Sage Rebello

MA Design Engineering

Blink

We're more connected than ever and somehow, lonelier than ever. For young adults navigating social anxiety or mental health struggles, the urge to open up is often stopped by one quiet fear: am I being too much? So we hold it in, and our most honest thoughts never quite find a place to land. Blink is an Augmented Reality (AR) experience built around that feeling. It turns the objects you already love, a favorite plushie, a lucky charm, a childhood trinket, into something alive. Something that actually listens. When you scan a comfort object, you unlock a little digital soul that's yours to grow and take care of.

Building a friendship with your Blink takes real nurturing:

Customization: Shape its personality and look to feel genuinely yours.
Active Nurturing: "Feed" it using computer vision, and check in on its mood through a dedicated calendar.
Honest Conversation: Talk to it in real time and actually feel heard, without the fear of being judged.

Instead of focusing on fixing yourself, you're focused on showing up for something else. And as your Blink learns to trust you, through your attention, your consistency, your care, you start to quietly learn to trust yourself too.

Project done in collaboration with Runan Wang MA 26 DE.