dissolving realities

An Endless Domestic Landscape

This thesis explores how the exponential growth in communication technology is changing the way we interact with tangible and intangible spaces.

The project envisions a dystopian future where users are prisoners of their technologies. The project addresses issues such as privacy and domesticity in a satirical way by constructing a fictional “tech company”, presenting it in a performative way to expand on how it uses strategies to capitalize on its users.

Britton Memorial Awards Thesis Prize,

Faculty Prize (Best Senior Thesis)

Partner: Phang Lim
Senior Thesis, 2021

The domestic space has lost its value of privacy and intimacy, and the boundary between the binaries will be no more. The invasion of the public into the private, the collective into the domestic, the work into the leisure, and the ability to be constantly connected wirelessly have caused a dissolution of the physical domestic space. The gap between “the control” and “controlled” has widened, and productive workers will be oppressed to be even more productive with the aid of communication technology. A house is a place of production that is less defined by the tangible and rather by the objects and technology within itself. The proliferation of communication technologies has enabled activities previously unimaginable, drastically redefining the notion of the hearth at the core of domestic space. Once symbolized by the family fireplace, the contemporary hearth comprises technologically advanced devices that facilitate virtual participation and connectivity.

*To strengthen the satirical narrative and adapt to the virtual review format amid the COVID-19 lockdown, this thesis reimagined the traditional pin-up format as a multimedia project.

All materials below are part of a fictional, curated narrative created for the project. While some may mimic real products or platforms, none of these are actual commercial products, and no personal data is collected or stored; they are designed to contribute to the immersive experience.

The production includes several interconnected components:

Product Display Website
- Serves as a complete digital archive of our design work, presented as part of the immersive narrative. It functions both as documentation and as an interactive experience for virtual viewers.
2-minute Pitch Video
- A brief overview summarizing the thesis concept and designs.
13-minute "Press Conference" Video
- Our official thesis defense, originally presented via Zoom in May 2021, was designed as a staged “product launch” to engage reviewers and audiences in an unconventional way. After the original recording was lost, the presentation was recreated post-graduation using the original slideshow and updated AI voice-over technology to preserve the intended format.
Thesis Prep Document
- A 90-page-long document on the semester-long research prior to thesis, on how growth in communication technology is changing the way we interact with the tangible and intangible spaces, which ultimately informed the design of this project.
An Instagram page
External Interviews and Features