AWARD YEAR
2023
CATEGORY
Body
GOALS
Balance Human & Artificial Intelligence, Trust, Tolerance & Empathy
KEYWORDS
design fiction, Speculative Design, Psychotherapy, emotional design
COUNTRY
Germany
DESIGNED BY
Yanru Chen
WEBSITE
https://yanruchen.com
NOT THE LAST HUG
Weighted hugging objects to combat loneliness
How does it work?
I was inspired by the psychological Tiefer Druck Therapie and the Lagerungstechnik concept of the weighted blanket, where the right amount of pressure would make it possible to reconstruct intimate emotions and make the set of physical objects a suitable vehicle.
Why is it needed?
people are tired of the goodbyes and loneliness that have become the norm in life and are becoming unbearable. In this speculative future and scenario, the emergence of a hug can somewhat simulate a part of intimacy and fill an emotional void. As hugs are often seen as the most powerful and warming act in a relationship, this became the focus of my design.
How does it improve life?
Interacting with the weighted physical objects of Not the last hug rekindles personal connections.The partings in the everyday life of a future society are repositioned and reimagined. Attention is drawn to the missing emotions: hug the people you are close to, miss and love before saying goodbye. Global feeling transcends gender, age, ethnicity, skin colour and culture. Shared memories and experiences are reshaped, subjective experiences revitalise our thinking about relationships in the present.