PULSE.
I framed the need for a screen-free meditation aid and turned it into PULSE, a palm-sized breathing guide. My role covered ergonomic form studies around the Dhyana Mudra grip and successive CAD iterations to achieve a hand-nestling geometry; detailing the internal stack of twin LRAs, microcontroller, USB-C charging, and fasteners in an exploded view and drawings; and fabricating 3D-printed appearance prototypes to validate hand-feel and refine details ahead of functional builds.
May 6, 2025
LENGTH
10 weeks
LENGTH
10 weeks
LENGTH
10 weeks
Role
Solo
Role
Solo
Role
Solo
Service
Industrial Design | Product Design
Service
Industrial Design | Product Design
Service
Industrial Design | Product Design
Feel Stillness: Pulse transforms meditation into a tactile ritual. Through vibration synchronized with breathing, it helps users anchor attention and rediscover calm through touch on an orb that guides breath and attention with haptic “heartbeats.”
Feel Stillness: Pulse transforms meditation into a tactile ritual. Through vibration synchronized with breathing, it helps users anchor attention and rediscover calm through touch on an orb that guides breath and attention with haptic “heartbeats.”
Feel Stillness: Pulse transforms meditation into a tactile ritual. Through vibration synchronized with breathing, it helps users anchor attention and rediscover calm through touch on an orb that guides breath and attention with haptic “heartbeats.”
Challenge: Modern meditation lacks physical connection.
In a world of wellness apps and screen-based mindfulness, meditation has become another digital task—tracked but rarely felt. Research revealed a growing disconnect between intention and experience: people understand mindfulness conceptually, but lack a physical anchor to embody it. Pulse began as an inquiry into how design could restore ritual to this practice.
Challenge: Modern meditation lacks physical connection.
In a world of wellness apps and screen-based mindfulness, meditation has become another digital task—tracked but rarely felt. Research revealed a growing disconnect between intention and experience: people understand mindfulness conceptually, but lack a physical anchor to embody it. Pulse began as an inquiry into how design could restore ritual to this practice.
Challenge: Modern meditation lacks physical connection.
In a world of wellness apps and screen-based mindfulness, meditation has become another digital task—tracked but rarely felt. Research revealed a growing disconnect between intention and experience: people understand mindfulness conceptually, but lack a physical anchor to embody it. Pulse began as an inquiry into how design could restore ritual to this practice.
Solution: A tactile ritual for stillness.
Pulse reimagines meditation as a physical dialogue between user and object. Its rhythmic thumper translates breath into gentle vibration, creating a synchronized loop of awareness. The orb’s curvature supports the natural hand posture of dhyāna mudra—turning the act of holding into an act of centering. Crafted from wood and polymer, its warmth and weight remind users that mindfulness can be both human and material.
Solution: A tactile ritual for stillness.
Pulse reimagines meditation as a physical dialogue between user and object. Its rhythmic thumper translates breath into gentle vibration, creating a synchronized loop of awareness. The orb’s curvature supports the natural hand posture of dhyāna mudra—turning the act of holding into an act of centering. Crafted from wood and polymer, its warmth and weight remind users that mindfulness can be both human and material.
Solution: A tactile ritual for stillness.
Pulse reimagines meditation as a physical dialogue between user and object. Its rhythmic thumper translates breath into gentle vibration, creating a synchronized loop of awareness. The orb’s curvature supports the natural hand posture of dhyāna mudra—turning the act of holding into an act of centering. Crafted from wood and polymer, its warmth and weight remind users that mindfulness can be both human and material.
Studying how form and gesture can restore meditation’s sense of ceremony.
Studying how form and gesture can restore meditation’s sense of ceremony.
Studying how form and gesture can restore meditation’s sense of ceremony.
Insight 1: Beyond guided meditation.
Unlike meditation apps that rely on screens and sound, Pulse brings mindfulness into the body. Its rhythmic haptics eliminate digital noise and make stillness tactile.
Insight 1: Beyond guided meditation.
Unlike meditation apps that rely on screens and sound, Pulse brings mindfulness into the body. Its rhythmic haptics eliminate digital noise and make stillness tactile.
Insight 1: Beyond guided meditation.
Unlike meditation apps that rely on screens and sound, Pulse brings mindfulness into the body. Its rhythmic haptics eliminate digital noise and make stillness tactile.
Prototyping balance—weight, warmth, and edge curvature tuned to evoke calm.
Prototyping balance—weight, warmth, and edge curvature tuned to evoke calm.
Prototyping balance—weight, warmth, and edge curvature tuned to evoke calm.
Insight 2: Designed for embodiment, not engagement.
Traditional devices distract users with interfaces. Pulse’s closed form and subtle vibration restore focus to touch—replacing interaction with presence.
Insight 2: Designed for embodiment, not engagement.
Traditional devices distract users with interfaces. Pulse’s closed form and subtle vibration restore focus to touch—replacing interaction with presence.
Insight 2: Designed for embodiment, not engagement.
Traditional devices distract users with interfaces. Pulse’s closed form and subtle vibration restore focus to touch—replacing interaction with presence.
Finding the right heartbeat: low-frequency pulses that breathe with you.
Finding the right heartbeat: low-frequency pulses that breathe with you.
Finding the right heartbeat: low-frequency pulses that breathe with you.
Insight 3: Calm engineered through craft.
Competing meditation aids feel gadget-like or decorative. Pulse’s warmth, weight, and material honesty elevate calm into a physical ritual you can return to daily.
Insight 3: Calm engineered through craft.
Competing meditation aids feel gadget-like or decorative. Pulse’s warmth, weight, and material honesty elevate calm into a physical ritual you can return to daily.
Insight 3: Calm engineered through craft.
Competing meditation aids feel gadget-like or decorative. Pulse’s warmth, weight, and material honesty elevate calm into a physical ritual you can return to daily.
A phone-free ritual that fits anywhere.
A phone-free ritual that fits anywhere.
A phone-free ritual that fits anywhere.
Outcome: Pulse reframes mindfulness as design for ritual—using form, vibration, and material to create a rhythm users return to every day. It doesn’t gamify calm or quantify stillness; it humanizes it. Each interaction is an act of presence—subtle, sensory, and deeply personal.
Outcome: Pulse reframes mindfulness as design for ritual—using form, vibration, and material to create a rhythm users return to every day. It doesn’t gamify calm or quantify stillness; it humanizes it. Each interaction is an act of presence—subtle, sensory, and deeply personal.
