Welcome to Melda's World

Welcome to Melda's World

People often deny or overlook their inner shadow and think that pursuing positivity is how we should live. But the truth is that both positive and negative make us who we are. Due to the highly competitive environment, young adults who are between 18-30 years old tend to judge themselves and make self-comparison with others which leads to the spiral of negative mindset. The bad impact of a negative mindset will lead to decreased motivation as well as greater feelings of helplessness. 

This physical light installation aims to help people accept their negative mindset and realize the beauty of both positive and negative elements inside us and how we complete ourselves to survive in this challenging environment. The message conveyed is to accept and follow the flow of life which makes us who we are today.

Project Background

Primary Research 

Interviews have been done with interviewees who encounter stress to gather their opinions and thoughts on their patterns of mindset. It was found that 100% of the interviewees experience self-comparison due to a highly competitive environment. They will feel stress and low-self esteem when others did a better job than them. Thus, they will start to overthink and are fully controlled by negative mindset which demotivates them to do things. 

Secondary Research

The “Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace” survey revealed that 53% of Malaysian employees reported work-related stress and 12% experienced high levels of anxiety or depression. The main reasons are due to the highly competitive environment and the need to compete and outdo one another.

Problem Statement

Social comparison among peers leads to the spiral of negative mindset

Project Purpose

Empower people to restructure and reshape their patterns of seeing positive and negative thoughts

Idea & Concept

Melda is an interactive jellyfish that could listen and respond to humans. Jellyfish is used as the main visual element as we have to accept things from happening and learn to survive just like jellyfish. When the user speaks in positive intonations (happy tone), the jellyfish will portray warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow. When the user speaks in negative intonations (sad tone), the jellyfish will portray cool colors such as blue and purple.

Users will get to experience the beauty of the combination of both positivity and negativity which is carried by the jellyfish to survive in the dark ocean. The inner light of jellyfish allows people to shine from the inside out letting those around to see who they are. 

Interaction

This project emphasizes single-user interaction as users will feel more comfortable speaking freely about their mindsets in the room. There will be audio aid from Melda to guide the users in expressing their thoughts. Visuals of the ocean in coded algorithms will be projected on the wall for users to immerse themselves as the ocean reflects the deepest inner of ourselves and our unknowing parts in mind. However, the ocean environment will change as well when the user is speaking in different intonations together with the light installation.

Photos

Rising Intonations 

Falling Intonations

Rationale Video

Video Walkthrough

The project installation can be installed in universities or colleges that would empower and motivate students to restructure and reshape their patterns of seeing negative and positive thoughts. Imagine a student who is having a bad day and steps into the room to express his/ her thoughts to Melda. The student will feel calm and relaxed when entering the room with the ambiance of waves. The experience of visualizing the beauty of their thoughts differently through the light medium could create an impact on the user’s inner self-value. Besides, the light installation can be installed in hospitals for the patients to interact with. Melda could create an experience for the patient to feel relaxed and comfortable to express their emotions and thoughts that are kept deep within themselves. This will help the patient to cheer up their day with some minor interactions and beautiful visualization of Melda. 

Thank you!