Master's Research
Designing for Sensory Joy in Public Spaces
My Master’s research investigates how design can support sensory regulation, stimulation, and joy in everyday environments, particularly for neurodivergent individuals.
I’m taking a neuroaffirmative approach, recently diagnosed with ASD, I’m operating with the understanding that sensory difference is treated as a lived condition that design can actively engage with, not a problem to be corrected or minimized.
This project reframes sensory difference as a design condition that should inform how objects behave, feel, and invite interaction.
The focus is on predictable, engaging, and self-directed sensory experiences rather than sensory avoidance.
Research Question:
How might objects support sensory regulation and sensory joy without becoming prescriptive, clinical, or instructional?
The research is not a single finished object. It consists of a growing body of sensory experiments and prototypes.
Experimentation, iteration, and reflection are considered research outputs in their own right.
The work so far has included extensive material exploration and sketching, as well as the development of several prototypes.
Sketchbook
The Hudson’s Bay Company Bankruptcy
Repurposing materials from the Hudson’s Bay Company Bankruptcy. The central downtown Montreal location turned out to be an incredible source of materials just waiting to be reimagined into new interactive objects.
Early material research that will inform final prototypes
