This experimental prototype was part of my 8-year research journey that led to Workshop Workshop.

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MoodLab

An immersive, custom & nourishing
well-being experience

An abstract digital illustration featuring a multi-room layout with black and white walls, various human figures, and modern furniture. The background is a colorful gradient with digital graphics, charts, and a speech bubble with geometric patterns and icons.

The Problem I Saw

I was noticing what felt like a "spirituality crisis"—too much stress and anxiety, with traditional religions feeling irrelevant to many people, but the world still hungry for spiritual connection. The wellness industry was capturing some of that demand, but the options felt shallow compared to what people were actually seeking.

Mental health costs were significant (4% of GDP in the EU, 10% of the NHS annual budget), yet most solutions felt either clinical or superficial.

A person in the center surrounded by thought bubbles with options: 'Hit the gym?', 'Yoga?', 'Church?', 'Meditation app?', 'Call mates?', 'Call mum?'.

The Concept

Mood Lab was my attempt to create personalised wellbeing experiences that felt both meaningful and practical. I designed a system for 30-45 minute audio sessions that would adapt to users' personalities, emotions, and wellbeing objectives.

Sessions would contain 5-12 custom activities: some fun, some challenging, some introspective. The goal was to create something that felt important and nourishing rather than just relaxing, targeting what I called "spiritual but not religious" urban professionals.

A woman with curly hair writing on a notepad at a black table with bowls and electronic devices, against a black background.
A person drawing circles on a large white paper with colored markers.

The Technical Approach

I developed a so called "Controller System" that would match the right activity to the right user at the right moment. The idea was to use behavioural data to create genuinely custom experiences rather than generic wellness content.

I planned everything from individual sessions to workplace implementations, envisioning a progression from pop-up installations to permanent venues to eventually home electronics.

A flowchart showing a multi-stage process from pre-session to post-session involving user profiling, activities, and goal adjustment, including components like analytics engine, controller system, media activities, and session control, with notes on session measurements for personality, behavior, and emotional state.
Flowchart of a decision tree with labeled circles and emotions, starting at the top with a start point and ending at the bottom with an end point.
A series of medical and health-related icons and illustrations, including a timeline, a hospital bed with medical equipment, a person in a spiritual or meditative space, a healthcare corridor with people, and medical supplies or devices.

What I Learned

Mood Lab taught me about the limitations of designing wellbeing "for" people rather than "with" them. No matter how sophisticated the personalisation, the sessions felt like products being delivered rather than explorations being shared.

The most valuable feedback came not from the sessions themselves, but from conversations people had afterward about their experience. This pushed me toward more collaborative, less prescribed approaches to meaningful experiences.

Sequence illustrating a person getting in a hot air balloon, floating, then landing and resting, with bubbles representing relaxation after a hot air balloon ride.

The Insight

This project revealed a pattern I'd see repeatedly: the designed experience itself wasn't where the meaning happened. The meaning emerged from reflection, conversation, and personal connection people made with their own experience.

This realisation became crucial to everything that followed.