Embrace
Embrace is a chair designed to comfort and ease anxiety during times of physical and social isolation.
Because of COVID-19 and physical isolation, my world has gotten colder
- Maja P, 34, lives alone
What the Experts Say
“Touch is far more essential than our other senses. It’s ten times stronger than verbal or emotional contact.”
— Saul Shanberg, neurologist at Duke University
“The right type of friendly touch—like hugging your partner or linking arms with a dear friend—calms your stress response down. [Positive] touch activates a big bundle of nerves in your body that improves your immune system, regulates digestion and helps you sleep well. It also activates parts of your brain that help you empathize.”
— Paul Zak, professor of economics, psychology, and management at Claremont Graduate University
“When we’re touched [in a positive way], a cascade of events happens in the brain and one of the important ones is the release of a neurochemical called oxytocin…That’s super valuable in a time of pandemic.”
— Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley
How the User Feels
An individual’s daily life during periods of physical isolation is lonely and full of anxiety. Virtual connection is not enough, leaving the individual more depleted and defeated knowing that their human contact is so limited.
How might we ease anxiety and provide comfort during times of physical isolation?
Moodboard
The form is inspired by Matisse and should feel analogous to intimate human touch.
Ideation Sketching
I began the ideation process by quickly sketching without boundaries to explore anxiety reducing activities and objects. Next I started to become more specific in my exploration process by sketching seating solutions for reducing anxiety in the comfort of one’s own home.
Ideation Modeling
Understanding the physical form of the seat and how the user would interact with it and feel while sitting in it was integral to the form exploration process.
Final Chair Model
This model was chosen for user analysis because it was the most versatile in form—the user could sit in many different positions while maintaining a high level of comfort.
The model became more simplified during the design process because the user reported too much visual interruption for a piece that should provide a sense of calm to their home.
I used this model and user observation to find the balance between physical and visual comfort.
User Observation & Analysis
Observed people sit & change positions for 30 minutes
Asked users how they cope with anxiety
Design Criteria
The chair should be a physical place of warmth & comfort, with a simple form and should be able to uphold as many positions as possible
The Embrace Chair
A chair that embraces the body, eases anxiety and raises the human spirit
Embrace has an organic, familiar form that creates a comforting space where the user can truly relax in its many curves and crevices. Embrace’s fuzzy and soft feeling provides tactile comfort while the user enjoys its warm hug
Embrace was modeled in Rhino3D and rendered in KeyShot
Skills
Design research
Ideation
Sketching
Rapid prototyping
3D modeling
Project management
Organization
Tools
Procreate
Photoshop
Illustrator
InDesign
Rhino3D
KeyShot
Duration
Coursework
Individual project
10 weeks