Making Emotional Connection Tangible

Coalesce - my bachelor’s thesis, is a concept and product that should help redefining long-distance relations. Coalesce works with the layering of unconscious communication through a wearable device to a more conscious communication through an app that can be connected to a sex toy.

Course
Bachelor’s Thesis 2019
Porsche Design

Challenge

On the basis of already existing brand values and marketing strategic goals product ideas should be generated and processed. Hereby the aim was to seek for solutions with innovative character, which incorporate the demands and requirements of a transforming society and satisfy in terms of intellectuality and sustainability. By analyzing the brand values it became more and more important to also focus on implementing more sensitivity regarding gender connected to design and how to find a more emotional approach towards the brand.

Outcome

My approach to reach this concentrated on future communication technology and dealing with these, such as the arising question of how to make these technologies tangible in an emotional way, how to make them more empathetic and accessible to us and others which we desire to be near us and interact on a physical and haptical level. Through an interdisciplinary workshop context-related topics could be further understood and mentioned in order to define innovative solutions.

Through my workshop, research and co-creation session, I designed a wearable that seamlessly interacts with the Coalesce app. The users can decide on how they want to wear it depending on their preferences. Originally the idea was to design a sex toy, as women are becoming increasingly empowered around sex and many toys on the market were designed from a male perspective or are just flowery and cute. As sex and toys shift away from being a taboo topic awareness and conversation should still be created.

Within my research and espeacially the workshop it showed that there is a huge potential in focusing on emotional intimacy and shifting the sex toy more to the background. The design itself was a result of personal user testing and analyzing current products from the market.

The Coalesce System

Coalesce tries to make emotional connection tangible even over long distances and hereby enable couples to interact, also in these busy times we are living in. Even though we are thinking of each other we do not always take the time to contact each other. With the wearable this is no longer a problem, as with a touch it is possible to send a touch, or a message or the other way round. The app is needed to offer a space where thoughts can be shared and appointments can be defined, as planning quality time together also potentially lets the partners struggle in long distance relationships.

There can be codes defined and used as a very secret and intimate love code only you and your partner know.
This offers a concept all about being together, when being apart and still communicating in the best way possible.

During the co-creation phase it became very clear, that the sex toy will no longer be center of attention and therefore is only the last layer of the concept. In principle the original idea was that within the app it is possible to communicate in a way of controlling the other persons toy by changing the pace of the vibration or deciding which position will be the one they are going to try out when seeing each other again.

1

Shows the connection from wearable to wearable and how these two are bonding directly and can send a little touch to your partner by touching it so she knows you are thinking of him or her.

2

Reactions on the wearable can also be achieved by using the app and sending a secret message which can appear as touch or lighting.

3

Number three works like number two just the other way round. By for example pressing the wearable two times it could mean to send your partner a massage on her phone.

4

This assett gives you the full control on your partners arousal as you can change intensity.

5

Everything is connected to your heartrate, so if you don‘t want to have the app and therefore the pace in your hands the toys can also react to your partners heartrate and go faster or slower depending on your partners heart rate.

Layers of Concept
The concept is meant to operate in several layers, from unconsciously to consciously.

We touch the wearable unconsciously but using our phone to text is a different way of communicating, sending a message.

Walkthrough

 Brand

Company

Porsche Design, mainly seen as a lifestyle-brand on a higher price level was analyzed and it turned out that Porsche Design has its problems in comprehensible positioning its brand from a costumer viewing point and lacks of a consequent adaption of the adaption of the mother brands values and brand codes.

Sensitivity

The question about future communication and how machines will develop towards being more emotional was crucial. But another reason to deal with a very sensitive topic was seen as a provocation towards the brand values and the misconception or stigmatization found in sex toys.

Gender + Design

By aiming to develop a concept that can make the brand value more emotional, it became fundamental to challenge and question heteronormativity and how gender is used and seen in the design world.

Workshop

The workshop held changed a lot in the way the whole concept was thought to be and showed again how important it is to involve those who are potentially affected by a certain matter. It was assumed that sex sells and that it is one of the biggest problems in long distance relationships. But the fact was that also young people who are growing up in this fully sexualized society feel the need of closeness and emotional intimacy rather than sexual fulfilment.
This taken as the core point of the workshop lead to reframing the concept and take the participants wants, needs and wishes into account, as it seemed so much more important to have a possibility to feel your partner.