Project Cloud
Designed a one-day, participatory installation to create a sense of safety, reflection, and belonging during a moment of collective uncertainty.
Role: Experience Design Lead
Scope: Cornell campus · 300+ participants
Overview
Project Cloud is a one-day installation designed to create a space for reflection, connection, and belonging in response to the 2016 election.
In moments of uncertainty, people often seek ways to process, express, and connect, but lack shared spaces that feel safe enough to do so. I saw an opportunity to design an experience that could hold both individual expression and collective presence.
In response, I created a participatory installation that invited people to reflect on their identity, share their thoughts, and connect with others through a shared, visible experience.
Impact
The installation transformed a public space into a moment of collective reflection and connection.
300+ participants contributed reflections
Created a shared moment of reflection across the community
Sparked conversations around identity and belonging
Fostered a sense of trust and psychological safety
Designing the Experience
The experience was designed to create psychological safety through participation, visibility, and shared presence.
Participants responded to a simple prompt:
“How do you define your identity?”
Their responses were added to a growing installation, allowing individual reflections to become part of a collective expression.
The interaction unfolded in three natural stages:
Reflect → individuals articulate their identity
Share → contributions are added to a shared “cloud”
Immerse → participants engage with others’ reflections
By making personal reflections visible and collective, the experience created a space where people could see themselves in others.
Principles
Simple prompt → invites honest reflection
Individual contribution → collective experience
Visibility → builds shared understanding
Low pressure → accessible to all
Shared presence → creates psychological safety
Designing for Collective Reflection
In moments of uncertainty, people need spaces that allow both individual expression and collective connection.
By creating a simple structure for participation and making personal reflections visible, Project Cloud transformed a private experience into a shared one.
This project reinforced that even lightweight, temporary interventions can create meaningful emotional impact when designed with clarity, intention, and care.
