Safe and Sound
Exploring how sharing a feeling could help someone feel less alone.
48 hours · Team of five
Research and concept: team effort. Interactive prototype: my contribution.
01 / Starting point
The brief we started with
We had a weekend to explore how people share feelings when opening up feels difficult.
THE STARTING BRIEF
Single professionals in their 30s need a more authentic way to share their thoughts and emotions with friends and family.
Original handwritten brief, before interviews.
From a brief to better questions · Select a step
How might people share their thoughts and emotions more authentically with friends and family?
What we needed to learn
We translated our assumptions into questions about who people turned to, how sharing felt, and what support they hoped to receive.
Abha
Me
Tiffany
Vassali
Michelle
03 / Going outside
Listening to how people really shared
We went into Hong Kong cafés to ask people where they shared their feelings, what those experiences were like, and how they responded when friends shared something vulnerable.
people interviewed
Talking with people about sharing feelings and being heard.
Capturing what people told us.
Mapping interview observations together.
Interview sentiments
“Hong Kong is a judgemental space.”
“HK people just like criticizing others.”
“HK people are mean.”
04 / Rethinking the problem
Gaps between our assumptions and findings
Assumption
People would rather turn to AI for comfort than open up to family or friends.
↔
Findings
People wanted to express their feelings and feel heard, but feared judgment.
↓ WHAT CHANGED
From who people talk to → what makes sharing feel safe.
Insights from six exploratory interviews.
05 / First concept iteration
Exploring Treehole
Our first prototype used a tree as a place to confide—drawing on the Chinese online metaphor of a ‘treehole’ for sharing feelings anonymously.
Earlier forest direction
Reconstructed from memory. The original is unavailable; layout and copy are illustrative.
A private place to vent
Exploring a warmer welcome
⟶
Warmer Treehole iteration
Actual frame from the saved prototype
A more welcoming invitation
06 / Expressing the service concept
Putting the idea on a poster
After developing the letter concept, we captured it on a poster alongside ideas for a personalized blind box and a therapist response. The poster recorded the wider service we were considering beyond the on-screen experience.
Giving the echo a form
For us, an echo meant someone with similar feelings.
Making the experience tangible
I used our team’s pitch deck as the PRD for an interactive prototype built with Claude in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It brought together letter writing, the 50-word minimum, the spreading animation, and the blind-box interaction.
PROTOTYPING WITH AI
Design, build, reflect. Repeat.
A human-guided loop for turning design intent into an interactive prototype.
PRD / PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT
Research + context · Tone + emotional journey · User flow + visual direction
01 / DESIGNER + AI
Clarify
Set the goal, constraints and intended feeling. Surface assumptions and missing details.
brief
02 / AI-ASSISTED BUILD
Build
Turn the brief into screens and interactions. Make a working draft to respond to.
revised brief
Human judgment stays in the loop
AI builds. The designer directs and evaluates.
draft
04 / DESIGNER + AI
Refine
Translate feedback into specific changes. Update the brief and begin the next cycle.
feedback
03 / DESIGNER REVIEW
Review
Walk through the flow, language and states. Check clarity and label simulated features.
Each review informs the next prompt — the first output is a starting point.
Reconstructed workflow · A proposed process model, not a record of autonomous execution.
Explore the full prototype
What would you write to someone who understands?
Or try it right here →
A MODEL TO EXPLORE
Free connection, optional tangible care.
Free letters and replies offered a space to feel heard. An optional paid care package could help sustain the service.
OPTIONAL PAID UPGRADE
A moment for you
A personalized wellness package to extend care beyond the screen.
THE FREE FOUNDATION
A place to feel heard
Write a letter · Receive a reply · Connect through shared feelings.
Potential local partnerships
Wellness brands could contribute products and reach new customers.
Proposed model · Demand, package costs, margins, and partnerships remained unvalidated.
Other design decisions
01 / GUARDRAILS
SAFETY CHECK
Fraud or scams · Harmful content · Suicide or self-harm risk will be filtered by AI
02 / IDENTITY
Masking personal Data
@letter_writer_23
SHARED AS
Someone hearing you
03 / VISUAL LANGUAGE
Handwritten style Letter
Dear someone who understands,
Today felt heavy. It helps to know I’m not the only one.
Handwritten letter bodies sit within a clear, readable interface.
08 / What the weekend produced
A prototype to present—and questions to take forward
We brought the concept into the final presentation. By then, the work included our research, a proposed service, and an interactive prototype that made parts of the experience tangible.
Final playback, prototype demonstration, and collective reflection. Click the pages to browse.
What I would test next
01
Test the core idea
Do people understand an echo and the journey of a letter?
Walk through the prototype and ask people to explain what happened.
02
Tune the writing step
Does the 50-word minimum help reflection or make it harder to begin?
Compare writing thresholds and observe completion and hesitation.
03
Evaluate safer connection
Can screening and emotional matching support a safer exchange?
Evaluate moderation and matched letters, then test whether people feel understood.
The goal: learn whether expressing a feeling and finding someone who relates creates a sense of connection.