LET'S REFLECT!

Looking back at the entire semester, this journey has been far more transformative than I initially expected. At the beginning, I was only curious about emotions and visuals, but the topic gradually evolved into a structured inquiry grounded in theory, experimentation and continuous self-critique. Week by week, I found myself navigating between uncertainty and discovery — refining my thinking, questioning my assumptions and slowly shaping a clearer research direction.

One of the biggest learnings was the importance of rigorous reading. Earlier, I struggled to synthesise academic texts and found my pillars disconnected from my ideas. Through feedback, I realised that understanding the readings was essential to building a coherent research foundation. Picard, Ekman and others pushed me to articulate what emotional recognition, affective computing, generative art and design fiction mean in relation to each other and in relation to my project.

Another key development was my growth through experimental making. Across the seven experiments, I learned how each one taught me something new about emotion, interactivity and aesthetics. The experiments became conversations with my own work: each one revealed gaps, new possibilities and new questions. I also discovered how much I enjoy crafting systems that react to people. This affirmed my interest in developing more embodied, perceptual interactions.

Throughout the semester, the feedback I received from peers and Andres played a huge role in shaping my work. I learned to be more precise with terminology, more intentional with structure and more open to exploring conceptual depth. The iterative nature of this atelier pushed me to accept that not everything will be perfect on the first attempt, but that each version brings me closer to clarity.

HOPES FOR SEMESTER TWO

Looking ahead, I know there are key areas I want to strengthen:

① Deepening theoretical grounding — I need to read more, especially more on sensory design and emotional semiotics. This will help my dissertation and project to sit on a stronger intellectual foundation.

② Expanding emotional range — Most of my experiments focus on a small set of emotions. I will explore more nuanced emotional states in Semester Two.

③ Developing stronger physical interactions — I want to push the project beyond screen-based experiences. I want to explore physical sensors and touch-based triggers.

④ Refining presentation and documentation — I think there is a lot of room to improve the clarity of my topic and the aesthetics of the outcomes. I hope that I can find a consistent visual style in semester two.

Overall, this semester has been a process of grounding myself, learning to think critically, experiment rigorously and communicate clearly. Despite the uncertainty and occasional frustration, I am proud of how much I have grown and excited for the work lies in semester two. The next semester will be my opportunity to refine, deepen and transform these explorations into a cohesive and meaningful final year project.