MS.001
About The Corner
Home product design / Emotional care furniture
An interactive sofa centered on the need for safety. Through an airbag system, it recreates the embracing gesture of childhood, offering a private, enveloping space for emotional relief.
Problem
Adults face great life stress but cannot find effective ways to relieve it.
Based on 500 questionnaires, many people desire a private, enclosed, healing space. The project aims to design a piece of furniture that recreates a sense of childhood safety and self-healing.
Concept Origin
The desire for safety and protection often originates in childhood. It is a basic human need that helps us face fear and move forward.
The design draws from the posture of embrace and the structure of the body, translating emotional need into a physical form. Keywords: HUG · SPACE · SAFETY
Brainstorm & Keywords
Through brainstorming, key themes emerged: protection, falling, conflict, embrace, fear, safety, pressure, and the need for a cure. These informed the project's core direction.
Restoration Method
Plan A — A quilt-like wrapping form is used to recreate a sense of safety through enclosure.
Plan B — Affectionate behavior from cats can also bring people a sense of comfort and reassurance.
Morphological Research & Form Development
The design introduces a certain level of anthropomorphic form. Based on the idea of enclosure and ergonomics, a series of iterations were explored — from triangular joint structures to organic embracing volumes.
How the embracing motion is realized
Instead of being only a visual concept, the embracing gesture is expressed through real interaction. An airbag system allows the sofa's supporting surfaces to respond through inflation and deflation.
When the user sits down, body weight compresses the main airbag, automatically distributing air to the side, neck, and back airbags to create a supportive, enveloping effect. When the user stands up, body movement drives the air back to the storage chamber, allowing the product to return to its original state.
Airbag Positioning
Support points for neck, lumbar and hip regions, with internally filled airbags that respond to body weight.
Airbag System & Experiments
A multi-chamber airbag network connected through air channels. Prototyping included pump units, connectors, layout testing, and inflation trials to achieve controlled, distributed support.
Structure & Dimensions
Overall proportions and sectional dimensions of the seating form.
Use & Form Change
The product changes form during use. Highlighted areas expand and contract to simulate an embracing motion.
Making Process
Process included emotion keyword brainstorming, morphological iteration, airbag structure prototyping and testing, clay and fabric mock-ups, and the final combination of fabric with the internal frame.
Final Outcome
The product features a soft, non-intrusive form suitable for home corners. Through gentle pressure and an embracing motion, it aims to create a sense of calm and reassurance.
Gently facing life, and regaining the courage to move forward.
In the Home
Designed for quiet corners of everyday living — a soft, non-intrusive presence that offers a private space to pause.
