How individual acts of digital self augmentation are contributing to a larger collective experience and altering the relationship with our physical appearance?
TOPICS:
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Posthumanism and the Body
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Kinetic and Interactive Art
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Inorganic vs organic
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dark UX
METHODOLOGIES AND AIMS:
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Culture probes + focus group
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Live reactive AI connected camera with Touchdesigner
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Simulating a living body using soft robotics and air pums
FINAL TOPIC:
How digital augmentation tools contribute to the idealisation of the atificial body
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Let’s identify the Topic and Problem
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Topic research and insights
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Desire for authentic interpersonal relationships in this era of digital communication
Song, F.W., 2021
InterVarsity Press
Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age
culture probe #2 - workshop
I then provided participants with clay and asked them to express these feelings of transformation and desire onto the material. This hands-on approach allowed them to physically manifest their thoughts on body modification, offering insights into how they perceive and interact with their own bodies, and how they envision reshaping them.
I created a workshop to explore the connection people have with their bodies, observing how malleable they wish their forms could be. Participants engaged in activities that involved transferring flesh from one area to another, smoothing, expanding, sharpening, and rounding—revealing a deep desire to reshape and control their physical appearance in ways that reflect both personal and societal ideals.
Culture Probe #1
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User Persona and Interaction Storyboard
Yiqian Zhang
“ Even though I really want to catch up with my friends back home, sometimes I pick up my phone but end up not sending any messages. I wish we could just send each other something like a satellite signal so we know that we’re doing alright on our side without feeling the mental pressure for a proper chat.”
Demographics
Age
Nationality
Occupation
Location
Time abroad
She/her
China
International student
Royal College of Art
2nd year
Connections
TikTok
Other
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Frustrations
Long building up process and not enough energy for a real catch up. Connection frictions caused by distance and time
Goals
Better connection with friends back home
Creative ways to share experience with friends
Distributed effort for a long lasting connection
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Topic research and insights
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer experience
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer experience
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer experience
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Investigating the Feedback Loop Between the Physical Body and Its Digital Image Through Kinetic Sculpture and AI
This project investigates the cyclical interplay between the human body and its digital image, where each continuously reshapes the other. As physical form becomes increasingly malleable—edited, filtered, and modified to match virtual ideals—we move toward a denatured, image-driven self.
The installation will embody this loop as a kinetic sculpture controlled by AI, a restless alter ego caught in endless transformation, mirroring our collective compulsion to conform and evolve.
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To achieve this the sculpture is made from a metal frame housing a silicone body with hollow air pockets inside made using soft robotics techniques, origami and pattern making. They are connected to air pumps in order to manipulate the shape and size of the body. In front of the sculpture is a screen with a camera pointing at the ever evolving form.
Using an artificial intelligence program onto the live footage to simulate a hive mind interpretation of the body, confining an inorganic artefact to what an artificially simulated society demands of it.
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Installation Concept
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Prototyping
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How to make movement
I began by exploring how a flat 2D plane could evolve into a 3D form, drawing inspiration from the simplicity and versatility of paper manipulation.
I explored how silicone behaves as a material—how it casts, expands, and responds to form—allowing me to experiment with its flexibility.
Building on this, I transitioned to using pre-curved moulds to create three distinct shapes intended for inflation. To bring these forms to life, I crafted two-part moulds out of clay and cast them in silicone, allowing for soft, flexible structures.
different behaviour - one object
I observed that the thickness of the silicone significantly influenced its ability to expand, prompting me to experiment further. To create more complex and expressive forms, I combined the original paper structures as internal cages with thin layers of silicone in between, forming expandable pockets.
This method brought me closer to achieving shapes that behaved and appeared more organic and fleshlike, aligning closely with the project's exploration of bodily transformation and material embodiment.
Choosing the right materials
Different materials have diferent properties, even a diferent brand of silicone behaves uniquely to others. I tested ( much my fianancial downfall ) many different types to find one that is both super strechy but strong, sets slow enough to make the shape in the mold, can be colored ect.
I the proccess I learned the exact diference between siolicone, rubber,
object transformation
By manipulating the thickness of the silicone within a single shape through multiple stages of pouring the sillicone, I was able to create transforming forms—shifting from a rigid cube to a fluid sphere. This technique visually represented another way bodies can change, emphasizing the fluidity and adaptability of physical form in response to internal and external forces.
Modular elements
At this stage, I focused on making these objects modular and stackable, allowing for a greater sense of versatility and interaction.
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Mechanical design
Modular elements
At this stage, I focused on making these objects modular and stackable, allowing for a greater sense of versatility and interaction.
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AI Stable Diffusion in Touchdesigner
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Degree show
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How to make movement
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
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Solving the crisis of immediacy: How digital technology can transform the customer
Check out my other work
FABRIC REPAIR
Reintroduce mending to the current product cycle through a design system in a social space.
VR x AI
A collaborative project that aims to look at the intersection of VR and AI.
Sillicone body
An Experience Design installation as part of my Degree work at RCA Information Experience Design.
Let’s Connect
I'm always open to new opportunities, collaborations, or just a friendly chat. Whether you have a project in mind or simply want to say hello, feel free to reach out via email or through the form below. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!
kalinapanova21@gmail.com
+359895271594
E26PF London