Presence

Inspiration

We were inspired by the idea that people can be physically present in a space, but mentally somewhere else. Today, many tools track focus, sleep, or productivity, but they do not really show whether we are truly present in a moment. We wanted to explore this invisible gap and design a tool that gently helps people return before they feel disconnected, overwhelmed, or embarrassed.

What it does

Presence is a speculative wellness tool that detects when a person’s mind starts to drift away from the moment they are in. It then gives a gentle and private cue through a wearable device, such as a watch, ring, or bracelet, to help them refocus. The app also shows reflections, presence patterns, and lived moments to help users better understand their attention and daily experience.

How we built it

We built Presence in Figma Make and focused on creating a calm and minimal experience. We designed the interaction around a soft return moment instead of a harsh notification. We used the firefly as our main visual metaphor because it represents a small light that gently guides you back. We also thought carefully about the interface, the emotional tone, and how the experience should feel supportive instead of stressful.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was making the idea feel speculative and future-forward, while still keeping it understandable and human. Since the concept is based on something invisible, it was sometimes difficult to show it clearly in the interface. We also had to be careful not to make it feel like a productivity tool or a surveillance tool. Finding the right balance between emotional storytelling and clear UX was an important challenge for us.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of

We are proud that we created a concept that feels both poetic and practical. We think the firefly metaphor gave the project a strong identity, and we are also proud of the calm visual language of the app. Another thing we are proud of is that the experience does not shame the user. Instead, it gently supports them and helps them return to the moment in a private way.

What we learned

We learned that designing for something invisible requires a lot of clarity and intention. We also learned that a strong concept is not enough on its own — the interaction model, emotional tone, and visual system all need to support the same idea. Through this project, we better understood how speculative design can still be grounded in real human needs.

What’s next for Presence

Next, we would like to expand Presence into a fuller system with more contexts, such as conversations, study environments, rest, and transition moments. We would also like to develop the wearable interaction more deeply and explore how the app could adapt to different emotional states with more care and sensitivity. In the future, Presence could become a more complete tool for helping people feel more connected to their daily lives.