Pathways

Inspiration

Every day we make small decisions that quietly shape our future wellbeing.

• Stay up late scrolling 📱 or sleep early 😴
  
• Spend money 💸 or save it 💰
  
• Study 📚 or procrastinate
  

These choices seem small in the moment, but their effects appear later:

• Late-night scrolling → poor sleep → low energy the next day
  
• Impulse purchases → reduced savings → financial stress
  
• Skipping study time → last-minute pressure before exams
  

The challenge is that we only understand these consequences after they happen.

Pathways explores a simple idea:

What if people could develop a new sense - the ability to perceive the ripple effects of decisions before making them?

What it does

Pathways introduces a speculative new sensory experience called
Future Consequence Awareness.

This sense allows users to perceive how a decision may ripple into the future.

When a decision is explored, Pathways reveals ripple pathways showing possible impacts on wellbeing:

• 🧠 Stress
  
• ⚡ Energy
  
• 😴 Sleep
  
• 🎯 Focus
  
• 💭 Emotional balance
  

For example:

• Scroll social media late → disrupted sleep → lower energy tomorrow
  
• Sleep early → rested mind → improved focus
  
• Save money → financial stability → reduced stress
  

Positive choices create stable ripple pathways, while risky decisions produce distorted patterns.

Pathways doesn't predict the future - it helps users reflect on how decisions may shape their wellbeing.

How we built it

Pathways was designed as a speculative product concept using Figma Make.

Process:

• 🧠 Defined the concept of Future Consequence Awareness
• 🎨 Designed interactions that let users explore decision pathways
• 🌊 Created ripple visualizations representing future wellbeing signals
• 🖥 Built an interactive prototype in Figma Make demonstrating the experience

The prototype shows how users could explore decisions and perceive their possible ripple effects.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges we faced included:

• Showing future consequences without overwhelming the user
• Designing a speculative sensing experience that still feels believable
• Communicating complex behavioral patterns through simple visuals

Balancing imagination with clarity was key.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that Pathways:

• Makes invisible decision consequences visible
• Introduces the idea of a new sensory awareness for future wellbeing
• Encourages more intentional everyday choices

The ripple pathway concept transforms abstract outcomes into clear visual signals.

What we learned

Through building Pathways we learned:

• How speculative design can explore new human senses
• The importance of clear storytelling in UX
• How small everyday decisions accumulate into long-term wellbeing outcomes

This project pushed us to imagine how future sensing technologies might change how we make decisions.

What's next for Pathways

Future versions of Pathways could integrate emerging sensing capabilities such as:

• ⌚ Wearable sensors detecting stress and energy signals
• 🤖 Predictive models simulating behavioral ripple effects
• 🌍 Environmental context awareness from daily routines

Our vision is to help people develop a new awareness of how everyday decisions shape their future wellbeing.

Built With

• figma