As wearable sensing technologies increasingly become part of everyday life, this thesis examines how jewelry and wearable design practices can use physiological data, particularly heart rate, to engage with grief and heartbreak. These emotions are approached as embodied, temporal, and non-linear states rather than conditions to be repaired, optimized, or resolved. In a contemporary context characterized by acceleration, efficiency, and continuous productivity, emotions are often expected to remain stable, hidden, or quickly regulated and suppressed. In response, this research argues for a repositioning of physiological data within emotional and wearable design, emphasizing its potential to support emotional presence rather than correction.
Drawing from somaesthetic design theory and affective computing frameworks related to emotional visualization and physiological feedback, this research develops a design-oriented framework for engaging with grief and heartbreak through wearable artifacts. Rather than treating physiological data as information to be interpreted or adjusted, the project explores how bodily signals such as heart rate can be translated into open-ended, non-instrumental interactions that allow emotions to be sensed, held, and experienced. Using a Research-through-Design methodology, the project involves the iterative making of wearable devices, reflective documentation of the design process, and the synthesis of insights across material, interaction, and experiential dimensions. The resulting framework offers guidance for designing biofeedback systems that prioritize emotional expression and release over optimization, attending to the relationship between the body, the wearable artifact, and emotional experience.
The importance of this research lies in its aim to provide a safe space for those experiencing grief, through this thesis and its accompanying wearable works, allowing emotions to be released and grief to exist without being forced toward resolution or repair.