Exploring Emotional Expression Through Hair

Abstract

This work investigates emotional expression through hair to find possible extensions to traditional forms of expression. Inspired by (playful) bodily extensions and animalistic communication forms, two designs of hair extensions are proposed. One ’hair’ strand that can glow in different colors and light modes as well as speeds. The other tool pulls the bangs of a wig apart and pushes them back together with a button press, creating dynamic motions, intended to express information about the user’s internal states. To investigate if these modalities are able to transmit meaningful messages, the prototypes are tested on their ability to convey more than basic emotions in eight imagined scenarios. This was done by finding suitable signals through the means of an elicitation study and then presenting these signals to a new group of participants to analyze their interpretation of the signals. Data was collected on the perceived valence and arousal states, as well as qualitative data about what the signal could have meant. It was found that color is a preferable tool for emotional expression as it holds more intuitive meaning. Movement was also successful in sending meaningful messages, but user response to this modality was less enthusiastic. Mentioning difficulties in both the study process and the survey process when using the movement modality. Design implications and interesting insights could be found through the thorough analysis and are presented at the end of this work. Future work could entail improving upon the current prototypes and trying to leverage more benefits from playful interactions, such as by enabling exploration of personal identity as well as promoting social interaction and bonding.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	English
Supervisor	Kathrin Probst (Supervisor)