STORYTELLING¶

Mindmap – Storytelling „Ocean Breath“¶

CENTER: OCEAN BREATH — A Living Interface¶

Biofabricated Wearable / Sargassum / Body–Ocean Interface

1. THE TOUCH (Opening / Emotion)¶

Unexpected contact¶

beeing in water
something touches your skin
unknown / alive / organic
instinctive body reaction

Vulnerability¶

naked body in water
exposed skin
no protection
fragility of the human body

Awareness¶

discomfort → attention
moment of awakening
the ocean is not distant
the ocean touches you

Intention¶

recreate this moment
design as wake-up call
provoke awareness
make environmental crisis tangible

2. THE BODY¶

Intimacy¶

the body as sensing interface
skin as sensory boundary
personal / intimate experience

Breathing¶

lungs expanding & contracting
breath as internal rhythm
breathing as life system

Shared rhythm¶

breath in / breath out
ocean tides
biological rhythm vs environmental rhythm

Vulnerability¶

breath = fragile system
dependency on environment
fragility of life systems

3. THE PROBLEM (Context)¶

Sargassum crisis¶

massive seaweed blooms
Caribbean coast / Mexico
ecological disruption
tourism impact
local communities affected

Environmental imbalance¶

climate change
nutrient pollution
shifting ocean systems

Duality¶

pollutant
resource
excess
opportunity

4. MATERIAL¶

Sargassum¶

marine organism
floating seaweed
invasive accumulation
renewable biological material

Biofabrication¶

growing materials
casting / molding
experimental material processes

Material qualities¶

thin
fragile
translucent
organic texture
living aesthetics

5. THE PROJECT¶

Ocean Breath¶

Interactive biofabricated wearable¶

Placement
chest
on lungs
vital organs

Interface¶

body ↔ ocean
biology ↔ technology
material ↔ sensing

6. TECHNOLOGY¶

Sensors¶

breath
soft movement

Interaction¶

motion

Philosophy¶

Technology acts as a mediator between body & material.
Technology enables dialogue between body and biomaterial.
The digital layer amplifies the material’s presence.
The system respects the autonomy of the biomaterial.
Technology becomes a tool for ecological awareness.
Sensors reveal the rhythms shared by body & biomaterial.
Technology becomes an interface for embodied awareness.
Technology as mediator

7. THE EXPERIENCE¶

Wearing¶

body hosts marine material
intimate contact with biomaterial

Sensory experience¶

touch
movement
breathing awareness

Embodied awareness¶

environmental systems become physical
crisis becomes personal

8. DESIGN INTENTION¶

Wake-up moment¶

discomfort as awareness
design as reflection

Reframing waste¶

excess → resource
pollution → material narrative

Speculative design¶

body as ecological interface
human ↔ ocean relationship

9. FINAL MESSAGE¶

Human & Ocean Connection¶

shared rhythms
shared vulnerability

Ecological awareness¶

environmental systems affect our bodies

Closing thought¶

we need to be touched
to understand our fragility

VIDEO STRUCTURE¶

VIDEO 1: CONTEXT + VIDEO 2: EXPERIENCE¶

VIDEO 1 – CONTEXT (3 min)¶

The Touch
The Breath
The Problem
Material
Biofabrication
The Project
Message

VIDEO 1 — CONTEXT (3 min)¶

Ocean Breath — A Living Interface¶

THE TOUCH¶

Body & Vulnerability¶

"Imagine swimming in the ocean. Bare skin in open water. No protection. Just skin, water, and breath. And then — suddenly — something touches your skin. Instantly your body reacts. You become aware. Aware of time. Aware of your surroundings. You feel vulnerable. Not because it hurts — but because it reminds you how exposed your body is. Our breathing slows. Our body listens. In that moment, you realize: you are not alone in this environment."

THE BREATH¶

Intimacy / Lungs / Breathing¶

"Breathing is one of the most intimate things our body does. It happens quietly, constantly, without us noticing. With every inhale, air enters our body and spreads through the lungs, reaching thousands of tiny air sacs deep inside us. A process so essential that we cannot stop it for long. Something from the outside world becomes part of our inner system — without us even being aware of it. A silent movement between outside and inside. A fragile exchange that keeps us alive."

Rhythm¶

"Our bodies live through rhythm. Breath in. Breath out. The ocean moves in rhythms too. Currents. Tides. Waves. When we enter the water, these rhythms begin to meet. Our breathing slows. Our lungs expand. Our body floats. For a moment, the rhythm of the body & the rhythm of the ocean become closely connected."

THE PROBLEM¶

"Along the Caribbean coast of Mexico, this relationship is changing. Massive amounts of Sargassum seaweed wash ashore every year. These blooms disrupt marine ecosystems, affect tourism, & impact local communities. Sargassum exists in a contradiction. It is often perceived as pollution. But it is also a biological resource. An excess material with untapped potential.

THE MATERIAL¶

My project begins with the material itself. Sargassum is a floating marine organism — a renewable biological material. Through material research, I explore how this seaweed can be transformed into biofabricated structures. Thin surfaces. Fragile textures. Translucent layers. Materials that still carry the organic aesthetics of the ocean.

THE BIOFABRICATION¶

Through biofabrication, living materials become part of the design process. Instead of extracting resources, we work with biological systems & their natural properties. Through casting, molding, & experimental processes, Sargassum becomes a new design medium. The material remains soft, fragile, & irregular — reminding us that biological materials behave differently than industrial ones.

THE PROJECT — OCEAN BREATH¶

Ocean Breath translates this moment of contact into a wearable experience. The object is placed on the human chest, close to the lungs & vital organs. It becomes an interface between the human body & the ocean. Sensors detect the rhythm of breathing. Gentle movements translate these internal rhythms into subtle physical motion. Technology does not control the material. Instead, it acts as a mediator between body & biomaterial. The digital layer amplifies the presence of the living material and reveals the rhythms shared by body and ocean.

THE EXPERIENCE¶

When wearing the object, the body becomes a temporary host for a marine material. Environmental systems become physical. The crisis is no longer distant — it is felt on the body.

THE MESSAGE¶

Ocean Breath proposes a different relationship between body, material, and environment. One where technology listens and design creates dialogue with living systems. Because sometimes we need to be touched to understand how fragile our systems are.

VIDEO 2 – EXPERIENCE (30 sec)¶

Body
Breath
Wearable
Movement / interaction
Shared rhythm body–ocean

. . . . . . .

All project & material experiment images are my own & were photographed by me.

Other images are credited to the respective artists below.