Ambient Tangibles
A family of tangible objects that render ambient data as light, texture and motion at the periphery of attention.
Ambient Tangibles explores how physical objects can communicate slow, background information without demanding focused attention. The project proposes a design vocabulary for calm, peripheral interaction.
How can everyday physical objects express digital information calmly, without competing for a person’s focused attention?
We conducted contextual studies in homes and studios, mapped moments of ambient awareness, and iterated through low- and high-fidelity material prototypes.
Prototypes combined addressable lighting, shape-changing surfaces and subtle motion, tested in situated week-long deployments with participants.
A set of design principles for calm tangible feedback and a working toolkit of peripheral display modules for future research.
Karyafe Lab, Department of Design, IIT Kanpur — 2026
For enquiries about this project, contact Karyafe Lab at karyafe@iitk.ac.in.