit: Author

Breath Knead Kit “We Knead Breath” – a soothing meditation kit that helps regulate breathing through calming scents. Video Credit: Author

Feedback

Feedback highlighted the clarity of the breath–tactile–visualisation structure and the effectiveness of using minimal elements. However, some participants wanted a clearer explanation of the connection between breathing and kneading, and noted that shifting focus toward scent and touch made the “rhythm” of breathing slightly less prominent. Suggestions included exploring softer materials such as gel or silicone, visualising emotions by changing colour according to breath patterns, and developing a co-design workshop where users choose materials, scents, and forms.

There were also comments about situating the tool within real-world contexts—such as therapy rooms or school counselling spaces—to strengthen its relevance. The idea of applying it through the lens of the Window of Tolerance was also raised.

Overall, the feedback confirmed that while the core concept of breath-based self-soothing is strong, it can be expanded into participatory workshop formats where users co-create their own sensory tools.

Reference