luminary

Inspiration

History tends to repeat itself. But it is difficult to break cycles if we cannot see where they began.

Humans can feel emotions, but we cannot sense where those emotions originated. Experiences, trauma, culture, and values are often passed down across generations, yet they remain invisible to us.

Our project imagines a new human sense: the ability to perceive emotional lineage across generations. Inspired by concepts like hiraeth, saudade, and anemoia which describe nostalgia for places or experiences we have never personally known, we designed Luminary to make the invisible visible.

Just as the quantified self movement helped people measure steps, sleep, and heart rate, Luminary explores the next frontier of self knowledge. It focuses on understanding our emotions and behaviours in the context of our history.

What it does

Luminary is a speculative tool that allows users to explore the core memories of their ancestors and perceive emotional lineage across generations.

The system introduces a new sensory interface that lets users:

Explore significant ancestral memories
Understand their emotions and behaviours through generational context
Build empathy for the experiences of those who came before them

The goal is emotional self awareness and generational healing.

By surfacing emotional lineage, users can:

Recognize inherited triggers and break harmful cycles
Reconnect with lost cultural roots
Experience how environments once looked and felt to their ancestors

How we built it

We designed Luminary as a speculative interface and interaction model using Figma.

The experience centres around exploring a galaxy of memories. Each memory represents a meaningful moment from an ancestor’s life. Users navigate this space and unlock memories to understand how past experiences shaped their lineage.

The interface focuses on:

Memory exploration through a constellation of ancestral memories
Contextual insight that connects memories to emotions and behaviours in the present
Sensory visualization that presents memories as immersive experiences rather than simple data

We also designed safeguards around privacy, consent, and responsible access to sensitive memories.

Luminary is designed primarily for young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 who are exploring identity, culture, and personal growth. It is especially relevant for people navigating generational trauma, diaspora, or cultural disconnection.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was designing for something that does not yet exist, a new human sense.

Because emotional lineage is intangible, we had to carefully consider how to visualize and interact with memories without overwhelming the user.

Another challenge was addressing the ethical implications of accessing ancestral experiences. Extra perception comes with responsibility, so we designed safeguards including:

Consent from ancestors before memories are shared
Protection from deepfakes or fraudulent memories
Content moderation and trigger warnings
Limits on repeated viewing to prevent misuse

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that Luminary presents a novel way of thinking about self knowledge.

Instead of measuring physical data like steps or sleep, the project explores how technology could help people understand their emotional and cultural history.

We are also proud of the narrative and user stories we developed to illustrate the impact of this new sense.

What we learned

This project taught us how difficult it is to design tools for intangible human experiences.

We learned the importance of grounding speculative technology in real human needs such as identity, healing, and empathy.

We also learned that new forms of perception require thoughtful safeguards to prevent harm while still empowering users.

What's next for luminary

Next, we would expand the Luminary experience by developing deeper interaction models for memory exploration and reflection.

Future iterations could include richer sensory visualization, more personalized insights, and additional tools that help users translate ancestral understanding into meaningful behavioral change.

The long term vision is a tool that helps people illuminate their past in order to decide who they want to be.