Resonance Multisensory Interaction
Samsung Exhibition at Milan Design Week - inviting visitors to make art with "everyday behaviours"
Overview
We collaborated with Samsung to present the “Resonance” exhibition, which explored the dialogue between the analog and digital worlds. The immersive experience allowed visitors to engage with technology in a way that transformed how they see, hear, and feel, reflecting Samsung’s design philosophy: “Be Bold. Resonate with Soul.”
The exhibition highlighted the intersections of life and technology beyond the screen, creating intuitive, human-centric experiences that resonated with observers. Each exhibit invited guests to interact with real objects through natural/daily behaviors like breathing, speaking, and touching, without relying on digital applications.
As part of a design team of 6, my role focused on early design exploration, prototyping, and iterating on concepts for interaction design and installations.
My Role
Design Research, Conceptual Development, Interaction Design
Awards
RED DOT 2019
Client
Samsung Corporate Design Center
Category
Immersive Experience
Interaction Design
Timeline
- Concept Design & Bid:
Nov - Dec 2018 (5 weeks)
- Design Optimization & Testing: Jan - April 2019
- Exhibition:
9th - 14th April 2019
Team
VAVE Germany & Shanghai Teams (6 Designers, 1 Director, 1 Project Manager, 1 Engineer)
Location
Milan, Italy
Size
Exhibition Area 423 sqm
Outdoor Area 138 sqm
Design Process
In a design agency, concept design for bids often requires a fast turnaround, sometimes within just a few weeks or even 1 week, to develop a complete concept design or mock-ups for the pitch. If the bid is successful, the design then moves into refinement and iteration before final implementation.
For this project, we spent 5 weeks on early design exploration and completed the entire concept design, ultimately winning the bid. Starting in January 2019, we worked closely with Samsung’s design team to refine and iterate on the design.
The Challenges
One of the main challenges we faced was balancing creative exploration with Samsung’s design philosophy while managing tight time and budget constraints. We needed to incorporate cutting-edge technology while delivering innovative interactions, all within the project’s limitations.
All the concepts we were entirely innovative, with no market benchmarks to reference, so we had to navigate ambiguity and rapidly test mock-ups to achieve the best possible design outcomes.
One particularly interesting challenge was sourcing an affordable material for the “Dandelion” interactive installation—specifically, the metallic-colored Hoberman sphere that met both our design and budget requirements.
We tested numerous models, but none quite fit the bill. Then unexpectedly, I found the perfect material at a very low cost on TAOBAO, which we ultimately shipped to Europe. Thanks to Alibaba, this saved the project a significant amount of money and allowed us to stay on track.
