Activity 2

Activity 3

Research Activity

WGSN Consumer Trend Research

Across Cute Tech, Emotive Lighting, and Multi-sensory Design, a common trend emerges — design is shifting from purely functional or aesthetic products to emotionally responsive and sensorially rich experiences. Cute Tech explores how soft forms, playful interactivity, and approachable design language can foster emotional connection and comfort in technology. Emotive Lighting focuses on using light as an expressive medium, allowing products to communicate mood and empathy through dynamic illumination. Multi-sensory Design expands this idea by engaging multiple senses—touch, sight, sound, and scent—to create immersive, intuitive interactions that blur the boundary between the physical and digital worlds. Together, these trends highlight consumers’ growing desire for products that feel alive, respond to their presence, and offer a deeper, more personal connection through emotional and sensory engagement.

WGSN Personas Research

Across the three personas, a clear pattern emerges: consumers increasingly value products that provide emotional resonance, sensory engagement, and personal meaning. The Conscious Individual seeks privacy, trust, and sustainability, favoring soft colors, premium or natural materials, and designs that communicate comfort and ethical responsibility. In contrast, The Energisers are drawn to vibrant pastels, playful textures, and interactive, multi-sensory experiences that evoke joy and curiosity. Together, these personas highlight the importance of designing technology that balances emotional connection, aesthetic appeal, and tactile or interactive engagement, offering opportunities for 3D printed wearable projects that are visually pleasing, sensorially rich, and emotionally resonant.

HMI Research

Through the exploration of WGSN’s tech trends and personas, four key Human–Machine Interaction (HMI) opportunities were identified. The research reveals that future users seek emotional, sensory, and ethical engagement rather than purely functional technology. From Cute Tech, the need for emotionally warm and trust-building design emerges, suggesting opportunities to humanize wearable technology through playful aesthetics. Multi-sensory Design highlights the potential to create more immersive experiences by integrating tactile, light, and motion responses. Meanwhile, The Conscious Individual emphasizes emotional reassurance and sustainability, encouraging the use of soft lighting and eco-friendly materials to evoke safety and calm. Finally, The Energisers inspire the use of vivid colors and interactive textures to stimulate joy and participation. Together, these insights frame a design direction for 3D-printed wearable devices that balance emotion, interaction, and sustainability—connecting technology to human feeling on a deeper level.

Project Path

I am more inclined toward the **Design Path** because I enjoy creating tangible, functional objects that connect emotion and technology. I prefer **collaborative work**, as teamwork encourages diverse ideas and creative problem-solving. Based on my WGSN research, user personas, and HMI studies, I plan to explore two project directions: a **wearable interactive object** that expresses emotion through light or motion, and a **3D-printed illuminated piece** that promotes calmness and focus through multisensory interaction. Both aim to merge digital fabrication, interactivity, and emotional design.